Day 8–Wednesday, April 19. Pembroke to Pembroke Dock (3 miles)

Since we splurged for the Old Kings Arms Hotel last night, we decided to take it easy this morning. Our laundry wasn’t going to be done until 10 and checkout time wasn’t until 11:30 so we decided to extend our recovery day as long as possible. We all got together for breakfast around 8:15 but then went back to our rooms to rest some more.

At 11, we met at the reception desk to settle up our bills and then do a little grocery shopping. The entire staff of the Old Kings Arms have been very generous and caring for us–the manager asked the laundry lady to come in early this morning to wash our clothes and she volunteered to come in even earlier than asked. We chatted with Ed at the reception desk for a while to thank him for our great service. After we loaded up our packs in front of the store, we decided to head to the Pembroke Castle. After the terrible attempt of storming the castle at Monorbier, we decide to just get in the easy way–pay the admission. Good thing we took that route because this is the only castle that has never been taken by any means.

We ended up spending over 4 hours touring this amazing place. The castle is 900 years old in its earliest incarnation (although the site has been inhabited by men for over 12,000 years). There is a lot of history within these stone walls, including being the birthplace of Henry VII.

After the free guided tour by Howard, (an amazing amount of history presented to us in an enjoyable way by a passionate lover of the castle and area), we decided to push on to Pembroke Dock. It’s only 3 miles away from Pembroke. It was amazing how quickly we were in the country after leaving the castle–only 5 minutes of walking and we were out of civilization. The downhill side of the castle was considered to be impregnable so the town grew in a single direction away from the castle gates.

We ended up staying in another hotel tonight–the Welshman’s Arms Pub and Inn, to get us an easy leg up on the trail tomorrow. When we checked in, we were the only people in the hotel which has a pub on the first floor and the largest dog I have ever seen, an Irish Wolf Hound named Henry. We sat and talked with the owner, her son, and a friend of hers over a pint of beer.

After talking away the Ale, Pam decided she was hungry and wanted real Indian food so we headed to Seven Spice for something more than just curry. I got some Vindaloo but no one would try it. I’m traveling with a bunch of cowards–I didn’t even sweat.

George and I stayed up for one more pint as a reward for not having dessert. As I was getting ready to go to bed, Ann gave me her number and told us that if we get into any trouble or need any assistance at all while we are in Pembrokeshire to call her and she will come and get us. This is a perfect example of the friendliness of the residents of the area (yet Ann is from London).