Well April has been a busy time and not much of it spent in work. I was off at the beginning of April at Bluestone in Pembrokeshire with my friend Fordy and then there is time off for Easter and the Royal Wedding, which I was sick of hearing about from the moment they announced it.
Let me tell you about Bluestone. This wonderful place is located in Pembrokeshire right by Oakwood and Folly Farm. I would say generally it’s a place for families. However, my friend Fordy and I went off peak and stayed in one of their two bedroom cottages. It was lovely modern and fresh, generally it was clean but not really to my standard. There were some cobwebs in some of the corners and lightshades, the kitchen blind had dead flies on it and there were dead flies in the lightshade of the second bedroom. The cottage had all the things we could need and was a lovely place to relax.
We didn’t do much on getting there on Monday, we arrived about 2 if not before, got checked in and headed over for the complimentary tea and coffee at the adventure centre. We eventually found it after walking around for a bit, after refreshments we wandered down to the village part of the complex for a look around and have an advance peek of our cottage as we weren’t allowed to go in until 3:30. We were pleased with the village, an on site bakery, wine shop, grocery store, pub, three restaurants, Spa and the Blue Lagoon.
Tuesday we ventured over the Blue Lagoon for a swim. The weather wasn’t too bad a little bit of misty rain. It was lovely and warm at the pool. We floated down the lazy river which goes outside, there is a little sitting area off the pool with some steps to the side, we peered up at the top of the steps and spied the outside Jacuzzi, we made a dash for it, it was freezing, but the warmth of the Jacuzzi was delightful. There is also an inside Jacuzzi which we spotted and took advantage of and we also went on the water slides. From here we thought we would try out the onsite bakery and have a Panini for lunch with a coffee. What a disappointment, the Panini wasn’t fresh but from a freezer and heated up, it is probably one of the worst I had tasted too, and I right rip off for the price. The coffee was average. We noticed whilst in there that everything else they sold in there came from the freezer as well.
Tuesday evening we thought we would sample curry night at the pub, we headed over (a stones throw from our cottage). We went into the bar area which was really packed with families children everywhere, we asked at the bar if there was another seating area and they pointed out the family room. We thought oh well, went over and it was practically empty, we were so annoyed we didn’t want to be sitting in there with no atmosphere and a walk down the corridor to the bar. Surely the family room should have been used by all the families in the bar area. I disagree with having children in a bar at the best of times, this really infuriated me. We decided to go elsewhere. The main restaurant was a bit pricey so we headed for one of the others; one was shut so we were left with a choice of one. Fordy had the steak which she enjoyed. I opted for a starter for my main, which they doubled up without asking and so was too big for what I wanted, it was also not very warm either. My advice don’t eat out at Bluestone.
The grocery shop at Bluestone is very well stocked and has local fresh meat, fruit and vegetables, I would recommend buying things from here. But do food shopping before you go as most of it is full price and not many offers.
Wednesday to the Spa we went, they had a nice offer on for two to use the facilities so we thought we would take advantage of that. The treatments were expensive and so were lunches so decided to give it a miss. We made full use of the outside Jacuzzi pool with its massaging jets and also the many different steam rooms and saunas. There was a salt room which is good for skin conditions, a brick sauna, marine steam room, herbal steam room, Celtic sauna and ice room. I have to say I loved the Celtic sauna and the ice room. The ice room had a bowl which would fill up on its own from time to time with ice. You would take the ice and wrap it around your legs, apparently good for cellulite. It was lovely and relaxing. There were some bitter old ladies sharing the spa facilities with us, they were very rude and patronising, luckily they didn’t seem to like the steam rooms or saunas very much so we could escape them.
Thursday we escaped the site and headed off into Tenby, the weather was glorious and sunny. After a little wander around we bought a Pasty each from the Pembrokeshire Pasty Company which now also has a shop in Cardiff. We went here on Fordy’s recommendation and I have to say it didn’t disappoint. We took our pasties down to the sea front and ate them in a little park overlooking the sea, it was delightful. I had the Steak and Stilton Pasty which was lovely, luckily the gentleman in the shop advised before hand that there wasn’t as much stilton in as normal as they’re all hand made and the guy who made them this time didn’t put as much in, but it was still delicious and the pastry not too thick.
Friday we were up early to pack and empty the cottage, we had to check out by ten, a little earlier that we would have liked. There are other activities to do at Bluestone as well, there is a bike and buggy hire for getting around the site, there are nature trails and walks, along with things like archery, treasure hunts and bush crafts. So plenty for all. It’s also a wonderful base for exploring the delights of South West Wales, I would recommend it.
Comments