Next week is the Husbear’s birthday, he will be that big number which everyone dreads. As a birthday treat we’re escaping to Bluestone in Pembrokeshire for four nights of rest, relaxation and fresh air. We’re taking the small boy of course, and there’s nothing he likes more than the beach, so Pembrokeshire seems the perfect spot for us all.

We’ve never been to Pembrokeshire before so it’ll be an adventure for us all. I like to do my research before I go anywhere new, find out where the shops are, a few nice places to eat, where the good beaches are and what attractions there are for kids nearby.

I like to have a few ideas of what we’ll do before we actually get there, I find it really helps to take the pressure off. We don’t have a strict itinerary, but it’s helpful to have some fluid plans for both wet and dry (and hopefully sunny) days while we’re in Pembrokeshire. Naturally my first stop was the Visit Wales website which is a pretty solid place to start your information gathering mission if you’re visiting Wales.

Having never visited the area before we were keen to get to grips with what we’ll find when we get there. I was blown away by the pictures of the beaches which looked beautifully sandy, sunny and gorgeous, not to mention perfect for kids. A quick scroll through the kinds of activities available locally shows lots of great outdoor activity suggestions, with a few great wet weather options too.

I think if the sun is shining, or even if it’s not, we’ll make the most of the local beaches and countryside. We holidayed in Devon in February and still spent lots of time wrapped up against the weather, exploring the beaches, so it can’t possibly be any colder or wetter than that!

As well as our car full of “everything you ever need and most of the things you don’t” that we normally take on holiday, we always pack a day bag with a few essentials in it, we can always leave what we don’t need in the car to save us carrying it about. So here’s what will be in our Berghaus bag of Pembrokeshire essentials –

• Sun cream (we are ever hopeful)
• Walking boots
• Swimming gear
• Bucket and spade
• A camera
• A few good books
• A flask of coffee
• A pac-a-mac (you never know)
• A proper map (I don’t trust sat navs)

We can’t wait for our little holiday, I’m really looking forward to exploring a part of the country we’ve never visited and I’m really excited to be spending some lovely quality time with my boys. I’ll be reporting back (naturally) on how we get on in Wales and what we get up to, so watch this space!

PS. If you have any top tips for what we cannot miss in Bluestone, Pembrokeshire they would be very much appreciated!

Note: We were sent a brilliant Berghaus rucksack of goodies by Visit Wales as a thank you for writing this post. All images and opinions are my own.