Would you choose Encounter Walking Holidays for future holidays? Yes

Would you recommend Encounter Walking Holidays to others? Yes

Would you choose Encounter Walking Holidays for future holidays? Yes

Would you recommend Encounter Walking Holidays to others? Yes

Would you choose Encounter Walking Holidays for future holidays? Yes

Would you recommend Encounter Walking Holidays to others? Yes

Dear Damon!

Thank you again for planning our holidays to all of you. It was again a great experience and we really enjoyed it. The scenery is impressive. we didn't expect it. The B&Bs were good, somewhat special in Marloes. But okay(old-fashioned!) and we loved it. The B&B in Broad Haven was very good with a nice view  to the sea. The Walking tour was okay, even if a bit between Broad Haven and Solva was not so easy. Luggage Transfer worked well.

All in all we were very pleased! Thank you so much, also for the additional material, which was helpful..

Best wishes,

Angelika

?

Would you choose Encounter Walking Holidays for future holidays? Yes

Would you recommend Encounter Walking Holidays to others? Yes

Would you choose Encounter Walking Holidays for future holidays? Yes

Would you recommend Encounter Walking Holidays to others? Yes

Would you choose Encounter Walking Holidays for future holidays? Yes

Would you recommend Encounter Walking Holidays to others? Yes

Thank you and the walk was amazing!  The scenery is stunning and the walk was challenging and very very fun!  And everything went so smoothly....... Wales is certainly a hidden jewel.... thank you for your coordination.  I know you will send us a survey for us to complete too...

Our route was from Milford Haven to St. Dogmaels at the end of September/Beginning of October. This is my first visit to Wales and I found the scenery of the country to be stunning, the people so warm and welcoming, and unbelievably we had amazing weather for ten days.

First the trip was impeccably organized.  We carried the maps, detailed itinerary and guide book with us daily and found all three informative and for us, and necessary.  My friend and I both like to look at maps and know where we are and so appreciated the materials.  We also wanted to make sure we saw the highlights so having the materials was helpful.   We also followed the advice of making reservations where noted which proved to be important.  Everyone we worked with at Encounter Walking was extremely helpful and responsive.  You asked about our date choice and warned us about the weather and lack of some transport services which was appreciated.  Lucky for us the weather was fantastic and we enjoyed having the path mainly to ourselves... The luggage transfer worked without any issues... and our only comment was we overpacked and would lighten our load the next time.  We took a rest day in St. Davids based on your recommendation and it was well needed and enjoyed... we ended up attending an evening Songs and lessons service at the Cathedral that evening, which was beautiful and so enjoyable in the stunning Cathedral.  HIghly recommend doing it... We also always did the suggested add-ons/detours and appreciated these options. Sometimes we both did them or just one of us but it gave us exacting instructions.

A shout out to the owner of the Hampton House B&B... my friend’s feet needed a rest and as we were off season there were not taxis available.  I hiked the entire route but the B&B owner drove my friend up to the hostel on the coast... cutting her walking time in half.  This was incredibly generous. 

Highlights of the trip included:

Obviously the seals and seal pups.... we loved watching them in the coves, one afternoon we encountered a mom teaching her pup how to swim.

The scenery became more dramatic and “untamed” each day as we went farther from Milford Haven.  We even appreciated the industrial look of Milford Haven as the refineries are a part of the economy of Wales. We also liked the direction we were walking as each day seemed to get progressively harder.  We felt prepared for it each day and a walk of 8 to 10 miles became easy!

Some of the hidden gems we ate at... Obviously the Griffin Inn was incredible... we followed your recommendation for reservations and were so glad that we did.. The Clock House bed and breakfast in Marloes had the best breakfast and coffee!  Also they packed a great lunch...... This was one of our favorite accommodations.   We also enjoyed the sunset bed and breakfast in Broad Haven - as we each had our own spacious room and the accommodation was lovely...  In Solva in the harbor is a great coffee shop/cafe called Thirty Five.  We did not get lunch from our accommodation but rather from this shop before heading out to walk.  They opened at 8am and we were there waiting at the door.  Highly recommend their lunch to go...  In Goodwick we recommend the Rose and Crown for dinner... modern version of a pub, excellent food! 

Fantastic last accommodation the Bethsaida B&B... the owner was great and it was such an unique lodging..... we were the only guests and she went out of her way to make sure we had everything we needed and again, this was also a great breakfast.  A great place to finish at! 

We can not thank you enough for this amazing trip..... your attention to detail and knowledge of the area is to be highly commended.  I am from the United States and my girlfriend from London...... and we both would highly recommend your company to walkers.. All of our questions and concerns were answered prior to departing and changes we asked for our itinerary were made where possible.  As my first walking tour vacation I am excited and look forward to doing another one!   THank you again....

Everything went ok from booking till the walk itself: flexible booking, good accomodations, good information on the walk.

Good walk only spoiled by heavy mist on days 4 and 5. The organisation, information and guidance were good. The walking is not hard; the occasional sharp uphill stretch got the pulse going. All the accommodation was good or better. We ate well everywhere except in Marloes where the Lobster Pot Inn provided a poor meal in dirty surroundings. In contrast, the Griffin Inn at Dale, the Cambrian Inn at Solva, and Cwtch at St Davids were very good.

Dear staff at Encounter Walking,

First off: we (mother mid-sixties and daughter mid-twenties) loved the trip and everything went well. The B&Bs and hotels were all very good. Luggage transfer went without a hitch. Finding the way was no problem with the materials you supplied (for one slight exception see below). All that plus the fact that you were always very responsive and have an informative website means that we will use Encounter Walking again for our next walking trip in the UK.

High points of the walk on this gorgeous trail: - Lindsway Bay near St. Ishmael's, a beautiful sandy cove all to ourselves - From Dale to Marloes Sands across the neck of the Dale peninsula - From St Justinian to White Sands Bay - Strumblehead area - A lovely forested footpath we discovered between the road to Moylgrove and the Pwll y Wrach caves on the Coast Path. The driver of the Poppit Rocket coast bus knew what we meant and dropped us at exactly the right place. - Seeing Welsh mountain ponies on the trail

High points of food and accommodation: - it was great that some of the B&Bs had reserved us tables at local pubs, which were often quite full - our favorite B&Bs were Cranog in Trefin and Fern Villa in Goodwick - best breakfast at Ramsey House in St Davids - best food was at the Rose and Crown in Goodwick, the Golden Lion Inn in Newport, and the Griffin Inn in Dale - there were vegetarian options everywhere, sometimes also vegan options

Problems (not many!): - The weather was more Mediterranean than Welsh this July. That in itself was of course wonderful, but it was very hot and mostly no shade, so we slightly regretted having chosen the "challenging" version of the walk, meaning long hot walks every day and no time to stop at the wonderful coves and beaches. We ended up using the various bus services to shorten some of the days, and that worked out fine. It was fun taking the Celtic Coaster, Strumble Shuttle, and Poppit Rocket! Anyone considering using these services should pick up the handy Pembrokeshire Coastal Bus Services timetable available at many B&Bs and do some planning, as the buses don't run very often. The B&B hosts were also a good source of information on the buses. - The tides were against us leaving Milford Haven, meaning we had to walk around the Sandy Haven estuary, which was very unpleasant. Mostly on the road, with a fair amount of traffic. We should have taken your advice and used a taxi to get around it. To make matters worse, we got lost trying to follow what looked like a footpath outside of Herbrandston and spent about an hour stumbling around in brambles trying to get back to the road. The signage in Herbrandston was sub-par, we thought.

We highly recommend the trail and the organization through Encounter Walking.

We had booked a seven-day walk, everything was organised perfectly by encounterwalking, from our first tentative contact we received very helpful information. All our questions were promptly answered, useful suggestions were made and the price was better than expected for such a high-quality service.

Everything worked without any problems during our trip, the accomodation was always good or better, luggage transport excellent. We never had any problems finding our way because of the very good map and guide book that were provided and included in the price. The weather was very good, only 40 minutes of rain (thank you for that, encounterwalking !!), we enjoyed our walk very much. Although there were really few tourists the bus service was very helpful to shorten the daily distance for tired walkers.

Thank you very much again for the very good organisation of our trip, we have already recommended you to friends and colleagues. Regards Barbara, Christa and Susann

Due to ill health, we were unable to do the first day's walk from Milford Haven to Dale, so started on Monday 14 th from Dale, but in hindsite, I think we made the right decision, as we really enjoyed the additional walking around St Davids.

Dale was charming and the food at the Griffin was really excellent - highly recommended. The walk round to Marloes was very pleasant and the accomodation (The Clock House) was adequate - we had a minute room with only 1 plug to run the kettle, hairdrier and recharge cameras and cell phones! The one and only pub served reasonable food! We spent 2 nights at Marloes. Once again, the walking was excellent. They did provide us with a lunch pack.

From Marloes we walked to Little Haven - a really charming village. Accomodation was good, and the breakfast the next morning was amazing. Ken and Rose were excellent hosts. We ate at St Brides Inn, which was humming, and we nearly didn't get in! Worth booking! Collected lunch at the shop at Broadhaven.

The walk from Little Haven to Solva went smoothly, and the boring Newgale section was eventually completed! The walk although long, was not too strenuous, and the route was charming. Many beautiful flowers out, accompanied by amazing scenery made the longer walk pass quickly. There was an amazing bluebell meadow just before we went into Solva. Our room at the Cambrian was lovely - good amenities and food at the Inn. We had a non- walking free day there, which we spent very happily exploring the charming village. There was a delightful little forest walk next to the Inn, and the bluebell display there was the best we have ever seen! We enjoyed a great crab sandwich at The Old Pharmacy Tearoom, and they very kindly agreed to open early the next day for us to collect our lunch sandwich for the day's walking. We really enjoyed our 2 days in Solva.

From Solva we had such a good day's walking that we somehow by-passed the turn-off to St Nons! A fellow walker suggested we walk on to St Justinians and catch the bus from there into St Davids, which we did, and thoroughly enjoyed the longer route into St Davids. We spent 3 nights in St Davids, at the Oasis B&B, which we can highly recommend, but they are not interested in overnight stays.

We caught the bus to Whitesands Bay, walked to St Davids Head and back to St Justinians to do a boat trip around Ramsey Island. The boat trip was really worthwhile doing, we did it with Falcon Boats, met the owner Ffion Rees, who has written a very informative little book called Ramsey Island and Beyond. The route was very well signposted all the way, and how we missed St Nons is still a mystery to us!

Sadly, all good things come to an end, and whether my account above helps you in any way with regard to advice/information for other travellers will be for you to decide! In closing, we must sincerely thank Damon and Encounter Walking for the excellent service we have received. Your very detailed daily schedule was great, and the information supplied was all that we needed and very helpful. Our thanks to the team for all the organisation - everything ran smoothly, and no glitches, and our cases did find us in St Davids!

Thanks too to Walkalong Luggage Transfers for their services. We have highly recommended Encounter Walking to our fellow walkers here. We were indeed very fortunate to have had marvellous weather, all the wet gear remained untouched! We couldn't have been more blessed! And to be able to see the scenery in sunshine makes such a difference!

Our sincere thanks again for enabling us to have a wonderful week's holiday walking a very small part of the Pembrokeshire Coast Path... so very different to our walking here!

With very best wishes Ann and Jenny

Four of us walked the second half of the PCP heading south from Broad Haven to Amroth. We have used various companies over the years and were beginning to get slightly frustrated at the casual attitude and lack of personal service that some of them had…… and then we found Encounters …..Amazing!! Nothing was too much trouble and not a problem that we were doing it from North to South which isn't the norm. (One company even suggested that we should pay more if doing it that way??!)

Our accommodation was excellent, Taxis were well informed and prompt, baggage transfer was faultless and tricky days that involved estuary crossings and firing ranges were spot on. Obviously Encounters had taken time to research everything and it all went to making a very relaxed holiday, we seriously didn't have to think about a thing other enjoy the wonderful home cooked breakfasts and set off on our days walking. We will definitely be using you again and would highly recommend your company.

We are 2 walkers age 70+ from USA and our objective was to see a good stretch of the endless scenic coastline of Pembrokeshire, walking 6-10 miles a day, taking side trips to see other sights, with collateral interests in birds, islands, geology, native plants and historic monuments. When traveling together our rate of speed is about 1 mph because we stop often to look and photograph.

Encounter Walking was a good choice because you planned a custom trip for us and your arrangements worked out very well and the 30+ page instructions were excellent.

Halfway through the trip my wife Jan injured her knee with a false step on Skomer island, after which her mobility was limited; she had to bus or taxi to the next evening destination and we lost a couple of days' walks getting her there and also getting medical attention ( A & E in Haverfordwest by taxi from St. Davids.) We found hosts at some B&Bs to be very helpful and are grateful that these proprietors are most willing and able to go out of their way to help their guests. This kind of service is exceptional and beyond expectations at the average hotel or vacation stay.

The bus infrastructure along the route is also just great and really helped out with our special mobility issue. The Celtic Coaster around St. Davids meant that Jan could rendezvous with me for an afternoon lunch after I walked a stretch of the path, and it makes it possible for all walkers to walk a section of the peninsula of any length and return easily to the city.

We're a little naive about cell phones and were surprised how cheap a phone plus 100 minutes are in Europe. We finally bought one at Tesco in Fishguard Dock and it was valuable later on in making arrangements for Jan; next time we'll buy two to keep in communication. It might be useful for North Americans if the notes tell where phones can be purchased; we were surprised to find them in a grocery.

Highlights of the trip for us include: + The Stacks, the Green Bridge, and their guillemot rookeries. It wasn't made quite clear to us that the MoD is generally open on the weekends, so we were unsure until the last minute whether this section would be open on the Saturday we planned to walk it. + Finding a peregrine falcon nest with chicks on the cliffs south of Angle. + Skomer Island and its puffins. Requires an hour's early morning queue; well worth the detour even for Path geeks; anyone is charmed & changed by seeing these creatures close up. + Weather extremes: we had gorgeous sun up to St Davids, then cool gray weather, and finally two days of wind and spray around Strumble Head; then sunny days to go home.

I really enjoyed the stormy weather days, especially after having done it! + With Jan's knee problem: there was almost always a cozy pub just a short walk from our B&B; that's just the structure of a Welsh village that you don't find elsewhere. + Our planned extra days in St. Davids worked out well with Jan's knee issue; we were able to get medical consultation without losing days in our schedule, and we had time to settle in to see the city, the cathedral and Oriel y Parc, plus do two stretches of the path around the peninsula.

We would do a trip of this kind again, leg issues permitting, and would visit Wales again; it's a great destination.

Addendum

I’ve written notes about our walk on the website, but forgot to add that the luggage transfers were all conducted without a hitch and we got excellent service from SW Luggage Transfers.  I believe that the Fishguard party was even prepared to transport my wife with the bag from Pwll Deri to Fishguard because of her injured knee; we were given a ride by German friends at the hostel so that proved to be unnecessary, but we appreciated the flexibility offered.

Steve M

We had an excellent time. The weather was kind to us and the scenery was beautiful. Just a couple of comments:-

1. The road between Little Haven and Broad Haven is now fully open.

2. New refreshment opportunity at St Justinians.  There is now a kiosk and a picnic table above where the boats go out. Brand new for this season. She is planning to be open every day until the end of October.

Great cakes!

Thanks for arranging us another enjoyable walk

Six of us had a wonderful walk from Dale to St. Davids at the end of May. This was our second walk with Encounter Walking, our first being the Lizard Peninsula four years ago.

As expected, the trip was well planned and executed. We particularly liked the Clock House in Marloes (great host!) and Cambrian Inn in Solva (great food!). We stayed at 2 Brains hotels, the Lord Nelson in Milford Haven and the Grove in St. Davids. The Lord Nelson was ok (food only ok), but the other Brains Hotel in St Davids was a big disappointment. It was dirty and in poor repair. We notified Damon so he would know there were issues. I'm confident he will address the situation before booking anyone else in. Luckily the beds were decent, so we were fine.

We found some very good restaurants in St. Davids (the Farmer's Inn, the Biship Inn, and Saffron), since we were not keen to eat at the accommodation. The walk and countryside were terrific. We were blessed with amazingly good weather, managed to get onto to Skomer Island to see the puffins (thanks to our host at the Clock House), and had a flexible and prompt taxi service (Jones Taxi out of Broad Haven).

All our luggage was delivered without a hitch. The only time we had an issue with the route was when we tried to find the path to walk into St. Davids from St. Justine. We started down a trail marked to St. David's only to get dropped onto the road. The directions said there were walking trails, but did not tell us where or how to find them. It would have been nice to end our trip walking into St. Davids on a trail instead of a fairly busy road.

- EW - Thanks Terry really helpful comments our itinerary sheets do cover the walking routes to St Davids from the coast path (there are also minibuses if anyone does not want to walk and we give that information as well)

Our walk in Wales was excellent.  Weather was better than expected.  I walked in a strong but exhilarating wind on one of the days and a bit of fog near the end of the trip.  Some of my most memorable experiences on the trail were from the days when the weather was less than perfect.   The accommodation and food was generally very good and of a higher standard that we found on the section of the SWCP we walked last year.   The flexibility that Encounter provides in selecting accommodation is one of the best features of booking with Encounter.  My wife found that the bus service in Pembrokeshire was very good. 

Trail was well marked.  The route comments provided by Encounter were very useful and I took most if not all, of the recommended options on the route.

I was going to email you sooner but we're still on vacation.  We had a wonderful trip walking the Pembrokeshire coast path for 5 days.  The inns and hosts were great and our luggage was always delivered on time. You made our vacation stress free.  We had some wind and rain the first two days but after that it was sunny and warm. 

Aloha Damon and everyone, We have completed our Pembrokeshire walk and had a wonderful time.

Your detailed itinerary was great.  In particular, we did the two tidal estuaries at the lowest of tides and in the brightest of sun. In fact we had no rain on our walking and often very nice sun.  Your notes ensured we hit all the key highlights. We especially enjoyed our day walking among the Puffins on Skomer Island.  And also the wonderful flowers along coast. Mahalo for your arrangements. We look forward to working with you on our next long walk. We are now in London and leave Sat to walk day hikes with HF in Slovenia.

Hello - I had a wonderful time in Pembrokeshire.  Even though one day was disgustingly wet (but not cold).

The scenery was magnificent.  I loved the wildflowers especially.  And the castles.  And the villages.  And the sea vistas.  Some stormy seas would have been the icing on the cake.  The sea was dead flat.

My accommodation was wonderful.  Especially at Broad Haven.  Neil and Helen were so good at remembering guests names.  It seemed that every time I sat down I was offered a pot of tea.  And a lovely place to sit too, out the front people watching in the sun.

Everything was clean, well provisioned, and incredibly handy for me.  Great breakfasts meant a great start to the day.  My feiends were starting to accuse me of eating my way around Wales!

Coming into Dale, I had to take the high tide route and I happened upon a garden centre with a cafe.  This was not in the guide notes but was a welcome place to dry out, warm up, and use the facilities, and have a pot of tea and a Welsh cake!

I found the running good.  Distance wise was about right.  I shortened the final day into St Davids because my knee was being a pain.  Or should I say giving me pain!  And as I have a big race in two weeks (gulp) thought I should not push it.  It was great having my bag transported and there was no problems there.  It meant I could run with just the necessities of the day.

I would certainly do similar again.  It was a great way to see the country and to meet people from all countries.  Not just other walkers but people in the villages along the way.

Thank you - Robyn

Our first trip in Wales, definitely not the last. Terrific conditioning for warm-weather hiking. Everything worked, the hotels/inns were well-located, the breakfasts good and filling, the luggage where it was supposed to be, the maps led properly and the picnic lunches purchased from the inns were more than adequate - one lunch would work for two people. The walk was terrific. The least interesting part was from Milford Haven to Sandy Haven Pill. We took a taxi based on recommendation from EncounterWalking and did not regret. Thanks for offering this walk.

We walked in a group of nine and thoroughly enjoyed the experience. The scenery is magnificent. We were very fortunate in having great weather, except for some light showers during our day in Pembroke itself and heavy rain on the day of the walk from Broad Haven to Solva, when we caught the bus part of the way (from Newgale) after getting pretty wet.

The path is generally easy to follow although there are a couple of ambiguous markings when other paths join from the side. The route guidance from Encounter and the guidebooks was helpful, particularly for the first and last 1/4 mile to and from the accommodation each day. There is quite a lot of elevation change on some sections as you descend to beaches and climb back to the headlands and cliff tops. The path itself is generally in good condition but there are some muddy patches and, after the heavy rain, some of the streams were a challenge to ford.

The longer days (12 miles or more) were tiring but we recovered after a good dinner and a night's sleep. The accommodation arrangements worked out despite having to be split up on one night due to the large size of our group, and our luggage always showed up on time and in the right place. The breakfasts at our lodging places were sumptuous and appreciated before each days walk. For lunches we generally bought sandwiches or prepared food and ate by the path at a suitable spot. In a couple of the smaller towns, we ate in the evening at our lodging place but went out to restaurants in the larger places.

Options for buying food and dining were very limited in Dale and Marloes as some places had closed for the season. Generally, the food was good and there were choices for most tastes. We all felt a great sense of accomplishment as we reached the headland just before St Justinians on a perfect afternoon and looked back over the broad sweep of St Brides Bay to the shoreline around which we had walked over the previous three days. It was a great walk.

My wife and I had a wonderful time. The Pembrokeshire Coast Path is scenic and challenging. It is very well laid out and easy to follow once on it. Our weather we nearly perfect with sunshine most days and light winds which kept us from overheating. We heard tails from others about how bad the weather can be but for us it was simple delightful. We took five days to cover the 55 miles, however, we were told that some younger folks have done this same stretch in three days and possibly less. I highly recommend this walk if you like exercise and appreciate the beauty of the Atlantic and its rocky coastline.