Western Pembrokeshire - 51° 52' 57" N 05° 07' 47" W

Being in Wales means we are close to some newly minted friends - namely Tim and Carol, who buddy-boated with us through the Northwest Passage aboard Lumina.  They live close to the border of Wales and England and have a cottage on the westernmost coast of Wales.  Chinook is a forty-five minute drive, so they offered to take us on a Welsh road trip of Pembrokeshire.  Hooray!

Tim, Kate, Carol and Sean

We were invited to their cottage and found it the perfect hide-away on the coast. It is fully independent ... except for a mysterious inch-and-a-half waterpipe that supplies drinkable water to the property. It was there when they bought the land and it produces water with some pressure. It emerges from the hillside and they have no idea where its origin is (they are miles from any town or village) but the water is drinkable.

The cottage electrical needs are supplied by solar panels, a salvaged battery from a BMW i3 and a 1200 watt inverter. The lights are 12 volt, belaying Tim and Carol's experience with that technology on boats.

Welcome to the cottage!   

Nice view!

We arrived late in the day and settled in to visit and catch up.

With the help of a bottle of wine,
we were able to solve all the problems of the world before bedtime.

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The next morning, we walked down to the beach from the cottage.  The beach isn't private, but isolated by the terrain.

Going down is going to be easy.

Down, down, down.  There is some frost on the grass in the valley - it is obviously winter. Getting closer to the beach.

A weather-worn beach all to ourselves.

A rugged coastline.  It is calm today, but these smooth stones are the result of wave action.

After the beach visit, we walked up the valley, back to the cottage and had a filling breakfast.  

Next, our hosts drove us through the little villages and towns.  The main settlements are inland, but there are many protected coves and beaches along a rocky and rugged west coast.  Being only 50 nautical miles from Ireland and a day or two from Scotland and the Isle of Man, there is a history of smuggling all sorts of goods for as long as governments have tried to control and tax them.

Narrow roads!  The hedges hide much of the scenery as we go from place to place.

We weave in and out of the pastures to suddenly emerge upon a coastal view.  We stopped at this little cottage and noticed its claim to notoriety. It is where the first Trans-Atlantic Cable came ashore on the island of Britain from Ireland.

Just in case you are confused (like we were) by the United Kingdom / Wales / British Isles kerfuffle and what is part of what, here is a handy diagram.

Thanks, Wikipedia!

There is a 188 mile long walking trail called the Pembrokeshire Coast Path, and we walked an eight kilometre section.

Well-marked and very spectacular.

We grabbed some lunch at a little pub in Portgain, then walked over to the harbour.

Cool harbour!  We could bring Chinook in here at high tide ... once we are
brave enough to let her dry out.

I can't wait to try sailing into a port like this.

Heading for Aberreiddy Beach

The local livestock are dressed appropriately for the weather.

Fair warning.

Towards the end of the hike, we ended up overlooking an old quarry that (in summer) is a swimming hole and local hangout known as The Blue Lagoon.  There are a couple of jumping platforms from three, five and (gulp) ten metres.  There was a time when Sean might have been tempted.  

If the quarry looks familiar,  it's because it has been the site of the Red Bull Cliff Diving World Series a few times.

The Blue Lagoon.  No sign of Brooke Shields, though.

Down the path towards an awesome, awesome sandy beach at Aberreiddy.

We are very lucky to have locals to show us around and share their time with us.