Every year during the colder months since I was 37 weeks pregnant with my now 3yr old we have visited Tenby for a weekend break, just to get away from the city and enjoy what has got to be one of the best coastlines in the UK. The pretty pastel houses that line the harbour and overlook the beaches never fail to make me feel joyful not matter how wintery it may feel. West Wales in general just seems to have this element of slowness to it, it seems less rushed and I find it's a great place to just recalibrate and enjoy some quality time with the boys.
We have been lucky that each time we have gone the sun has always shined and even though the temperatures are low at this time of the year seeing the sunshine is always an added bonus and meant two full days outdoors, on the beach, climbing rocks, eating good food and even though its only around two hours from Cardiff it really feels much further away.
We arrived just in time to catch the sunset from the beach and take a night time walk through the town before getting something to eat and heading to bed especially as we knew we would have an action packed day the next morning. The next day after breakfast we decided to head out first thing to make the most of it.
There are plenty of cute coffeeshops and places to eat in Tenby, we stopped off at Loafley, a bakery which sells fantastic sourdough and we stocked up before heading down to the beach. After exploring some of the cave inlets we decided to climb the stairs up to the top of Castle hill which overlooks St Catherine's Fort and also has some of ruins of Tenby Castle, you get some fantastic views from the top plus its an easy walk for young kids.
What we also love about West Wales is that there is always something new to explore as it's an area thats rich in history and culture. We have checked quite a few castles of the list but not Kidwelly Castle which we wanted to make sure we stopped by on our way home. Both of my boys love knights and castles, especially my youngest who can often be seen wearing his knights suit around the house.
We have visited many castles in Wales over the years, some have just been the remains and ruins of great castles others have been restored or well kept and nearly complete, each time you never really know what to expect so we were presently surprise to see how big Kidwelly Castle was and how much there was to see.
From dungeons to high towers Kidwelly has it all although do keep in mind that one of the towers is very steep and all you really have to hold onto is rope and very narrow stairs but saying that there is plenty for kids to see and standing among such large tower ruins you really get an idea of the grand scale of this castle. One of the rooms has a money pit which you can thrown coins into, another has some armoury for kids to get up close too. I would recommend you wear sturdy shoes if you visit Kidwelly as if the stairs get wet it can be slippery and it's pretty rugged as castles go.
You could easily spend a few hours here especially on a warm day as the castles is set in a beautiful green area near a river with some walks so you could make a day of it. There is also a small gift shop just next to the castle and while we only drive through Kidwelly it looked a very sweet town and somewhere we will come back to explore again at a later date. As always West Wales was a joyful two days and the perfect place for a staycation no mater what time of the year.
