Newsletter 2001 - South Wales

Are you lucky? I certainly don't consider myself to be lucky, unless you count the bottle of gin that I won when I was eight years old (which mysteriously disappeared into my parents’ drinks cabinet). You can therefore imagine my total disbelief when my name was called out as the winner of 1st prize in the 2000 Paws N Music Christmas draw. Like most people I bought the ticket because I wanted to support the cause and had not really taken in what the prizes were.

I now know that the 1st prize for the draw is a week’s holiday in one of Pat Griffiths’ three holiday cottages at Rock Farm, Manorbier near Tenby in Pembrokeshire. On the freezing cold December day, with snow on the ground, that the draw was made, the thought of sunshine and holidays was just what I needed. I had to make up my mind fairly quickly about when I wanted to take the holiday as the cottages were getting booked up. The choice was between Spring and Autumn and I chose to visit in late September as I am a bit of a gardener and didn't want to be away from home in the Spring.

The summer went by and the date of our holiday was approaching fast. The idea of having a week away with my three Welsh Springers was wonderful. I don't know about you, but I have tried to take my dogs away once before and it really didn't work out too well. Too many places say that they welcome dogs, but they really mean that they tolerate them. When I talked to Pat, I realised that she really did welcome them. She has a field where dogs can be exercised, an agility course and can provide cages, if required. Here was a place that dogs really are welcome.

My work takes me away from home rather a lot and my dogs are very used to watching me pack and leave them for a couple of days (if my husband, Brian, is also away on business, I have a wonderful dog sitter who moves into my home when I am away). It was therefore wonderful to know that when the day came for us to pack up and head for Wales, that this time the dogs would be coming with us.

We found Rock Farm without taking a wrong turn. While Brian unpacked the car, I took the girls up to the field to stretch their legs. They had a wonderful time investigating the field boundaries (well, Springers have to do that sort of thing) and racing around the field. We then went back to investigate the cottage. We had a bedroom, bathroom and kitchen / sitting area. The cottage was compact but very comfortable. Pat’s welcome for dogs was immediately apparent, as she has thoughtfully provided a mesh panel that can be fitted into the open doorway to allow the dogs to see, but not get, out. Quickly the last few items were unpacked from the car and we settled into our home for the week.

In addition to the field, Pat has a lovely large flat grass area in front of the cottages that is ideal for working on heelwork routines. I think the other visitors must have thought that I was crazy walking around with my Walkman and doing strange movements with my hands and legs.

We quickly found out that the area has a great deal to offer, spectacular countryside, wonderful walks along the Pembrokeshire Coast, numerous craft workshops, great food and welcoming people.

Manorbier is a small village about five minutes drive away from Rock Farm. Its main claim to fame is its castle, which overlooks Manorbier Bay. Unfortunately, we were unable to visit the castle as it had been closed early for the season to allow it to act as a set for a film from Pinewood Studios. We therefore decided to explore the bay. The rocks around Manorbier are sandstone and these produce a beach consisting of beautiful pebbles where the normal grey or beige stones mix with red veined ones. The dogs had a wonderful time running about in the waves and investigate the rock pools. Who said that dogs aren't like kids?

Unfortunately, the Pembrokeshire Coast National Park was still subject to Foot and Mouth restrictions, but we still had some very enjoyable walks with some spectacular views. In some ways, the fact that the dogs had to be on the lead was a blessing in disguise since it meant that we didn't have to worry about loosing them over the edge of the cliffs.

Tenby is about fifteen minutes away from Rock Farm. It’s a lovely little town with narrow streets, good shops ranging from Boots to craft shops and a wide range of restaurants. The harbour is beautiful and the place where you can get a boat for the short trip to Caldy Island. We didn't have time for a visit, so I'm not sure if dogs are allowed. For a treat, we particularly liked the Plantagenet restaurant, which boasts wonderful dishes of fresh fish and organic welsh meat as well as an enormous fireplace, the date of which may be either 15th or 12th century. We can also recommend the Indian, Fish & Chip shop on Lower Frog Street and several places on Upper Frog Street.

Other highlights in the area included

As luck would have it, the week that we had chosen was also the week of the Tenby Arts festival. Unfortunately, we had missed the sand sculpture competition and the balloon sculpture workshop, but a couple of events caught our eye. During the week we saw Diversions, the Dance Company of Wales and Mugenkyo, Europe’s foremost exponents of Japanese drumming. Both of which gave me ideas for future routines! Unfortunately we were unable to get to see John Mortimer’s show. He is the creator of Rumpole and I'm sure the show consisting of anecdotes, poetry and music would have been memorable. If you are interested, the 2002 festival runs from 21 – 28 September.

Thank you so much, Pat, for your hospitality and generosity in donating the holiday. We had a wonderful relaxing week. I now know that I am a very lucky person.