Things of Interest
Below is a piece on Pwllcrochan which was part of article written by David Haynes and published by Talking Local History Magazine
“Another year we took a cottage at Pwllcrochan on the Pembrokeshire stands by an artificial pool some 75 metres by 60 metres, which had been constructed between the cottage and the cliffs. Both the name and the pool puzzled me. The name is derived from ‘pwll’, meaning a pool or a pit, and ‘crochan’, meaning a pot or cauldron. The place-name seems to predate the construction of the pool and perhaps refers to the ‘cauldron-like’ pool in the bay below the nearby cliffs. The pool could not have been a reservoir. It is unlikely that it was a mill pool, although not impossible even so close to the coast. Could it have been a fish pool? I spent a day at the record office in Haverfordwest Castle, searching through sources as varied as the-tithe map (no apportionment!), ordnance survey maps, sets of sale particulars, the Llanwda Women’s Institute 1965 scrapbook, and an unpublished thesis. Between them these seemed to confirm that the cottage was built in the period 1868-1912 and the pool constructed after 1912. As to its function, I drew a blank. The next move, had I had the time, would have been to seek out some of the older inhabitants of the area who, no doubt, could have answered my question immediately. Now, there’s a moral. ”
For information the lake was an irrigation pond for potatoes, when potato growing was a massive business in Pembrokeshire. This would have been included in Mr Haynes article as he said, had he had the time to talk to the older inhabitants.
Have a look at this website for local beaches https://blueseasurf.co.uk/pwllcrochan.html
have a look at Rob Melen playing beautiful classical guitar outside the cottage 2015 https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=e3VP-I-5XTE
The nearest food pub is The Farmers in Mathry
The Sloop Porthgain (towards St David’s) is definitely worth a visit. It’s in a lovely setting and they do good food reasonably priced and they have free wifi!
Bessie’s (The Duffryn Pontfaen – Gwaun Valley) is an experience you shouldn’t miss.
Go to The Fairy Café at Llanwnda, next to the church, it’s very close and really good
Preseli Venture are about 2 miles away and they do half day and day courses in Coastering and kayaking (www.preseliventure.co.uk, 01348 837709}, I’ve never been, but it sounds fun.
Thousand Island Expeditions, (www.thousandislands.co.uk), are worth a look, they do lots of different trips from St Justians (near St Davids )included to Ramsey Island and Skomer
The Big Blue Experience www.bigblueexperience.co.uk offer surfing and kiteboarding courses at Newgale (12 miles away)
Below is picture of Mr John Green’s grandparents on holiday at Pwllcrochan in 1933. On the back of the photograph his grandmother has written:
“Pwllcrochon Nr. St Nicholas, Pemb. Crude but Clean. Needs fine weather to enjoy. Quite close to sea”
