Welcome to the Year 6 Pembrokeshire residential blog for 2025!

Day 1 - Monday 14th July 2025

We've arrived!  We made excellent progress reaching Big Pit in time to have lunch.

At this point, we split into groups.  We were able to explore the museum at Big Pit and go into the Big Coal experience which really brought to life the experience of mining life.  We also had a tour of the mines.  From the fate of the pit ponies to the sparks of the wires operating the bells to the experience of putting on a helmet and light, there was a lot to see, experience and learn.

From Big Pit, we made good time and the children were thrilled to arrive at Broad Haven where the weather is sunny with a pleasant breeze.  

The settled into their rooms and then headed to dinner which received good reviews!

In the evening, we enjoyed a visit to the beach to see the sea, enjoy some beach games, do some digging and to enjoy the evening sun.  We had thirty minutes of glorious fun - and five minutes of hectic running back as the rain abruptly swept in! 

The children are now showering and preparing for bed.

 

Day 2 - Tuesday 15th July 2025

The children settled very well last night and were up and ready for breakfast in the morning.  With bacon, eggs, sausages, beans, tomatoes, cereal, toast, pain au chocolat and croissants, there was plenty for everybody's tastes.

Straight after, we picked up our packed lunches and headed to Picton Castle Gardens.  The gardens of this wonderful country house have been maintained beautifully and are filled with magical areas.  We enjoyed finding the trees along the fairy trail, finding the ice house and the ancient oak, meeting the sunflowers and finding out about the animals who visit the pond - apparently it sees quite a lot of swallows hunt for food!  While we were eating, we had a close encounter with another beautiful bird - a robin.  Some groups were also privileged to experience the display of vintage lawnmowers.

The Castle Gardens have sections with some amazing trees that can be climbed and explored and it seemed to the perfect opportunity to perform a song from 'The Jungle Book' in an appropriately arboreal setting.  In the afternoon, we returned to the hostel giving the children an opportunity to get their rooms tidy for a room inspection.  

We headed to the beach for an hour or so before dinner for some very windy games in the sand including a rock-throwing contest, jellyfish spotting and some creative dam-building.  

After dinner, the children had a choice.  Some returned to the beach for more adventures as the sun set; others engaged in board game competitions at the hostel including chess, scrabble and more! 

The children are now settling down for the night after another splendid day!

 

Day 3 - Wednesday 16th July 2025

Today the children split into different groups taking on different activities in rotation through the day.

Surfing was an amazing activity and even those children who were apprehensive at first threw themselves into it and did amazingly well.  The instructors commented that it was the best group of children they had ever worked with - respectful, well-mannered and courteous.

We also went on a coastal walk taking in the headlands and incredible sights around Broad Haven and explored the rock pools on the beach with the tide out.  The children also had an opportunity to enjoy splashing about in the breakers.

The photo gallery speaks for itself today! 

 

Day 4 - Thursday 17th July 2025

Because our boat trip had been rearranged to avoid some of the weather earlier this week, we had a more leisurely start with some excellent board game competitions including chess and scrabble and time to pack.  Soon we were heading off to Tenby where the children spent some time exploring the caves, playing beach sports, flying kites and were able to eat their lunch.  After this, they explored Tenby finding souvenirs and treasures - and quite a number of sweets.

The highlight of the day was, of course, the boat trip around Caldey Island - with baby seals, jellyfish and all sorts of birds as well as lovely evening weather, it was a terrific highlight of the trip.  The children returned for a late dinner - burgers and waffles!  Finally, after a brief play to run off steam, the children are settling down ready for their early start first thing tomorrow.