ACTIVITIES ON FOOT FROM THE ANCHORAGE

Having reached The Anchorage it is possible to park cars and never use them again but to walk and paddle within the immediate area where many activities are possible especially for families with young children. Some visitors telephone their groceries order to Tesco and it can be delivered on Saturday mornings. On Saturdays the owner is present gardening and can put the groceries in the fridges. Some of these foot activities are described next.

EXPLORING SANDY HAVEN TIDAL INLET
The house is located only 50m from the high tide mark of the lovely secluded 1.4 mile long tidal creek of Sandy Haven with channels and sand banks that are good for exploring by boat. The inlet is filled with seawater for two hours before and two hours after high tide. With a spring tide there can be 18 feet of water over the crabbing bridge. The beach below the house is an ideal place to launch boats and canoes. However care must be taken if staying on Sandy haven public beach on the opposite side of the tidal creek as the footbridge can be covered by as much as 18 feet of water at high tide.

At low tide Sandy Haven creek is floored with hard sandbanks that make good walking. Less than a mile up the creek (just around the bend) are the remains of the quarantine wreck, a wooden ship used during World War I as a quarantine station for sick soldiers. It is included in a well-known painting by Graham Sutherland. Her timbers stand out of the sand. Other ships timbers line the inlet where old trading schooners were abandoned. A very popular activity for young children at low tide is to catch a bucket full of crabs at the foot bridge across the inlet.

KAYAKING AND DINGHY SAILING. The Anchorage lies inside the 1.4 mile long Sandy Haven Pill or Creek which provides safe boating from half tide in to half tide out. It is possible to ride up the creek with the incoming tide and then drift down on the outgoing tide. In addition, to the immediate west of the creek, are three beaches that can be accessed only by boat so with kayaks for example it is possible to have a beach to oneself at the busiest times of summer. The furthest of these beaches is sand that is covered at high tide and the others are shingle and sand. To the east of Sandy Haven beach is a mile long cliff line leading to Kilroon Bay – seldom visited by cliff path walkers. To paddle along the cliff line at high tide is an interesting experience as birds and flotsam and jetsam can be examined.

THE CRABBING BRIDGE. Only 150 yards from the house there is a footbridge across the stream in Sandy Haven creek. At high tide this footbridge can have 18 feet of water over it. At low tide it is a very popular spot for children catching crabs. A six foot length of string with a stone and piece of bacon tied to the end and a bucket is all that is required. At the end of the day tip the crabs out on the bridge and watch them scurrying home to await another days feasting on bacon.

A BBQ IN THE MONKS GARDEN

VISIT THE TWO LOCAL BEACHES
Sandy Haven beach is interesting but it has a car park and in the summer holidays can become crowded. The owner and his family always preferred Lindsway Bay as there is no car park and far fewer people reach it. The beach is located 1.7 miles along the rather tortuous coast path from The Anchorage. At low tide there is an extensive sand beach with good swimming. If one has young children and a large picnic it is better to drive one mile to the Sports Field of St. Ishmael’s village and follow the asphalt invalids path to the cliff edge. Turn left and go to a memorial seat which overlooks Lindsway Bay and proceed on to a path with concrete steps leading down the steep cliff. In the evening with a tired family, supper at the Brooke Inn at St Ishmaels is recommended.

CLIFF PATH WALKING. The Pembrokeshire Coast Path passes the front gate of The Anchorage and proceeds about 20 yards before turning up a steep path with wooden steps to follow a very scenic coastline with the sea on your left.

PHOTOGRAPHY AND PAINTING. The Pembrokeshire Coast Path provides splendid opportunities for photography, painting and birdwatching. Opposite Skomer Island, seals and pups can usually be seen from the path.

SEA FISHING OFF THE ROCKS AT THE ENTRANCE TO SANDY HAVEN CREEK. In the summer bass fishing is popular, while mullet can be caught in the creek. Cockles and mussels can be gathered along the creek and near its entrance.

CYCLING ALONG THE LANES OF THE DALE PENINSULA AND ON UP THE COAST TO NEWGALE

BEACH COMBING. The west-facing beaches of Pembrokeshire are very interesting as the Gulf Stream or North Atlantic drift carries things right across the Atlantic from the Caribbean and the east coast of the USA. Such objects arriving on Pembrokeshire beaches are festooned with large goose barnacles that soon die and drop off.

COLLECTING AND PAINTING BLEACHED SEA SHELLS

FIND THE BIGGEST LIMPET SHELL ON SANDY HAVEN BEACH. To date the owners world best Sandy Haven limpet shell measures 6.5 by 5.9 cm and is 3.5cm high.

CAMPING AT THE ANCHORAGE. Today this is best carried out in Fort Sandy in the wodland above the house.

MODEL BOAT SAILING AT SANDY HAVEN.