5 Brilliant things to do in Pembrokeshire with Children – Our favourite things to do, see and eat in and around Tenby in Wales with kids. Beautiful Welsh beaches and wonderful South Wales food.
A few weeks ago, the lovely people at Coastal Cottages invited us to Pembrokeshire, to stay in one of their properties and see what we could find whilst exploring the area.
We’ve been to Pembrokeshire before a few years ago so it was definitely time for another visit.
We stayed in the beautiful Norchard, in Trefloyne near Tenby. It’s a timber lodge, nestled on the edge of a golf course, amongst the trees, with beautiful views across the valley.
The photo below doesn’t do the view justice as it was a foggy morning, but the wraparound balconies are absolutely stunning. Such a fantastic view to sit and watch as darkness falls in the evening.
If you’d like to visit Pembrokeshire with kids, I’d highly recommend Coastal Cottages. They have over 500 different properties nestled along the coastline in this area. We have stayed with them before too and their service is incredibly helpful.
We particularly loved the little touches, like the amazing welcome hamper of local produce that their lovely Coastal Concierge team left for us. I consumed approximately 5,000 Welsh cakes during this trip and I blame this hamper entirely for starting me on that dangerous road.
Here are some of our favourite things that we discovered to do in and around Tenby and Pembrokeshire.
1. Folly Farm Adventure Park and Zoo, Begelly, Kilgetty, Pembrokeshire
I asked on Instagram where we should visit whilst in Pembrokeshire and had so many amazingly helpful tips and suggestions. The thing that SO many people mentioned was Folly Farm.
They’d kindly sent us some tickets to visit and see if we liked it so when the rain came in, off we went.
I should tell you at this point that I am a miserable parent who hates children’s tourist attractions. There always seems to be queues and too many people and I end up thinking we should’ve just gone for a walk and kept things simple. I know, awful aren’t I?!
But so many people had said how amazing Folly Farm was, I kept an open mind.
I’m so pleased I did. It was an absolute win. In fact George said it was his favourite thing that we did during our whole trip.
There’s so much to see and do at Folly Farm. It’s a brilliant thing to do in Pembrokeshire when it’s raining.
We started in the huge undercover barn, meeting lots of the animals. You can try your hand at milking a goat or handling a ferret (!) amongst heaps of other activities going on all day.
There was no escaping without some face painting from the lovely Folly Farm staff.
During our time there we were so struck by how absolutely charming all of the staff were. Friendly, welcoming and super keep to help in any way possible.
However you are training your staff Folly Farm, it’s very impressive. Someone in the cafe even offered to come and help me with my tray of food when she saw me struggling – how often does that happen in a busy self service restaurant?
Next we went to the AMAZING soft play barn, for them to go crazy and me to recover with a coffee.
The entire place was spotless. Seriously, unheard of in soft play areas!
It’s absolutely huge, I had to drag the children away when we left, they would’ve happily spent all day in there. A perfect place to hide from the rain.
Then on to the outdoor play areas (the rain had stopped – hurrah). They are immaculately clean and well kept, giant pirate ships and a fort amongst other delights. George and Harriet LOVED them.
Before we left we hopped on the tractor ride around the farm which was a fun way to end our day at Folly Farm.
We ran out of time to visit the outdoor animals and diggers, but I’m sure we will be back before too long!
2. Freshwater West Beach and Cafe Mor
The following day, the sun started to peek through and we made our way to the beautiful Freshwater West beach that someone had recommended on my Instagram post.
The view down to the beach as we drove there was just breathtaking.
We parked up and loaded up with blankets and buckets and spades to make our way down to the beach.
On our way, we stopped in the car park to visit the food van that I’d heard lots about there – Cafe Mor.
Cafe Mor has won numerous British Street Food Awards, serving delicious, local food from their customised van at Freshwater West beach, including local Welsh laverbread (seaweed!).
Top tip: Take your reusable travel mug for drinks, they are very responsibly saving on plastic by not giving out lids so if you want to carry your hot drink to the beach, bring your own.
The food was absolutely delicious. Piping hot and cooked whilst we watched. The children weren’t entirely sure about the laverbread but I really enjoyed it.
Plus, what’s a visit to a UK beach without a sandy sandwich?!
We spent the morning happily building a sandcastle and digging away on the stunning beach.
This really is the most beautiful spot and accompanied with a hot chocolate and marshmallows from Cafe Mor on a chilly April day – what could be better?
3. Pembroke Castle, Pembroke, Pembrokeshire
On an overcast day, we popped to Pembroke Castle.
I somewhat mistakenly bought toy swords from the gift shop and George and Harriet.
They spent the afternoon practising being Knights as we went on a tour of the castle. Resulting in me having a panic that they were trying to cut off limbs of other visitors and them declaring it THE BEST CASTLE EVER.
A super place to visit with children, there’s a giant map of the castles of Wales and lots of other activities going on.
4. Stackpole Estate, Barafundle Bay and The Stackpole Inn
On a misty morning, we made our way to The Stackpole Estate. An area of stunning coastline owned by the National Trust.
If you park at the Boathouse Cafe at Stackpole, it’s a very short walk over fields of cows to an absolutely stunning beach – Barafundle Bay.
The walk over the field was beautiful and didn’t take long at all, even with a pair of 6 year olds stopping to moo at every cow (definitely part of the whole experience for them).
The sun came out just as we set foot on the beach and we spent a happy morning there paddling and digging holes.
Barafundle has been voted many, many times as one of the best beaches in Britain and the world and I can see why.
About 5 minutes drive from there is the Stackpole Inn, which I’d definitely recommend a visit to. Without doubt this was one of the best meals we had during our trip to Pembrokeshire.
Delicious local food, a seasonal menu (Wild Garlic Pesto was spot on for me) and one of the best Sticky Toffee Puds I’ve ever eaten (I’ve eaten a few).
On our drive home we stopped in Carmarthen at the tiny Gwili Railway. It is well worth a visit if you’re travelling with children or train fans.
The driver spent ages with George and Harriet teaching them how to drive a train – they were totally enthralled.
It’s a charming heritage train line with steam trains and very pretty riverside views.
If you are in Carmarthen, try to visit The Warren for lunch or supper. We stumbled upon this uber hip little gem of a restaurant and ate a delicious lunch. It’s simple and wholesome food, supporting local suppliers. Oh and fantastic coffee.
We were so sad to leave our Coastal Cottages home at the end of the week. We are already planning our next trip to Pembrokeshire.
If you’d like to visit Pembrokeshire with kids, I’d highly recommend Coastal Cottages.
If you’re thinking of visiting Pembrokeshire or any of the attractions I’ve recommended, and you’re staying with Coastal Cottages, the Coastal Concierge are able to arrange a whole range of activities for a Pembrokeshire holiday. From private yoga and dining sessions to coasteering, star gazing and horse riding sessions.
To stay in one of over 500 hand picked cottages dotted along the stunning Pembrokeshire Coast call Coastal Cottages of Pembrokeshire on 01437 765765 or visit www.coastalcottages.co.uk.
Disclosure: Our trip was kindly provided by Coastal Cottages in return for an honest review. As always, all opinions are truthful.
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