we had to get up early to catch the bus to get back to our b&b in Marloes where we’d left the car. but first – a delicious breakfast at our lovely Coach House B&B. eggs benedict with spinach instead of ham. dang, i need to review on trip advisor all the places we stayed on our trip.
we hurried to the bus stop, a couple blocks away. they have five different buses serving almost all the coast path; if it had been rainy or we’d gotten worn out, we could have taken the bus at almost any point along the route. when we got on, it was empty.
the driver was a young woman who was happy that today was her last day of driving. we stopped for some reason at Newgale Beach – did the driver stop to have a smoke? it seems unlikely, but you never know. anyway, i jumped off the bus to take this picture because it was funny to see it from the bus after we’d walked along the beach just a few days before.
we quickly realized that if we’d had to take the bus at any point instead of walking, it would have in no way been anything like the beauty of our walk. yes, the bus was near the coast, but not right there on the coast; we couldn’t see the water a lot of the time, and it was just a completely different experience. we were glad to ride the bus back in order to see the difference.
also funny was how fantastic this driver was, how totally fearless in such a nonchalant way. the roads were so narrow, but she did have the advantage driving a big bus, and at one point we came across a car coming towards us, and the car had to back up. and he did, and he had to back up a whole lot, and it then finally turn into a little dirt road in a field.
we got dropped off back in Marloes, and it was also funny because it was such a short trip. and there was our other nice little B&B, The Clock House, and our friendly and accomodating proprietor, John. I took a photo of this wonderful piece of furniture, i know i wrote about it when we stayed there, it’s some kind of religious thing i know, and it used to belong to John’s aunt and he had to polish it regularly.
we loaded up the car and headed off to Pembroke Dock, where we were going to catch the ferry in the afternoon. luckily, the roads were all relatively wide and manageable and we had no trouble getting to the dock area.
we wondered how much it would cost to park long term – and it was free! not only was it free, but the parking lot was about a block from the port, a very small lot with a few cars in it, some of them which looked like they’d been there a long time, because there were weeds growing up behind them. a very casual thing, and we figured we didn’t have to worry about leaving the car.
there weren’t many people in line to board the ferry, but i think we were at least a few hours early.
we decided to take a walk, and here’s the irish ferry that we’d take. it looks pretty big, doesn’t it?
we found a small museum neaby, called the The Pembroke Dock Heritage Center. Even looking at the website now, i can’t exactly recall what was in it. sailing and flying stuff. The museum only opened in 2014, so maybe there weren’t quite up to speed when we visited. there didn’t seem to be a whole lot there, but there were many things on the walls to read, and i think they were about missions in wars and stuff, and there were some uniforms in cases, and i know that in one section, people were working on restoring…parts? of…something. maybe kevin will remember and write about it.
anyway, i got a little bored, and the funny thing is that this museum was very over-staffed with volunteers, mostly a bunch of old guys who were really anxious to regale me with many very long stories.
we did have a nice tea and a welsh cake, which is kind of like a cookie. In my notes i wrote “they’re good, must get more in wales” but i don’t recall having or even seeing any more of them.
here’s kevin in front of some old boat in the yard of the museum.
we walked around town for a bit, didn’t see anything much of note, but it was a change of pace to stroll around in this little town. we got back to the dock in ample time and set sail, which is always exciting for me.
i took this picture because this place looks like the manmade forts we saw when sailing from southampton over to the Isle of Wight on a previous trip to the UK. they have turned a couple of them into fancy b&bs, but i think this one is just an old fort.
i was really excited to sail past the Dale Peninsula, where we’d hiked on our very first day. we hiked right past those buildings!
it was also a little sad, because i wondered if we’d ever get to see this beautiful part of wales again. the problem is that there are just so many lovely places that we haven’t even seen yet.
taking these photos up on the top of the ship was definitely the most exciting part of our voyage across the sea to Ireland.
ok then,
mrs. may hughes.