October Cottage Holidays in Wales
Make the most of the serene October days
Come October, autumn is well underway and it is a fantastic time of year for a relaxing rural retreat. Book a cottage holiday in Wales at Coastal Cottages and immerse yourself in a living landscape of technicolour for a few days. Reds, oranges and yellows emerge in the trees and hedgerows replacing the shades of green before it. Use this month to recharge after a manic summer or unwind before the Christmas madness fully takes hold.
October is a wonderful month for embracing the outdoors before the wetter months approach. Spend the crisp morns of this month walking the Pembrokeshire Coastal Path or the woodlands inland, and hear that satisfying crunch of the leaves underfoot.
Beach Dog Restrictions Are Lifted
Turn the calendar over to the 1st of October and you can almost hear the happy barking from puppies across Pembrokeshire as the summer beach restrictions come to an end for another season. Whilst only a handful of beaches impose restrictions between the 1st of May and the 30th of September, it is still a welcome return to normality when dogs can once again roam all of the beaches freely.
So which do we recommend visiting? Well, why not make the most of your October break and challenge yourself to try them all?! Enjoy a morning stroll on Saundersfoot Beach before a game of catch on Tenby Castle Beach, let your pooch run the entire 2-mile length of Newgale Beach or saunter along the shore at Amroth Beach.
With our dedicated Beach Guide to help you find beaches to suit your furry four-legged friend, there really is no reason why you shouldn’t book an October getaway for you and your dog.
The Fishguard Cawl Crawl
Once upon a time, Fishguard was known for the fantastic Autumn Festival which was held annually in October. Unfortunately these days, the Autumn Festival no longer runs but one surviving feature does remain, the Fishguard Cawl Crawl. This year the Cawl Crawl will be taking place on the 28th of October as part of the Fishguard Food & Drink Festival.
A must-have on the foodie bucket list, this harbourside village welcomes you to take part in a “crawl” where various competing establishments in Fishguard each create a bowl of homemade cawl for you to sample.
The idea is simple: you buy a bowl, sample the various cawls on offer, and then vote for your favourite. The establishment with the most votes wins the coveted title of “Best Cawl”.
Halloween Celebrations
Towards the end of the month come the Halloween celebrations and one of the biggest events in the county is the Big Bang Weekend in Saundersfoot. Taking place across two days somewhere between the 31st October and 5th November, the Big Bang Weekend usually takes place at the tail end of Half Term and combines celebrations for Halloween with Bonfire Night.
A fun fairground pops up in the harbour for a couple of days alongside food vans and refreshment stalls, whilst children in fancy dress will line the streets. Not one but two fireworks displays take place over the water, and shop windows through Saundersfoot are decorated with ghoulish trimmings.
In the lead-up to Halloween, visitors will be invited to various pumpkin patches throughout the land to pick their own pumpkins ready to decorate for the 31st. Head over to Treginnis Pumpkin Patch Day (free entry) where you can not only pick a pumpkin, but you can have your face painted and tuck into spooky snacks – fancy dress is encouraged too!
Other great events in Pembrokeshire include spooky train rides at Gwili Steam Railway, eerie activity days at Castell Henllys plus Ghost Tours at the likes of Pembroke Castle and Carew Castle. In recent years, the National Botanic Garden of Wales has even been known to host an Outdoors Cinema Spooktacular event.
Half Term Holidays
October is the month home to the very first half-term holidays of the school year so understandably it’s an exciting time, especially for those little ones who are eager to break out of the school routine. If you’re planning a cottage holiday in Pembrokeshire, there are plenty of adventure parks and attractions in the county where you take the children to burn off that excess energy.
Folly Farm is one of the most popular attractions in South Pembrokeshire and it’s no wonder why. Alongside the more traditional farmyard animals, you can see a selection of more exotic zoo animals here including penguins, giraffes, lions and monkeys. On a drizzly day, make sure to dress in layers as you’ll want to strip off the waterproof by the time you make it to the indoor vintage funfair or the Jolly Barn. Jump aboard the bumper cars or ghost train, and try your hand at milking a goat. On dry days, head to the outdoor Pirate Ship or racetrack for fun in the sunshine.
Colby Woodland Gardens is a great choice for children who love stomping in the puddles and marching in the mud. Meander through the woodland garden, build a den, skip across footbridges and even hunt for treasure. Dress the little ones in wellies and waterproofs – even on dry days! They will no doubt love to do a little bit of pond dipping and scrambling up trees to watch for wildlife, so a wipe-clean outfit is recommended.
The Welsh Wildlife Centre near Cardigan in North Pembrokeshire is a paradise for wildlife observers of all ages. Explore the nature trails, go undercover in the bird hides and sight all manner of birds, search the willow maze and see what you can spot in the Teifi marshes. Head indoors for informative videos, pick up an Explorer Backpack for the children, grab refreshments in the cafe or purchase souvenirs from the gift shop.
As the days become shorter and the nights become longer, October is an ideal time to embrace the darkness by looking to the stars. With our private Stargazing Experiences, you can take a night-time adventure through the dark skies accompanied by an expert astronomer. Discover a number of celestial objects, and new-to-you constellations and even zoom in on the moon. With a private session, you can receive one-to-one tuition on the art of astrophotography.
