Got it!!!!

...and Steve spake unto the tribes of Usenet, saying...

Significantly, the only people who actually eat there (in Solva, that is) are tourists and visitors. A price/quality thing, so I'm told. Rising Sun (Pelcomb) for steak, and Keeston Kitchen (Keeston) for posh. Full of locals, deservedly so.

So your dad's Fred Flintstone then is he?

On or around Mon, 12 Dec 2005 19:08:24 -0000, "Richard Brookman" enlightened us thusly:

can't remember if I've asked you this... (must be gettin' old)

When I was at school (quite a while ago) there wer rumours of a bit of extant broad gauge railway somewhere far down in pembroke.

Any ideas?

Richard Brookman wrote: > Rising Sun

Two we've not tried - though we've passed them often enough, thanks for the recommendation. That new place in St Davids was very good - the Italian one, "The Bench".

Steve

What, actually with track ? Like richard said, the stuff he mentioned is pretty interesting, given the period, it would have to have been for Brunel's broad gauge.

Steve

On or around Mon, 12 Dec 2005 22:35:17 +0000, Steve enlightened us thusly:

that was the rumour. It was something that was built and sidelined so to speak. Could well be the thing Richard is talking about, but I don't know.

This was something our history teacher told us, ISTR.

Sounds like we should have a proper expedition to find out then. See you in the summer.

Steve

Is "The Bench" that one on the rhs as you go down the main street where they serve ice-cream through a hatch in the wall? If so they take about three weeks to get a pizza order together... We were NOT impressed, but maybe they've got themselves sorted out since then. With respect to the Pharmacy in Solva I have fond memories of a really nice although rather expensive lobster in there... Hmm, what to reminis about next, 'The Grove', 'The Farmers' or even 'The Sloop'... ;o) M.

Sounds interesting. The next time I'm down there I'll ask some questions. The people I am working with have had at least a couple of generations of the family living in that immediate area so maybe they'll know the location of any ruins / track.

M.

EMB muttered summat about:

ok smart arse, flawless :o)

That's the one. Excellent ice cream and not over priced. When did you visit? We were there in high season and service was good even though the place was heaving and I would guess it was barely organised chaos behind the scenes. We could see the tiny but incredibly active kitchen from our table.

The Grove changed ownership a year or so ago - it is now owned by the couple that used to run 'The Ship' in Solva. Now they did serve us the wrong meal when we last ate in the Grove and that was very slow service.

In the summer at least The Farmers has a decent guest beer which makes a nice change from the usual choice between Bass or Worthies.

For food there's also Cwtch (sp?) on the LHS as you go down the main street.

Not been to the Sloop - is that the one at Porthgain?

Have you tried the Nest in Little Haven? Excellent fresh fish menu, but be warned it doesn't (or didn't) take plastic.

Never, never eat at the chinese restaurant near the shoppers' car park in Haverfordwest. I'd rather not remember.

Lizzy

I'll have my 110 Defender (and caravan!) in Pembrokeshire in June/July next year at Druidston - do I get offered a cuppa?

Cheers

Peter

In article , puffernutter writes

Not Granny's Cottage perchance?

Regards,

Simonm.

No, Bumpy Lane Organics - they have a CL

Cheers

Peter

We were there in late summer, August / September, so probably they were a little stretched. However, we've been back since for ice-cream and gave up waiting at the window for someone to come and serve us. We'll probably end up trying it again in the future as there are a limited number of places in St Davids to get 'fast' carry out food after a days diving.

Interesting. I saw there had been some external changes and guessed there might have been a change of ownership but haven't been in since. All the businesses in Pembrokeshire seem to be passed around between close neighbours...

Yes, that's the one at Porthgain. Very nice pub but unfortunately I'm always driving when I go there. I'll have to rent a cottage or take a tent some time!

No, haven't tried the Nest, can't even place where it is exactly. The loss of the Swan was sad in that village - met Margie Clark in there when she was doing that sex series on TV a few years ago. Problem is that all the pubs in that village are owned by the same company and when they closed the Swan they didn't want anyone else buying it and opening it in competition. Bummer.

OK, I won't ask, but I will try and remember!

Cheers,

M.

Many of them are related recursively IMHO, which would also explain a lot. Business in Pembs. really ought to discover "customer service" and "value for money". We have had more mediocre meals and/or service there than anywhere in the world - like the fly infested Italian in Wolfscastle or the Chinese in Haverford- the meal from hell.

Steve

...and McBad spake unto the tribes of Usenet, saying...

I can tell you what I know, that's all! Apparently, Brunel wanted to build a terminus for his new railway linking London with a suitable port for the Atlantic and on to America. His first choice was Abermawr (a tiny village on the West Wales coast). He got as far as building many of the buildings, platforms etc before changing his mind and routing the line of the railway to Neyland on the Milford Haven waterway. (Even that one never took off, but that's another story.)

I haven't been there for a while, but as I remember it you park the car on a bend in the road and climb over a fence into a field. You walk perhaps half a mile across the field and then you start to enter a wooded valley. The valley drops down perhaps another half mile before reaching the sea with a small beach and a huge shingle bank. The woods in the valley are quite dense, but as you walk through you begin to see straight lines where there shouldn't be any, and odd shadows that don't belong, and if you look hard, there are the foundations of buildings and a couple of platforms. The last time I was there (7-8 years ago) we were headed for the beach with the kids, so I didn't explore further, but I imagine with a decent pair of boots you could explore all over the area and find some pretty interesting stuff. That's assuming it hasn't been discovered by the Heritage Industry and turned into an interactive Visitor Center (tm) with plastic dinosaurs and a Macdonalds. I doubt it. As far as I remember, there was no track anywhere.

Next free weekend (ie when the S2a is through its MoT and back in service) I will whizz down and have another look. This thread has rekindled my interest. Pembrokeshire does have lots of History.

...and Steve spake unto the tribes of Usenet, saying...

Would that be The Wolfe? If so, you must have had really bad luck, as that was our destination of choice when we had something to celebrate. Fab food, great service. The owner, Gianni di Lorenzo, is a friend but that wasn't why we kept going back. Gianni sold the Wolfe and bought - er - The Bench in St Davids. He was a bit overtaken by his own success there, by his own admission, so perhaps by now things have settled down. He's usually 100% on customer service. The Wolfe's reputation has vanished since he left - perhaps you we there under the new management?

Chinese in H/W - never risked it.

...and puffernutter spake unto the tribes of Usenet, saying...

Sure you do - you have a Land Rover, don't you? Ping me nearer the time and I'll mail you my number.