Reason for the whole trip.

Wednesday 9th September 2020 - near Haverfordwest, Pembrokeshire.

Today, unknown to Janice we achieved the reason for the whole trip around Wales.  She hadn’t realised that all I wanted to do was to revisit the place where I came on my holidays with Mum and Dad in the caravan.  The place is not a place you will ever have heard of.....it’s Little Haven a small cove on the way around to the coast towards St David’s.

Having complained about the weather forecasting yesterday, this morning was rather the same with a constant drizzle.  The good news was that it didn’t last beyond 11am.  We did a shop for essentials (code for booze) at Lidl near Llanelli and travelled west to a small site near Haverfordwest where we had arranged to meet up with friends Andy and Lene.  Andy was in the police with me on the same shift at Barrow when I started and we played rugby together for many years for the Police and for Furness RUFC, needless to say we have some tales to tell but none of them suitable for the blog.

We arrived at the new site and managed to park up next to Andy & Lene’s motorhome without wheel spinning on the grass.  The weather had in actual fact turned out to be nice and sunny.  Andy had devised a route to Broad Haven and Little Haven, coming back via Haverfordwest, so after lunch we set off on bikes.

Broad Haven lived up to its name.


Little Haven cove.  We used to sit on the edge of the rocks on the right and Mum assembled ham and coleslaw sandwiches for our lunch....every day!

As a treat we were allowed a half of shandy and a packet of crisps outside the Castle Inn.  I replicated the experience.  It was a simple holiday formula of swimming, eating and drinking and we were happy.  My brothers David and Peter also have the same memories of lovely holidays here.  I think we came about three times.  Janice hadn’t realised that coming here was the whole reason I wanted to come to Wales and Andy and Lene thought we had come to meet them.  I have had to ‘fess up’.  It was wonderful to see the place again especially with the weather so good.  What I hadn’t remembered is the steep hills down to the beach because I hadn’t had to ride my bike there.

Andy and I chatted away as we rode and Janice chatted to Lene.  Lene is actually Norwegian but has great English, better than me.  He told me stories about Lene mixing up English colloquial sayings.  Examples were “you are as much use as a chocolate in a candle factory” instead of ‘chocolate fireguard’ and “ horse and cabbage” instead of ‘horse and carriage’.

Now this is addressing my castle fetish.  Almost all castles in this area were attacked by the Welsh Prince Llewelyn.  I can’t stop thinking about Lawrence Llewelyn-Bowen flouncing up to a castle with frilly cuffs blowing in the wind demanding that they surrender.

After an afternoon and evening of gorgeous sunshine I have forgiven the previous weather forecasts and it is so nice to meet up with Andy and Lene and have a chilli-con-carne with them.  Made by me, which makes a change because Andy used to feed me with exactly the same meal when we lived in next door flats when I called in hope of being fed.  

Andy is my honorary proof reader for today.  I know that you will be shocked that anyone has actually proof read the rubbish that I write!  I mean they have corrected my spellings but not necessarily the content.