We left Gower this morning under gathering skies as heralded by the weather forecast.

It should have been fine today and rainy tomorrow, but the bad weather arrived early and so Pembrokeshire was looking damp as we reached Druidston.

Look on the bright side . . . the sooner it arrives, the sooner it passes over and the sooner the weather can have chance to improve.

It was raining as we headed through Haverfordwest and met the coast at Druidston on St Brides Bay.

The Druidston Hotel, The Dru to friends, is a stately old mansion overlooking the bay of the same name.

It has been described as Shabby-Sheik, but I prefer to think of it as staying at the long-time home of a favourite old aunt.

The evening is yet young and we have time to enjoy an walk to appreciate the views Druidston offer.

Here we're looking west to St Davids Head, on the north side of St Brides Bay, viewed over the iconic garden wall of the hotel.

May and the bluebells are out but being further south, they are now past their best.

Looking down on the mansion and walled garden.

The old servants quarters are now available as additional accommodation for guests.

The Pembrokeshire Coast path climbs steeply up from the hotel

and we are soon looking down over geologically-fractured landscape at the sea far below.

Standing where Dougal was standing, one can appreciate the height we've climbed as we look down over the cliff edge.

The coast path heads inland slightly and looking back we catch the last rays of the sun . . . for today at least.

If everything goes okay it will appear somewhere behind us tomorrow.

We circle around and head back down to the hotel for a nightcap.

Time to return to the beach now the weather has improved.

The tide is out so the shingle beach is well above the surf.

Inside the beautiful Knave of the church.	The High Organ and the Choir Stalls.

There's a small museum within the crypt of the church, where old artifacts and this ancient book were on display.

There were also old photos and paintings of the Cathedral . . .	. . . which explained the origins of the present day structure.

Such a large ecclesiastical building would have involved many religious personnel and secular workers who needed accommodation.

Behind the Church is the Bishop's Palace, with the river flowing between them, which would have served this purpose.

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Moving on, Loes and I drove a short distance west to the hamlet of St Justinian's.

The area hosts an old ruined chapel dedicated to the ancient Monk, but is more famous for it's Lifeboat Station.

Here three incarnations of the service are seen, with the old boathouse immediately below which held an early rowing/sailing boat.

The red roofed and elevated building housed the Tyne Class lifeboat I knew from numerous caravan holidays in the village

and the new boat house and launch facility for the latest all-weather Taymar class boat, the Norah Wortley.

The classic view from the cliff path as we walk out towards the headland.

It's May and a classic time for the flowers that adorn the sea cliffs.

From the Ox-eye daisies to the Sea Pinks or Thrift.

The Lifeboat station is sited in the protective waters of Ramsey Sound.

Offshore is the island of the same name and the waters are home to a number of local fishing and pleasure boats.

The white wake is from a fast inflatable offering pleasure trips in the sound and round the local islands.

If you ever get chance, then do book a trip on one of these adrenaline-filled excursions.

A short walk out along the coast path was ejoyed, but it was time to retrace our steps

as I have more delightful places to show my first-time visitor to the area.

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A short distance up the coast is the old industrial port Porthgain

which gave us another chance to sample a short section of the coast path . . .

. . . as we walked out to the white cairn on the headland.

This and another on the opposite cliff, marked the entrance to the once busy harbour that served a massive local stone quarry.

We walked on till we had views of the rugged Pembrokeshire cliffs and the distant Strumble Head.

Time was calling and if we wanted some lunch then we'd better get back to the pub before they called last orders for food.

Here you can see the intricacies of the old harbour and the stone silos that stored the valuable cargo prior to shipment to the rest of Britain.

The pub in question is The Sloop Inn just up from the harbour, dating back to 1743.

It has been the social centre of the village for most of the industrial and now post-industrial time.

It is packed full of memorabilia to do with both the mining and the seafaring history of the area.

I notice they still sell the blue "Sloop Inn" t-shirts. 

I found mine which I bought in the last century, when I returned home after a holiday here. 

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One last stop on our way north up the Cardigan Bay coast.

This is Abercastle a few miles north, where Ann and I had a delightful stay in a holiday cottage.

It is another classic Pembrokeshire harbour protected from the worst of the weather by a deep inlet.

The relatively modern harbour wall was currently being used to store hard core for road works and harbour protection.

The area behind the "pier" is now rather silted up and overgrown, but that is not a problem for the limited commercial fishing today.

They can still land on the beach or the slip-way.

The cottage we stayed in back in 2016 can be seen out on the headland and is still available to let if you wish.

The bay is also famous, or should I say hardly known, for a rather remarkable event some 140 years ago.

It was the landing spot of the first ever trans-Atlantic single-handed sailor

who set out from Newfoundland in 1876 to commemorate the centenary of the founding of America.

Okay, he was aiming for Liverpool, got drawn south of Ireland instead of north, missed Porthgain harbour and ended up her in a rather poor state.

The locals however welcomed him ashore, cared for him and then sent him north for Liverpool

where he was recognised for the true adventurer that he was.

Time to be clocking off the miles to our accommodation tonight, we've still got a way to go,

but the road passes close to Old Fishguard Village so we divert once again.

This is the old town, little changed over the years

whilst its neighbour (upper) Fishguard and Goodwick have grown to include a ferry terminal for the daily service to Ireland.

- - - o o o - - -   It was briefly famous as the mythical village of LLaregyb in the film version (with Anthony Hopkins) of Dylan Thomas Under Milk Wood radio play.     Today a sculpture on the harbour side commemorates the days of the herring fleets that used to sail from the harbour.   The herring are swimming south, but we must make our way north to our next destination near the north Wales town of Dinas Mawddwy.   See you there soon.   - - - o o o - - -