Take-Off for a long weekend in Pembrokeshire

If you're looking for a short break where you can really get away from it all, prepare to take-off for a long weekend in Pembrokeshire! Pembrokeshire is near enough to do in a long weekend, but a world away from the hustle and bustle of everyday life.

Get ready to take-off for a long weekend in Pembrokeshire

There are beautiful beaches, historic castles, lovely seaside villages, coastal walks and superb food and drink. It's the perfect destination for a long weekend when you hire a campervan or motorhome from Spaceships. Here are some ideas for your long weekend in Pembrokeshire. 

Day 1 - Go west in your Spaceship!

For this trip, we took the Spaceships 4 (+1) berth luxury motorhome. It's called 4 (+1) as it has two double beds and a small single bed that can be made up in the living area. The rear double bedroom in the Spaceships Luxury motorhome has a fixed island double bed, en-suite shower and toilet, and is the ultimate in on the road comfort. The second double bed is lowered from the ceiling above the living area, rising out of sight the following morning!

Picking up your Spaceship from our London branch, you are just a few minutes from the M4 motorway. Once there, head west - until you reach the sea! It's around a 4 hour journey of 225 miles, with 180 on the motorway, giving you the chance to get the feel of the motorhome. There are plenty of service stations on the way, and we stopped to stretch our legs - and walk Bella our Staffy puppy, who took the trip to Pembrokeshire with us. 

One of the nice things about a long weekend in Pembrokeshire is that you can be there by lunchtime or early afternoon so you can make the most of your time away. We were staying at Park Farm Holiday Park at Manorbier, in between Tenby and Pembroke.

Our Spaceships motorhome touches down in Pembrokeshire

There's a footpath to the coastal path and sandy beach and Manorbier Castle is also open to the public. This Norman castle is in the heart of the village and overlooks the beach. You can walk around the castle and gardens, before stopping at the café in the grounds.

We spent the afternoon wandering around the beach, castle and village before settling in at the camp for the evening with Bella.

Day 2 - Pembroke, another castle and beach

We spent our second day exploring the town of Pembroke and the surrounding coast. Again, the town is dominated by its castle which was the birthplace of Harri Tudur in 1457. He later became Henry VII, the first of the Tudor Kings and was father to the infamous Henry VIII. There is a striking bronze statue of Henry VII but you will need to book admission to the castle before you visit.

Pembroke Castle, birthplace of Henry Tudor I Photo: "Pembroke castle" - NH53 - Licence CC BY 2.0

In the afternoon, we went to the beach at Freshwater West. As well as being a wide, sandy beach popular with surfers, it's also home to a multi award-winning street-food café. Café Môr is a solar powered converted fishing boat, and not to be missed. It specialises in local sea food and sea weed, and is in the main car park at Freshwater West beach. It gets busy, so get there early and be patient. There are definitely worse places to wait for a tasty seashore wrap!

Freshwater West is also famous for appearing in two films. The beach was the scene of the final battle in Ridley Scott's Robin Hood starring Russell Crowe and Cate Blanchet. It was also the back drop for Dobby's Shell Cottage in the film Harry Potter & The Deathly Hallows.

There is loads more to see and do here. You can go sea kayaking from Stackpole Quay or sign up to a local surf school and learn to catch a wave. Adrenaline junkies should definitely try Coasteering - the sport of scrambling around coastal rocks and throwing yourself into the sea! Pembrokeshire has a choice of providers and qualified guides, with all the equipment you need as well knowledge of the best Coasteering locations. Find out more here.

Day 3 - The Pembrokeshire Coast Path & Barafundle Bay

This was our day to explore some of the breathtaking Pembrokeshire coastal path on our long weekend. We walked west from our camp site at Manorbier, passing Freshwater East before reaching beautiful Barafundle Bay.

The view over beautiful Barafundle Bay

You'll see for yourself why it's been voted the Best Beach in Britain and even the world on several occasions. Golden sand and blue water in a rocky cove backed by dunes: it's the perfect beach.

After your coast walk to Barafundle Bay, you can get a bite to eat and a drink from the café at Stackpole Quay. There is also a great pub, The Stackpole Inn in Stackpole village, perfect for a pint and a spot of lunch. 

Then it's time to wander back to the camp site. If you time it right you can take in a spectacular wild west sunset.

Day 4 - Tenby, Caldey Island & home

After a cooked breakfast from our Spaceships kitchen we explored Tenby on our final day in Pembrokeshire. Again, there was so much to do. We visited the harbour where you could book a mackerel fishing trip, but we decided to visit Caldey Island. It's about a half hour boat trip to Priory Beach on this small holy island, which is owned and run by Cistercian monks. There's time for a swim and a wander around the island, where there is a shop selling locally produced goods, including perfume, shortbread and chocolate. It makes a lovely reminder of your visit.

Looking towards Castle beach at high tide

Back to the mainland for an ice cream stop at the beautiful Tenby Harbour beach. We were heading home, but there is no shortage of shops, cafés and restaurants around Tenby, and the charming Castle beach is also worth a visit.

After that, it was back to Jupiter, our motorhome, to blast-off east back to the Spaceships London branch. It was a fantastic break and this part of west Wales has so much to offer, so get ready to take-off for a long weekend in Pembrokeshire in a Spaceships campervan or motorhome soon!

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