It’s no secret that we love outdoor adventures and glamping, being at one with nature and leaving the stresses of day to day life behind. Pembrokeshire has been on our UK staycation bucket list for a while after seeing so many beautiful places to visit and outdoor activities to do on Instagram. Earlier this month we were given the opportunity to stay with Wigwam Holidays for a UK glamping holiday review, there are so many fantastic sites on offer across the UK, but we opted for Shellstone glamping in Pembrokeshire.
Shellstone Glamping Site
Wigwam Holidays Shellstone showcases the wild, captivating beauty of Pembrokeshire, with it’s back to nature setting and spectacular coastline to explore, it’s perfect for outdoor adventurers, walkers, climbers, and for family nature breaks.
The Shellstone site is beautifully set in a woodland area, within walking distance to 3 stunning beaches and Pembrokeshire’s coastal paths, there is plenty to fall in love with on a glamping holiday here. The site offers everything you need to switch off, unwind and enjoy a relaxed break in the great outdoors.
The site is relatively small with 6 cabins spread out across the area, with lots of space between them so they feel secluded and private, with lots of greenery and trees. We got lucky and had the cabin facing a super cute pond, which was lovely and relaxing to sit near and watch sunrise in the morning with a coffee, listening to the birds and other wildlife.
Shellstone Cabin Facilities
The cabins are not only beautifully designed, but they are purpose built for back to nature stays; everything blends in well with the area and it feels like you are glamping without the inconvienience of having to walk across site for toilets and showers – each cabin has it’s own on suite bathroom!
The cabin also had a kitchen area with an electric 2 ring hob, microwave, kettle and toaster, cups, plates and cutlery, everything you need for cooking breakfast, lunch and dinner. Dining table for meal times or chilling at. A sofa bed to comfortably sleep one adult or two children and a double bed suitable for two adults. We found four under bed / sofa storage draws, which were amazing for packing all our gear and kit away.
One thing I was concerned about was whether we would be warm enough glamping during early March, but the cabins were fully heated and we actually woke up in the night too hot and had to turn the heater off completely.
Shellstone also offer an accessible / family cabin, with a ramp at the entrance, lower worktop surfaces that pull out for ease of use for wheelchair users, and baby changing facilities. For more information on what facilities are available, there is a full list on Wigwam Holidays website, on the cabin facilities page.
Exploring the nearby coast line…
Pembrokeshire has one of the most beautiful coastlines in the UK, stretching over an impressive 186 miles. We’ve stayed in a few stunning coastal places before, but this has to be my favourite by far; it’s less busy than most and has lots of accessible beaches and walks. We researched the Pembrokeshire Coast Path National Trail as an option for exploring, but decided to drive to the hotspots on our itinerary as we only had one and a half days in the area.
Manorbier beach
As we arrived late in the day on a Friday, we decided to hit the closest beach for sunset, this was called Manorbier beach and it took us just 20 minutes to walk from the Shellstone site to the steps to the beach.
It was really easy to follow, however there is limited phone signal in the area so we did have to start the route to the beach whilst we were connected to the WIFI in the cabin. We arrived just in time to watch the sun go down and see the sky turn orange and pink. We then headed back to the cabin to make dinner and toast some marshmallows on the camp fire.
Elegug Stacks
First on the list for our full day exploring Pembrokeshire was Elegug Stacks, which is a coastal walk with two limestone cliffs in the water, a photographers dream.
We hadn’t realise before visiting, that it was nesting season for the local wildlife, and we got to witness the most magnificent sight, hundreds of birds gathering on the stacks, it was surreal to watch.
We put a story up on Instagram and had lots of replies asking if they were penguins?! After some research online and chatting to the locals we discovered that they are actually Guillemot; which are actually penguin-like in appearance; slim, pointed bill, dark brown head and upperparts, white underparts.
Saint Govan’s Chapel
Next on the days agenda was Saint Govan’s Chapel, a beautiful hidden chapel built into one side of the limestone cliff edge, located at St. Govan’s Head. There is a car park if you drive there, which we did to save time, and it’s around a 15 minute walk to the bottom. We parked up and walked to the left along the coast, which we later realised was the opposite direction, but a happy accident as the views were incredible.
Once we got back on course, we found the steps down to the chapel and explored the beach at the bottom. The chapel was built sometime in the 13th or 14th century, it has two chambers (one front and one back), a small altar inside and a bench, it is said that Govan (a monk who moved into the cave) is buried beneath it.
You can walk through the chapel and head down to the bottom where there are some fun caves to explore, and the most stunning surreal blue water pools, which I would have took a dip in but it was far too cold that day; one to revisit during Summer for sure.
Campfire under the stars
After a full day of exploring and walking along the coastline, we headed to a local pub for Dinner and drinks, we found the Wigwam app super helpful when deciding on places to go and things to do; it has everything you need whilst in the area. Using the app’s map feature, we found a pub close to the cabin so we could walk there and get food.
After that we got a bottle of red wine, started up the camp fire and got out our camping chairs for an evening under the stars, which are absolutely unreal due to no light pollution in the area.
Church Door Cove
On our last day, we checked out early and got some recommendations from the lovely people that run the Shellstone site, we had a few hours to kill before heading home so wanted to make sure we didn’t miss any of the ‘must-see’ places. Church Door Cove seemed like our best option as it was a short detour on route home.
Church Door Cove is one of Pembrokeshire’s hidden gems, a magnificent and secluded rocky cove with a small beach and lots of caves to explore, that are out of sight until you get down the the bottom and walk around the ‘door.’
There is a car park at the top, with a well sign posted walking route that leads you right the top of the steps to the beach. There are a few flights of stairs to the bottom, but nothing strenuous.
It seemed like this was one of the lesser known locations as we didn’t see one person the whole time we were there; it was so peaceful and picturesque, we ended up spending more time than planned as we just didn’t want to leave!
Planning your trip
Overall we rated our trip to Pembrokeshire and our stay at Shellstone, as one of our all time favourite places! We will definitely be planning a trip back there during the Summer as two days / nights wasn’t enough time to see and do everything we had on our list.
We travelled by car as it was easier for us, there were no direct trains from our city and we had our SUP’s and other camera gear etc. If you are travelling by train, Manorbier Train Station is just a 25-minute walk along the quiet lanes and it’s a really enjoyable walk.
If you are thinking about taking a trip to the stunning south-west of Wales, we’ve pinned all the locations on google maps and if you are looking for the best place to stay in the area, either as a couple, family and friends, we highly recommend booking with Wigwam Holidays.
