With the arrival of Baby G into the family we decided to return to holidaying in the UK. The last few years have seen us jet abroad for our breaks from France to Canada and even a couple of weeks in the Carribbean with my family. This year my parents and sister were eager to spend some time with us and Baby G so we decided to go away for a short break and opted for the childhood holiday destination of South Pembrokeshire.
I scoured the internet for a cottage suitable for 5 adults, one 5 month old baby and a boxer dog for a period of 5 days in July. Many cottages do not do short breaks in the summer and many are not pet friendly but I did find a number suitable for our needs. We opted for Grooms Cottage based on the great location, price and modern but comfortable look of the place.
Grooms cottage is the middle of 3 cottages based on the site in the village of Bosherston set in the Pembrokshire National park – a true wildlife haven. There is the famous Bosherston Lily Ponds as featured on the BBC’s Autumn Watch just a couple of hundred yards from your doorstep. Go for a walk along the ponds and you will reach Broadhaven beach in less than a mile, which is just one of the fabulous beaches along this coastline.
The cottage itself was fabulous, recently refurbished it was comfortable and modern but in keeping with countryside location. It sleeps 6 with 2 double rooms and one twin, perfect for a large family or to take the Grandparents away with you. We were also provided with a travel cot for Baby G and just had to take along her own bedding. The upstairs Master bedroom was a fabulous size complete with skylight windows for gazing at the stars. The only little problem we had was we could hear a small scratching ….. yep wasps had started to nest in the roof and as the bedroom is in the loft space we could hear them through the ceiling, but a quick call to the owners and they were getting it sorted.
There was a large open living space downstairs with a lounge, dining area for 6 and a kitchen complete with modern appliances. This was great as we could prepare our meals whilst still being able socialise and keep an eye on Baby G playing on her Jungle gym in the living room.
Courtesy of Capell Creative
Each cottage has it’s own private garden. For Grooms cottage the access was from the end of the driveway and not directly from the building. This was fine. the only slight disadvantage was that we were not able just to let the dog outside without accompanying him. One of the other cottages at the site, The Mews, has patio doors that open directly onto their private garden.
The garden itself was absolutely picture perfect, a typical country cottage garden complete with herbs, fruit trees and rhubarb growing. The garden for Grooms cottage is the biggest of the three and Samson was in heaven exploring it. It has a summer house and BBQ too. We were lucky enough to have lovely weather during our visit so could take full advantage of the garden and did have a BBQ one afternoon. Though we did buy a disposable BBQ to use on top of the garden one as the grills were a little rusty due to being left out.
We had such a lovely time at Grooms Cottage, enjoying making use of the self-catering accommodation with a couple of fried breakfasts and a Mexican feast. We also sampled the fabulous food at a local gastro pub The Stackpole Inn and of course the obligatory fish and chips at the seaside.
It was a lovely family holiday and I would definitely return to Grooms cottage for another.
Hasta la proxima / Until next time
