Pembrokeshire - A greener destination

Pembrokeshire, an unspoilt corner of south west Wales, is encouraging visitors to go green on holiday and experience the county’s concepts of ‘slow tourism’ and ‘slow food’ savouring everything it has to offer at a gentler pace. Britain’s smallest city, St Davids is hoping to become the first carbon neutral city in the world and opening this summer will be Bluestone, a 500-acre ‘Welsh village’ within the National Park with sustainable timber lodges plus leisure facilities powered by locally grown biomass crops.

Its accommodation and attractions are also introducing numerous sustainable measures.

Slow tourism suggests that visitors should adopt a more laid back lifestyle while on holiday nurturing the local scenery, its inherent wildlife and the people they meet. The slow food movement’s philosophy is similar and also promotes the greater enjoyment of fresh, locally produced food and drink, so reducing the miles food must travel before reaching the plate.

Pembrokeshire is well qualified to meet the criteria for a greener holiday destination.

Explore on Foot or Hire a Bike
Visitors are encouraged to walk or hire a bike once they reach their hotel or self-catering cottage; numerous scenic waymarked routes are available for all levels from circular strolls for the family to long distance rides for the experienced cyclist such as the Celtic Trail which crosses the county.

A new 9-mile off-road track for cyclists and walkers has just opened between Haverfordwest and Johnston linking up with the existing Brunel Trail that follows an old railway line to the marina in Neyland.

The best way to explore the Pembrokeshire Coast National Park is to walk the 186mile (299km) coastal path which would take around two weeks in total from Amroth to Poppit Sands staying at various B&Bs, inns and guesthouses on the way. Greenways offer self-guided walking and cycling holidays with transfer to and from a train station, accommodation, bike hire, route maps and luggage transfer (greenwaysholidays.com).

Mainline train services split into two lines once in Pembrokeshire taking passengers to some of the key holiday areas including the coastal resort of Tenby in the south and Fishguard to the north; while and on arrival there is a good choice of coastal bus services specifically designed for coast path walkers.

St Davids Eco-City
Britain’s smallest city, St Davids which has a population of around two-thousand, is hoping to become the first carbon neutral city in the world (eco-city.co.uk). Examples of renewable energy technology and biodiversity can be seen on the eco- trail around the city.

St Davids is also home to Wales’ first organic hotel which occupies a converted windmill close to the beach. Just about everything on offer in the relaxing TYF Eco Hotel is organic including the food, wine, bedding, towels, staff uniforms and cleaning products (tyf.com). The hotel is also a base for the many adventure activity days, short breaks and specialist courses organised by TYF ranging from adrenalin charged coasteering, rock climbing and surfing to kayaking and mountain biking.

When seeking accommodation its worth looking at places that have a Green Dragon award (greendragonems.com) for their commitment to environmental management such as the Fourcroft Hotel, Tenby; Croft Farm Holiday Cottages, near St Dogmaels and Caerfai Bay Caravan & Tent park, St Davids.

Opening this summer will be Bluestone (bluestonewales.com), a new short-break destination within the heart of the Pembrokeshire National Park with self-catering timber lodges, cottages and studios set around a traditional Welsh village. Facilities at the 500 acre holiday village will include the Blue Lagoon indoor waterpark, sports club, bike hire, crèche, restaurants and a grocery.

Principles of sustainability are central to the Bluestone ethos from powering the site with locally grown biomass crops to environmental policies which will enhance its ecology by increasing species and their habitat. Timber for the lodges has been sourced from sustainable, managed forests in Europe; most have solar panels and the insulation does not emit HFCs or CPCs; local produce will be offered wherever possible and local businesses used to supply services and activities.

Eco-Attractions, Beaches and Events
At Newport in the north of the country is the West Wales Eco Centre (ecocentre.org.uk) which has an information centre open to visitors every weekday. Its remit is to advance public awareness in all aspects of energy conservation and use.

The Heatherton leisure activity park near Tenby has a Green Dragon environmental award as do several of the adventure activity centres while at Castell Henllys, a reconstructed Iron Age hill fort, the visitor centre has a grass roof. Another grass roof can be found on a new gallery at St Davids opening early summer which will interpret the landscape and heritage of Pembrokeshire.

Pembrokeshire is known for the high standards and cleanliness of its many beaches – it currently holds 11 Blue Flag awards, 32 Seaside Awards and 14 Green Coast Awards, the latter is a symbol of environmental excellence. For details visit thegoodbeachguide.com.

The Really Wild Food and Countryside Festival (30 and 31 August 2008) is a down-to-earth celebration of food and crafts that originate from the Welsh countryside and is held annually in St Davids. Those taking part include wild fungi experts, producers of delicacies made with wild ingredients, herbalists and local organic farmers. Celebrity chefs will run demonstrations showing visitors how they can include food from the wild in everyday meals and there will also be a food and drink market where visitors can sample local produce for free (reallywildfestival.co.uk).

Dolphins, Seals and Bird Colonies
Pembrokeshire is one of the prime locations to see wild dolphins, whales and porpoises. During the summer huge super-pods with hundreds, even thousands, of common dolphin have been seen in recent years. The best places to spot them from the shore between April and October are Cemaes Head, Ceibwr Bay, Dinas Head, anywhere with a good view above Fishguard and Strumble Head.

Alternatively dolphins can be seen from wildlife watching boat trips run by members of the Pembrokeshire Marine Code group such as Thousand Islands Expeditions (thousandislands.co.uk) and Voyages of Discovery (ramseyisland.co.uk). Both use high speed RIBs and small traditional boats cruising around the islands of Ramsey, Skomer, Skokholm and beyond following a strict code of conduct to ensure that Pembrokeshire’s wildlife is protected.

Around a third of the world’s population of grey seals also live on the Pembrokeshire coast – the best time to see them is between September and November when they give birth to pups on isolated beaches. Ramsey Island, which boasts the second largest grey seal colony in Britain, is also famed for its wonderful spring flowers.

Visitors can take boat trips to view the outstanding birdlife on the islands; Skomer and Skokholm have the world’s largest colonies of Manx Shearwaters, which can be seen in the spring along with thousands of puffins (both depart by early July). Grassholm is home to one of the largest, 65,000 strong gannet colonies in the North Atlantic which are best viewed in June, July and August.

The recently renovated self-catering farm accommodation (twin and bunk rooms with shared solar showers and living area) is now open on Skomer for those wishing to stay overnight. Bookings through the Welsh Wildlife Trust (welshwildlife.org); day trips are also available between April and October.

In addition to its resident wildlife, Caldey Island, off Tenby, has a small community of monks living in the Cistercian Monastery – visitors can see the 12th century priory, perfume shop, post office/museum and walk to the lighthouse viewpoint.

Nature’s Harvest
Pembrokeshire has an abundance of fresh and varied local produce, all tempting the sophisticated palate with a promise of some of the healthiest and tastiest food and drink available. Look out for the Pembrokeshire Produce Mark at farmers’ markets and other food outlets indicating the produce has been made or grown locally, or in the case of eateries, that the menu features dishes made with local produce.

The impressive range includes award-winning farmhouse cheeses from Pant Mawr; organic Welsh lamb from Rose Park Farm, near Narberth and succulent pork, sausages and bacon from Dolwerdd Farm at Boncath. The county’s many tea shops serve home-made bread, cakes and preserves along with traditional Welsh scones and Bara Brith (fruit loaf)while the Cwm Deri Vineyard at Martletwy offers a delightful range of wines, liqueurs and non-alcoholic drinks.

With such a long coastline and inland waterways, locally caught fish is also a speciality ranging from trout to crab and scallops to seabass. A special festival, Fish Week, is held annually in June (21-29 June 2008) that celebrates everything fishy from cookery to sea shanties and sea shore exploration.

And for food, drink and other items which are not produced locally Milford Haven and Haverfordwest have been designated as fair trade towns signing up to a set of goals to try and help disadvantaged producers from poorer countries worldwide.

More Information:

For more information, visit Visitpembrokeshire.com. For leisure activities and attractions visit Activitypembrokeshire.com.