A mini guide to: Pembrokeshire

Image via Cwtch*

With a population under 2,000, the Pembrokeshire parish of St David’s is Britain’s smallest city. In addition to its impressive 6th-century cathedral, St David’s is famed for Cwtch, the Michelin-starred restaurant that has twice been voted the best in all of Wales.

In Welsh cwtch means “a warm affectionate hug, cuddle or snuggle that gives a feeling of a safe place or home.”

The warm and welcoming atmosphere may give the feeling of home but the immaculately constructed meals, made from rigorously sourced local ingredients, are a far cry from Mum’s spag bol or Dad’s overcooked beef burgers!

The picturesque seaside town of Tenby, with its fantastic beaches, harbourside boats and pastel-coloured houses, is one of Pembrokeshire’s tourist hotspots.

After a day exploring Tenby’s quaint cobbled streets and beautiful beaches, head to the Hope and Anchor for the town’s largest selection of real cask ale.

Alternatively, try Tenby’s oldest pub, The Coach and Horses, where legendary Welsh poet Dylan Thomas reputedly got drunk and left behind the manuscript for his BBC radio drama Under Milk Wood.

With its rugged cliffs, stunning natural harbours, striking geological stacks, arches and sea caves, Pembrokeshire’s Coast is the only place in the UK named a national park on the strength of its coastline alone.

To make the most of the towering rock formations and glistening waters why not try your hand at coasteering: a perfect storm of rock pooling, cliff climbing and sea swimming.

It doesn’t matter if you’re not a daredevil at heart; the experienced guides at Celtic Quest Coasteering are safety conscious and expert cajolers.

Image via Sky Rainforest Rescue

Home of the 3,000-ft Megafobia, which has been voted the third best wooden roller coaster in the world, Oakwood Theme Park is both thrilling and inventive.

Alongside a frightful selection of world-class white-knuckle rides such as Speed, Bounce and Drenched, the park boasts an exciting array of family attractions such as the Boating Lake, the Bobsleigh and the imaginative Journey to Neverland.

Image via Visit Britain

Pembrokeshire’s deep, nutrient rich, ocean waters provide the perfect feeding and breeding grounds for majestic cetaceans such as dolphins, porpoise or whales.

Hundreds of bottlenose dolphins live permanently in North Pembrokeshire’s Cardigan Bay, making it a great starting point for a marine life spotting boat trip.

Further west along the coast, RSPB Nature Reserve Ramsey Island is home to southern Britain’s most important grey seal breeding colony.

Ramsey’s imposing 400-ft cliffs, adorned with delicate bluebells, pink thrift and purple heather during the summer months, are also populated with thousands of breeding birds, such as peregrines, razorbills and guillemots.