Pembrokeshire/ Ceredigion days out

[chicaguapa]

We're going to be staying in Cardigan at the end of August and I'm compiling a list of places to go.

So far I've got:

Pembroke Castle
Oakwood theme park
Sheepdog place (I can't remember the name)
Pizza Tipi

A boat trip to find dolphins is out of our price range and Folly Farm and Dinosaurland are too young for DC (11 & 8).

Are there any other places you would recommend please?

We're not especially into walking, but DC would like to do some kayaking. And crabbing always goes down well.

Thanks.

Kayaking and a castle at Cilgerran

Manor House Zoo - walking with wallabies and lemurs
www.annaswelshzoo.co.uk/

Iron Age settlement
www.pembrokeshirecoast.org.uk/default.asp?PID=261

My boys (aged 9 and almost 11) love Castell Henllys (which is a reconstructed Iron Age Hill Fort, runs lots of activities during the holidays) and Cilgerran Castle. They are both a lot closer to Cardigan than Pembroke and Oakwood.

The beach at Mwnt is gorgeous and you can climb to the top of the hill and spot dolphins in the bay.

If they like the idea of kayaking what about a coracle lesson? There is a place in Cilgerran that offers this, I think it is called Teifi Coracle Makers.

The Welsh Wildlife Centre is fab and has lots of activities on during the school holidays.

I don't know where you live, but remember that what looks like quite a short distance on a map can take quite a while to travel in mid and west Wales as we don't have motorways or dual carriageways and a lot of roads are quite bendy and have 30 or 40mph speed limits through the villages. Tenby or Pembroke are probably an hour's drive from Cardigan, more if you get stuck behind a tractor

Thank you. I'd spotted the Iron Age place before and wasn't sure if DC would enjoy it there, but if it has been recommended all the better.

The coracles look interesting. DH wants to go canoeing (I think DS is borderline for kayaking) but the place I found was £110 for the family. We have the boat trip up our sleeve now as it looks like a good drizzly day activity.

There does seem to be some closer castles than Pembroke so maybe we'll check one of those out instead. We were in Tenby last year so no need to go back and we want to explore the Cardigan Bay coast this year.

I just can't believe how much there is to do there! We loved it last year and can't wait to go back.

DS2 would quite happily live at Castell Henllys if he could. The activities are fantastically hands on - things like grinding your own flour and then making bread out of it and cooking it on an open fire, building a wall out of sticks and mud, trying to spear a (pretend) wild boar. Seriously boy heaven. If you go on the bank holiday Monday they also burn a wicker man at the end of the day for the corn ripening festival.

When we've been there they have also been running guided tours for the adults at the same time as the kids' activities, so you can leave them and learn something yourself.

And it costs something ridiculously small like £12 to get in (although the activities are a couple of quid extra). Although my DC have been so inspired that they have joined the Young Archaeologist's Club and so now get in free.