St Davids - May Cottage

May Cottage, on delightful Hendre Farm, is situated within the Pembrokeshire Coast National Park and together with its barns are all Grade II listed buildings. They occupy a uniquely tranquil location some 2 miles from St Davids. None of the buildings at Hendre are now used for agricultural purposes and May Cottage, a beautiful 4 star self catering holiday cottage, is the only holiday home on this owner occupied site.

Thanks to its rural location, the cottage is the perfect place if you're a fan of stargazing or astrophotography. When darkness falls, you can go outside and get cosy with a blanket and steaming mug of hot chocolate, while exploring the night sky.

The owners, Jim and Maureen Dale, pride themselves on providing a special personal service to all guests who come to stay in May Cottage and will usually be on hand-with dog-to attend to any enquiries from their guests. Take a look at the guest comments for May Cottage in order to judge for yourselves if contemplating a possible visit. Jim and Maureen regard these pages as perhaps their best testament to how their cottage has been perceived by others.

Independent reports for Hendre Farm have been prepared by specialists covering the wealth of wildlife that exists, together with a very interesting report on Hendre Farm and its contribution to the achaeological heritage of the St Davids peninsula.

The land is still used for crops and animal grazing and the owners have produced many walks around the farm for those who do not mind sharing with the cows - remember your wellies!  Dogs will find that May Cottage is a paradise for them with plenty of space to roam and gorgeous farm trails in abundance for them to follow.  The owners have recently installed a swim spa in the grounds which can be shared wtih cottage guests; this functions as a mini swimming pool for those who wish to swim-train against the jets, or as a 6 person hot tub for those more interested in taking it easy!  The water temperature is kept at 35 degrees and so is comfortable to use winter or summer.  There is nothing better after a stroll around the coastal path than to plunge into the spa for a long soak. 

One of the barns at Hendre has a resident barn owl and most summers guests can enjoy these beautiful birds flying in and out of their nest area at dusk while feeding their young.  Other wildlife such as foxes, badgers, pheasants, kestrels, duck and the like are plentiful on Hendre and you may even be lucky enough to see some rare marsh harriers which also nest on the farm.

May Cottage was designed with the less physically able in mind and has no steps.  One of the small lakes on Hendre has been stocked with rainbow trout and visitors are welcome to bring their fishing tackle to try out their skills to make a catch for supper.  As well as making the swim spa available for guests Jim and Maureen have produced treasure hunts for both youngsters and adults alike.  Instant prizes available for young people who do well, and a box of wine will be delivered to the adults who provide the most complete, accurate and interesting responses by season end!

Hendre is an environmentally conscious establishment and the owners have invested in a wind turbine and biomass boiler in order to reduce their impact on global warming.  For those cooler months and to supplement the central heating, there is a log burning stove installed and a complimentary basket of logs is provided for guest use.

Locally, there are wonderful sandy beaches available and at Newgale and Whitesands visitors can obtain tuition in surfing, wind surfing, kite surfing and the like.  Other activities include coasteering at St Davids, temporary membership at the Fishguard Bay Yacht Club (please ask for details), golf at St Davids links course, horse riding, coastal walks and cycling.

What's more, Pembrokeshire is a must-see destination if you have an interest in astronomy or astrophotography as the county has eight Dark Sky Discovery Sites, including Newgale beach, and Garn Fawr National Trust car park.

At May Cottage there is plenty of space to park cars, boats and the like and a workshop can be made available to make minor repairs to bicycles etc.  Just in case its not nice enough to go to the beach or walk along the Coast Path there is  a small games room for children with board games and pool table.  Plenty of space to fly kites.

Jim and Maureen invite you to come and see May Cottage for yourself and join in the 73% of their guests who return for a second or multiple stays.