Templeton

Templeton runs along the A478 for the best part of a mile, a linear village of houses, a church and a pub whose name recalls the Knights Templar, who are said to have held land here. Behind the main street the land is farmed and quiet, with long, straight boundaries and wide fields that look different from the tight lanes further west — a legacy of medieval strip fields that survives unusually clearly here.

The village's other historical feature is its wartime airfield on the higher ground to the west, built as an RAF station during the Second World War and long since returned to other uses; the outline of the runways is still obvious from the air and from the roads that skirt it.

As a base, Templeton is unglamorous and useful. Narberth, with the county's best independent shops and restaurants, is five minutes north; Kilgetty and its station five minutes south; Saundersfoot and Amroth ten to fifteen; Tenby about twenty; and the family attractions at Folly Farm, Oakwood and Bluestone all within a quarter of an hour. Accommodation prices sit well below the coast. The drawbacks are straightforward: no beach, no view, and a main road running through the middle of the village that carries heavy holiday traffic on changeover days, so check where a property sits relative to it. For groups who want a large house with land at a sensible price and are happy to drive to the sea, it is a sound choice.

Most supply is converted barns and farmhouses in the lanes either side of the village — space, parking, gardens and frequently hot tubs, popular with larger groups and multi-generation family parties. Village properties add a pub within walking distance; ask about road noise if you are on the A478 itself.

On the A478 between Narberth and Kilgetty. Both Narberth and Kilgetty stations, on the Pembroke Dock branch line, are around five minutes away by car.