Pauline
Forums Admin
In early July for the last few years we’ve had a holiday in Brittany. This year traveling for six hours on a ferry and having to quarantine for 10 days on return (UK restrictions) wasn’t appealing so we decided on Wales. Everyone in the UK seems to be traveling to desirable coast locations so places are booked and prices are up. I looked for holiday rentals on the north coast of Devon and on the Pembrokeshire Coast in Wales. When I was about to give up (£300/night for an apartment in Woolacombe!) I saw a nice cottage for rent in Wales near St David’s.
It is a cottage on a non-working farm about 3 miles inland from Solva. They have three cottages and the owners live onsite. I found them on Airbnb but contacted them through their website. It turns out they had a cancellation and relisted their cottage the day before I found it. And their price was reasonable for the time of year - £900/week, 3bed, 1bath.
thenoggcottages.com
Driving in England on the weekend is always difficult. The roads are always busy and an accident on the motorway shuts it down. We were unlucky and spent 45 minutes at a standstill on the M5. But once we got into Wales it was smooth sailing. It took us about 6 hours to get there.
The last 10 minutes of the drive is on very narrow lanes but there were no other cars and it was beautiful. The ex-farm we are staying on is lovely. The three cottages are near each other and the owners live in another house on the site. There are several other buildings - it is like a hamlet - and I am not sure what they are. 10 minutes to the nearest town, Solva, and another 10 to St David’s.
Sitting in traffic on the M5 heading north.
Sunday July 4 (Happy 4th!)
Today was predicted to be rain all day. We had very heavy rain in the night, lighter rain in the morning and afternoon, and we were caught in a downpour on our hike.
We drove to St David’s and parked. It was drizzling and we headed off on a short hike from the Cicerone book.
Cicerone, Walking in Pembrokeshire, walk 9, St David’s and St Non’s, 3.5 miles circular.
We parked near the magnificent 12th century cathedral, then walked to the coast to the remains of St Nons which was built in the 6th century. This was a major pilgrimage center in the Middle Ages.
We got onto the coast path and walked about 2 miles of it. The views were incredible. There were other people out walking but it wasn’t that busy. The rain stopped when we started on the coast path and we had a lovely walk but the skies opened for about 30 minutes as we were coming into Porth Clais. This was the main harbour in Roman times. We followed a lane back to St David’s instead of walking through the fields because everything was so wet.
I had brought a picnic lunch for us but we ended up having it in the car in the parking lot at the end of the hike because it was too wet earlier. The forecast is much better for the rest of the week. We will probably spend our time walking as much of the coast path as we can between St David’s and Fishguard.
12th c cathedral in St David’s.
Coast path.
Coast path.
It is a cottage on a non-working farm about 3 miles inland from Solva. They have three cottages and the owners live onsite. I found them on Airbnb but contacted them through their website. It turns out they had a cancellation and relisted their cottage the day before I found it. And their price was reasonable for the time of year - £900/week, 3bed, 1bath.
The Nogg Holiday Cottages near Solva, Pembrokeshire
Three self-catering holiday cottages, each with its own unique character, available to let throughout the year. Located in the tiny hamlet of Llanddinog

Driving in England on the weekend is always difficult. The roads are always busy and an accident on the motorway shuts it down. We were unlucky and spent 45 minutes at a standstill on the M5. But once we got into Wales it was smooth sailing. It took us about 6 hours to get there.
The last 10 minutes of the drive is on very narrow lanes but there were no other cars and it was beautiful. The ex-farm we are staying on is lovely. The three cottages are near each other and the owners live in another house on the site. There are several other buildings - it is like a hamlet - and I am not sure what they are. 10 minutes to the nearest town, Solva, and another 10 to St David’s.
Sitting in traffic on the M5 heading north.
Sunday July 4 (Happy 4th!)
Today was predicted to be rain all day. We had very heavy rain in the night, lighter rain in the morning and afternoon, and we were caught in a downpour on our hike.
We drove to St David’s and parked. It was drizzling and we headed off on a short hike from the Cicerone book.
Cicerone, Walking in Pembrokeshire, walk 9, St David’s and St Non’s, 3.5 miles circular.
We parked near the magnificent 12th century cathedral, then walked to the coast to the remains of St Nons which was built in the 6th century. This was a major pilgrimage center in the Middle Ages.
We got onto the coast path and walked about 2 miles of it. The views were incredible. There were other people out walking but it wasn’t that busy. The rain stopped when we started on the coast path and we had a lovely walk but the skies opened for about 30 minutes as we were coming into Porth Clais. This was the main harbour in Roman times. We followed a lane back to St David’s instead of walking through the fields because everything was so wet.
I had brought a picnic lunch for us but we ended up having it in the car in the parking lot at the end of the hike because it was too wet earlier. The forecast is much better for the rest of the week. We will probably spend our time walking as much of the coast path as we can between St David’s and Fishguard.
12th c cathedral in St David’s.
Coast path.
Coast path.