One Woman and Her Dog on Holiday
A holiday in Pembrokeshire with a Puppy
by Cathrene
Poppy on the Beach at Marloes
Last year, for mother’s day, I treated my mum to a weekend away. She cashed it in June. Poppy, my Cockapoo puppy of just 6 months, came along for the ride.
This is the first holiday I booked with my dog, and so we started slowly. There are many websites around for dog-friendly holidays, holiday cottages, B&Bs etc. What the accommodations don’t tell you is that there is often a restriction on the Number – or type – of dog(s) that you are permitted to take with you.
There are numerous websites (see links below) which advertise dog-friendly accommodation (please see links below) so that seemed like a good start!
Requirements: Far enough away that it felt like a real holiday – Pembrokeshire was decided upon – , a beach, long enough for a puppy to run for miles (Poppy had never been on a beach before), but both the beach and the location needed to be dog friendly.
I found a charming Guesthouse , in a small village called Marloes called the Foxdale Guest House, which I booked immediately as it ticked all of the boxes and was situated just a few hundred meters from the sea.
Pembrokeshire Coast
I was surprised at the number of activities which the area had to offer, to be honest – many of which (e.g. horse riding, scuba diving, windsurfing and climbing) were not open to puppies, of course, but have been noted for the future!
Marloes offers some spectacular scenery, a wide variety of landscapes, some fantastic walks and plenty of birdlife for those interested. It is a very peaceful and tranquil place – so if you are looking for wild nights out this is not the answer!
Marloes is situated within the Pembrokeshire coast National Park
Beach on the Pembroke Coast near Marloes
But the beach was the main attraction for us and Marloes Sands turned out to be one of the finest and cleanest beaches in the country and because my mother and I enjoy looking at places of geological interest, we spent a lot of time scouring the cliffs and beaches, where the geology is breath-taking and there are many fossils to find, corals brachiopods, trilobites and much more. (In theory – I have to admit that we came home with very little in the way of fossil finds, but this was mainly due to us being entertained to the full by a puppy who was having the time of her life!)
The Guest house was fantastic: clean, roomy, homey and the owners were wonderful with Poppy!
They even had a campsite within their grounds, so Poppy and i will certainly be going there again!
Pembrokeshire is a wonderful county, with so much to offer, and Poppy and I will certainly be returning in the future to explore the area further, and maybe even bring home some fossils!
Dog-Friendly Websites (Accommodation, beaches, parks etc.):
- Dog friendly Britain: http://www.dogfriendlybritain.co.uk
- The woof guide: http://www.thewoofguide.com
- Dog People: http://www.dogpeople.co.uk/
- Dog Invited: http://www.dogsinvited.co.uk/
- K9 Directory: http://www.k9directory.co.uk/
- Paws for a walk: http://www.pawsforawalk.co.uk/
- Maps for Pets: http://www.maps4pets.com/accommodation.asp
- Pets are Welcome: http://www.petsarewelcome.co.uk/Scripts/default.asp
- Pet Friendly Rentals: http://www.petfriendlyrentals.co.uk/
- Pet Friendly Hotels: http://www.petfriendlyhotels.com/
- Dog Friendly: http://www.dogfriendly.co.uk/
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Lovely article & our love to Poppy.
Couldn’t agree more. I had a 4 day break in Saundersfoot, near Tenby, late September.
The beaches were fantastic and most dog friendly. The coastal walks were great. I went with a friend who had an English Pointer and I had my Jack Russell. We stayed at Vine Cottage and they had great facilities for the dogs – enclosed garden and a sausage each morning !!!
Highly recommended.
we loved reading your story. It is true taking your pet on holiday is unheard of for some pet owners, but when you do it for the first you begin to wonder why you had not done it in the past. Watching your dog explore the fine beaches we have in the UK is a wonderful site. what is it about dogs and sand? our dogs get very excited as soon as they see sand, of course running Pet Friendly Rentals means we get the pick of the best holiday accommodation there is in the UK.
Anyway once again great story and may you have many more fantastic holidays with Poppy
Great story!
I have another website to add to your list:
http://www.petsallowed.co.uk
It is fairly new but rapidly growing.