Tuesday 4 October 2011

Croft Farm and Celtic Cottages in Pembrokeshire, Wales

We've just returned from a great family holiday at Croft Farm and Celtic Cottages in Pembrokeshire, Wales. We had such a good time here that I wanted to write a general blog post about all the fun that we've had, in case it might be helpful to anyone else looking for a farm holiday with little ones. We visited for a week in September/October 2011 with a baby (4 months) and a toddler (2 1/2). See my previous blog posts beginning here for more details about the attractions that we visited locally.

The Cottage

Talar Aur cottage at Croft Farm

We stayed in Talar Aur. It is a lovely cottage, with the unusual feature of having the bedrooms on the ground floor and living areas above. It is beautifully presented and absolutely spotless, with the fully equipped kitchen containing everything that we needed and more. It sleeps six, so we had plenty of space and the little ones could have separate bedrooms. The only additional thing that we would have liked was a hair dryer. We were able to request a travel cot and high chair, and stair gates were available. The cottage has a fully enclosed private garden and first floor balcony with views across to the swimming pool (to check how busy it is) and over the farm.

Most mornings we ordered baked goods from a local baker. If you place your order by 8pm, either by phone or text message, it will be delivered first thing the next morning. We tried many things from the menu and they were all delicious, varying from croissants and cakes to pizza dough.

Outdoor activities on the farm

We made the most use of the outdoor facilities, as we were very lucky with the weather. Every morning we went to feed the animals, and you could return to visit them whenever you wanted. We kept our scraps of food for the pigs, and there was sometimes a bucket of windfall apples to give to them.

There were always plenty of eggs to collect from the chickens which you can take away. The kitchen was well equipped with various cake tins and kitchen scales, so if you are a baker you might like to bring cake making ingredients.

feeding pigs at Croft Farm cottages

There is a large, fenced trampoline, football pitch and childrens' play area (currently being renovated but still usable). There is lots of open space for running about, and of course lots of animals to see.

on the trampoline at Croft Farm Cottages

playing football at Croft Farm Cottages

Indoor activities on the farm

The playbarn is a fantastic indoor space for people of all ages. It is open all the time, great if you have little ones that like to get up early. One end is fenced off for ride-on cars and trucks. There are three little pretend buildings (a cottage, sweet shop and garage), a slide, large sandpit and chalk board. At the other end of the barn is an air hockey table, football table and table tennis table. To one side are the hutches for the rabbits and guinea pigs, which you can go and visit whenever you like. When we visited, one of the rabbits had just had babies, which were so sweet!

playbarn at Croft Farm Cottages

playbarn at Croft Farm Cottages

There is also a second small indoor play area adjacent to the swimming pool. This has some soft play style equipment, a pool table and some Lego.

The swimming pool area is spotless and includes a sauna (which costs £1) and spa pool. It has showers but it was warm enough for us to just wrap in towels and walk back to the cottage. Below is the swimming pool viewed from our balcony.

swimming pool at Croft Farm Cottages

Attractions in the local area that we enjoyed and would recommend

We found plenty to do in the local area. The beaches are fantastic and the scenery is beautiful. As I mentioned though, we were very lucky with the weather, and these are mainly outdoor activities.

Castell Henllys Iron Age Fort
Gwili Steam Railway
Cardigan Island Coastal Park
Cilgerran Castle

Beaches - we visited Poppit Sands, Mwnt and Aberporth - all are within easy driving distance (albeit rather narrow roads) and have plenty of parking (although we did visit out of season). Poppit Sands has a large free car park with easy pushchair access to the beach. Mwnt Beach is accessed via steps down and the car park is owned by the National Trust, so there is a charge for non members.

I've written about the places that we visited in my previous blog posts this week starting here.

We would fully recommend Croft Farm for a family holiday, and would love to return!

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