St Florence

St Florence is the village people move to when they want Tenby's beaches without Tenby's summer. It sits in the shallow Ritec valley three miles inland, a tight knot of lanes around a church with a Norman tower, and it takes its appearance seriously — the flower displays through the village in summer are a long-standing local point of pride.

Its architectural signature is the round chimney. Several cottages here keep the tall cylindrical chimneys usually described as Flemish, a style found across south Pembrokeshire and nowhere much else in Britain, and they are the reason the village turns up in architectural guides. The other thing to know is geography: the Ritec once flooded up to the village, and boats reached St Florence before the valley was embanked in the nineteenth century, which is why an apparently landlocked village has a quay in its history.

For visitors it is a straightforward, comfortable base. There is a pub, a church, a village hall and a genuine year-round community; there is no shop of any size, and you will drive for supermarkets. Tenby is ten minutes, Manorbier fifteen, Saundersfoot ten, and a wildlife park sits just outside the village, which makes the rainy-day problem easier with children. If your ideal holiday is a quiet lane, a garden, and the beach as a short drive rather than a front doorstep, this is the sort of village you are looking for.

Cottages in the village core give the lane-and-garden version of a Pembrokeshire holiday with a pub in walking distance. The converted farm buildings in the surrounding fields tend to be larger, with hot tubs, parking and space for two families — a common choice for groups who want Tenby close but not underfoot.

Minor roads from the A4139 near Penally or the B4318 from Sageston; lanes into the village are narrow. Nearest stations are Penally and Tenby, both about ten minutes by car.