Pembroke

Medieval castle walls rise from limestone cliffs where Pembroke's Norman fortress has held court for nine centuries. This proper Welsh border town sits at the head of Milford Haven's sprawling waterway, its ancient streets climbing upward from the tidal creek below.

Pembroke Castle dominates everything here - and rightly so. Birthplace of Henry VII, this isn't some prettified ruin but a working piece of history with walls you can walk and towers that still command respect. The town itself spreads out from Main Street in a web of narrow lanes, quieter midweek but lively enough when the castle tours finish.

Venture south and you'll hit some of Pembrokeshire's finest coastal drama. Broad Haven South Beach offers proper wilderness swimming, while the National Trust's Stackpole estate sprawls across thousands of acres of limestone coast. Saint Govan's Chapel, wedged impossibly into clifftop rocks, feels like something from another century entirely.

The real treat lies in Stackpole's lily ponds at Bosherston - created by damming three valleys in the 18th century, they're now a haven for dragonflies and water birds. Spring brings carpets of bluebells through Lodge Park and the surrounding woodlands, while autumn turns the whole area into a photographer's dream.

From Cardiff, the A477 runs straight here in two hours. Haverfordwest, eight miles north, has the nearest railway station with decent London connections. A holiday park base makes perfect sense - you're minutes from both castle and coast, with the Pembrokeshire Coast Path practically on the doorstep and some of Wales' finest beaches within easy striking distance.