What to do on Poor Weather days in Pembrokeshire through the winter months

There’s a perception that the weather in Wales is always bad., always raining.
Even I used to think that, when I worked in my corporate job, so following on here are some of my favourite ideas of things to do on poor weather days in Pembrokeshire.

Importantly, what I have learned, from taking more notice of our weather, so that I can effectively advise guests, is that, that perception is wrong!

There are not THAT many days where, when we have ‘poor’ weather, that it’s in for the whole day. The weather does tend to come in and go out with the tides (I’m taking real old wives tales here!) and on bad weather days, that does give you some comfort.

In fact, it’s quite often true- ‘rain before 7(am), gone by 11(am)’. Guests have thought me a weather witch doctor when I have assured them that would happen on a particular day!

But, what to do if the weather is bad, and, for this, I am thinking more about the winter months here. If you’re looking for some summer months inspiration then check out my ideas here.

Have a Plan A & Plan B

Whenever I go anywhere, and I always suggest this to my guests, I have 2 plans-Plan A; Good Weather, and Plan B; Poor Weather. If you’ve always got 2 plans for however many days you are staying, then you’ll never be stuck for things to do and be faced with asking yourself what to do on poor weather days in Pembrokeshire!

If you’d like to get my planner, then click here.

Anyway, here are 10 suggestions for when the weather turns poor.

10 Suggestions for Poor Weather Days

Well, this has to be the first one:

1. Bring the right gear.

Billy Connolly said, there’s no such thing as the wrong weather, just the wrong clothes. So, with that in mind, if you are coming to Pembrokeshire I the winter months, do pack waterproof outer wear. Jacket & boots as a minimum, and if you’re looking to do some walking, then some waterproof trousers too.
With the right gear on, you can really enjoy some of the worst weather; a walk on a beach with the sea spray salting your lips and the wind blowing in your hair is one of the best experiences-it just makes you feel so alive and really gets the adrenaline and blood pumping around your body. Plan this walk with a great coffee/pub stop for warming up afterwards.

2.Shopping

This may need to be tailored to who you may be taking with you if they don’t really like shopping, but Pembrokeshire has some great individual towns so different to the ‘usual suspects’ towns, with the standard chain stores.
My favourites are:
Milford Marina & Town
Narberth
Solva
St Davids
And, that’s not to say the other towns aren’t great, as they are-but these are my first choices!
I’ve chosen these for their diverse offerings, ease of ‘running in & out of’ to avoid the weather and the great coffee stops and eateries you can avail yourself of to make it a great day out.

3.Theatre

In Milford Haven we have Pembrokeshire’s only 3D cinema and a working theatre company, there are quite often matinees of performances on and at Café Torch you can get a really great meal. In fact, you can eat here without going to the theatre, so this should be a ‘must do’ on your list.
There are also theatres in Fishguard, Haverfordwest and Cardigan

4.Castles

Several of Pembrokeshire’s Castles now have undercover areas, so you can explore without going into the elements and if you do want to get from one area to another, then you can make a quick run for it!
My favourites here:
Pembroke
Carew
Haverfordwest

5.Churches

Many churches in Pembrokeshire have an open door policy and whether you are religious or not, these are great places for art, architecture and history. There are some fascinating stories waiting to be discovered.

 

 

St Katharines @ Milford Haven, has Lord Nelson’s personal bible. Lord Nelson was a friend to Milford Haven when the town was being ‘created’ and there are many links between Nelson & Milford Haven when you look around
St Davids Cathedral in St Davids-do take the guided tour here and soak up the stories of the Tudors and visit Jasper Tudor’s Tomb, and see the seat that The Queen occupies when she visits, to name just two.

 

 

 

 

Llangwm Church-St Jerome’s
Here you will find the Talking Tapestry detailing the history of the area and the Flemish Immigrants-you can download an app to tell you all about it

6. Mills

There are 2 woollen mills-one at Solva and one near Mathry-Tregwynt Wollen Mill, which is a working water mill and over 100 years old. They are both different and both well worth a visit. Both have great shops and cafes so you can make a real day of it.
There is a working flour mill at St Dogmaels near Cradigan. If you can-plan to go here on a Tuesday as this is St Dogmaels Market day also and you will catch some fabulous artisan food producers here on the same day. At the mill you can see the grain ground into flour and get a real sense of how your food should be. They also offer biodynamic grain too, which is becoming very popular these days. Much better for you to have bread made from flour from the whole grain and to see it in action is amazing.

7.Get active

There are a number of places you can go to get away from the weather and ‘do’ something
There are leisure centres, council and privately owned dotted around Pembrokeshire, and although you may not be able to use the gym unless you can fit in an induction session, you can go swimming or enjoy some group classes such as yoga & pilates

8.Paint your own ceramics

We have a few of these cafes in Pembrokeshire, where you can make and paint your own ceramics- a plate or a cup for instance. A great way to while away a few hours in meditative bliss (or turmoil, in my case, as I’m not very artistic!)

9.Workshops

You can find various workshops for many different arts & crafts and quite often they can accommodate a late admission due to the weather. Do you fancy making yourself a cushion? Then try My Little Treasures on Milford Marina, or creating some hand made cards? Then contact Cheryl at In House Crafts, again on Milford Marina….to name just two!

10. Stay in

Want to just stay out of the weather completely, then why not just get yourself a great book from the lending library of the place you are staying in, curl up on the sofa in the lounge, maybe put some background music on, if you like. Grab yourself a lovely hot drink and cuddle up and enjoy just spending a few hours ‘just being’. If you fancy drawing, grab a drawing pad and some watercolour pencils and let your imagination take you, or pick up a mandala print just ready for colouring in. Research has shown that colouring in is very effective for all ages to combat stress, so give yourself a rest and pick up a colouring pencil. What a great activity to do on poor weather days in Pembrokeshire.

Alternatively, pick yourself up a pampering kit (we sell these on site, if you’re staying here with us) and go give yourself a facemask and fell like you’ve taken 10 years of yourself with 20 minutes of relaxing. You could always book yourself a massage too!

Sue from Cardiff recently said…. ‘we just loved staying in with a bottle of wine and watching some great films’

This is by no means a definitive list, but I think there’s enough ideas there to keep you busy if the weather turns poor.

If you’d like help creating a bespoke holiday pan for yourself and your party then email me at  Info@fieldslodge.co.uk and I’ll be happy to help.

To get yourself my useful Planning Tool for your stay, then click here.

It’s not just for working out what to do on poor weather days in Pembrokeshire!

Martin from Switzerland …’this is a real home away from home’

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