Dale

After the relatively uneventful two hour journey via the A40 and B4327 deep into rural Pembrokeshire, we decided that this would be our first port of call so to speak..............for much needed refreshments.

Situated on the entrance to the mouth of Milford Haven estuary with the oil refinery clearly visible 6 miles in the distance, this small village with 205 inhabitants at the time of the last census in 2001, is located on the Dale Peninsular a sheltered inlet at the extreme south west tip of Pembrokeshire.



This was particularly familiar to Butterballs who had spent a week in a local cottage a few years ago. A short walk from the car park we found the Griffin Inn, the only pub in the village. Situated directly on the waterfront in a picturesque setting the pub had plenty of authentic character although a relatively cold welcome! The snack that we ordered was a tad expensive, but nevertheless it was very welcome after the journey.



Fifteen years ago on 15 February 1996, (the Spanish-built, Norwegian-owned, Cyprus-registered, Glasgow-managed, French-chartered, Russian-crewed, and Liberian-flagged!!) oil tanker Sea Empress grounded at the entrance to the Milford Haven estuary off St. Anns Head, spilling 72,000 tonnes of crude oil and creating an environmental disaster for the area.

The village, which feels the affects of the wild Atlantic weather during the winter months, is now a local centre for sailing, windsurfing and all water-sports.

The one-way system caused Wandering some navigational problems as we left Dale 'en route' to our main base for the short over-night stay a few miles away at Marloes.