Little Haven

After a lazy Sunday morning at the bungalow (with gulls for company) we trekked over Settlands Hill into Little Haven.  

Busy morning on the Broad Haven beach.

These Havens are separated on the beach side by two long rock promontories, navigable by foot when the tide is out. The rock spit on Broad Haven’s side is visible in the image above on the upper left. The Google satellite image shows the beaches between and around Broad Haven and Little Haven at low tide. Our plan was to return by beach.

Little Haven was originally a fishing village (in contrast to Broad Haven’s start as a 20th century seaside resort). It’s tiny beach was hopping.

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We lunched outdoors on just-out-of-the sea bream and mackerel at the Castle .

Then wandered south along the coast path towards St. Bride’s bay.

Tea and a latte on the Castle’s patio while waiting for the tide to recede enough to safely walk around the rocks.

Since we are landlubbers, with no understanding of tides, we were a trifle nervous about this part of the day’s adventure. We were not alone in wondering: the tide was taking a really long time to get to “low.”

After watching a couple men wade around and not come back, we decided to risk it.

After consulting with a native, we realized that wading was inevitable. Note our guide’s firm grip on the collar of his mid-size dog while sloshing through thigh-high waves.

Safely on the other side, we found two crabs caught in an (illegal) net stretched across the beach. Collaboration with a local – aided by my little knife – freed the prisoners.

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Crystal placed them in the deepest rock pool she could find to wait for the next tide.

We continued through the little cove between the Havens, accessible only at low tide.

It was nearly 7pm by the time we made it back to Broad Haven, and folks were still out enjoying the last of the sun.