Carew Inn

Dogfriendly Magazine Review

Read our comprehensive review of this listing printed in our bi-monthly magazine.

Carew Inn, Pembrokeshire

Review by: Jonathan O’Shea

Upon arrival at The Carew Inn, you are immediately taken aback by the beauty of the surrounding area. A quaint old pub with a cottage attached to the side and a castle not 400m away from your front door. The gorgeous location truly lends itself to anyone looking to get away from the hustle and bustle of the city and welcome in a very relaxing part of the world.

The dog friendly room is apparent with the usage of some cute pictures hanging up on the wall. The king size bed fills the middle of the room with a comfy en-suite sitting to the side of the bed, a table staring out towards the lake and a well-situated dressing table. This was the only dog friendly room in the cottage which put our minds at ease, as Loki can be very anxious around other dogs and knowing she would encounter no others in the property allowed us to settle even more. 

Although there were no specific areas where we could pop for Loki to use the toilet, the area at the front of the cottage and vast open space in front of the castle meant we were not at a loss when the time came for Loki to venture outside. A quiet location with the most noise being heard is that of bicycles peddling past or the noise of Loki shouting as someone walked their dog anywhere near our room!

With a pub just next door you will find a dog friendly beer garden, as this is the closest we can get in the current times. You can sit a stone’s throw away from your room and soak in some gorgeous west Wales sunsets over the castle as you get some quality quiet time with the dog. The combination of the pub, your own space within the cottage and such beautiful scenery around was such a treat and already set the start of the perfect holiday off wonderfully. Although there were no specific dog items left for us we were prepared for this and had packed accordingly as I’m sure many dog owners do!

Situated next to the castle is a gorgeous walk that is very suitable for whatever size dog you bring along with you. From the castle following the road to the left you can venture around the lake up through the fields and back down, ending at the pub. Taking approximately an hour the route gives you some breathtaking views, with no livestock in the fields we were able to let Loki run free with our friends’ dogs, a lurcher and a whippet, which was definitely something to witness!

The castle is relatively inexpensive to enter at £2.50 per person and is also dog friendly – Loki got in for free – with a wonderful outdoor set up to grab yourselves a drink as well, all adding to the aesthetic of the area. The next day we ventured into Pembroke itself. It was so refreshing to see how dog friendly the whole area was. Parking in the town itself is remarkably cheap and there is an abundance of spots to drop the car. We chose to park at the train station which was free and gave us a lovely opportunity to walk through the town. We were of course limited to what we could do due to restrictions, but all the scenery was in abundance and lots of places provided takeaways and the odd dog treat as we went. When reaching the bottom of the high street the road loops around to take you down to the water where you can have the most beautiful views of the castle. There are many people who take advantage of these walks so if you have an anxious or nervous dog this is definitely something to consider.

It is safe to say that we spent the majority of our time exploring all of the natural beauty, castles are in abundance, beaches are situated left right and centre. A favourite for us had to be Freshwater West, a beach that is year-round dog friendly. With a famous food truck on hand, you can stroll onto the normally busy beach, the infamous place where Dobby was buried in Harry Potter, and stroll between the sand dunes which provides lots of running spots for dogs of all shapes and sizes and plenty of opportunity for some good old fashioned sand dune sliding!

Manorbier is not far from the gorgeous coast of Freshwater West and has a castle along with a beach as well, all being dog friendly with outdoor seating for teas and cakes as well!

Last but not least we took ourselves to explore Tenby, a cute coastal town now famous for its visiting walrus. All of the shops were welcoming of dogs which made it easier on a very wet and windy day. Unfortunately, the beach in Tenby itself is not dog friendly but with so many around in the local area to explore, and us only scraping the surface, it is a sacrifice we were easily able to make. It is safe to say that the area is easy to fall in love with. We paid £100 a night for three nights in May bank holiday weekend and had a small fee of £10 per night for the dog. Avery reasonable price for the time of year and the location we stayed in. This included a full breakfast, which we had delivered to our door, with a variety of options each morning.

A wonderful room, understanding staff who never knocked too loudly so as to not raise the wrath of a small dog, a comfy bed, plenty of open space just outside your front door. With so much to do – an average of 15,000 steps – you may even find yourself forgetting what the room looks like.

All in all, a perfectly gorgeous part of the world with many undiscovered walks and locations dotted around to fall in love with and leave you desperate to stay for one more night.

The Carew Inn, review by Jonathan O’Shea and appears in DogFriendly magazine issue 66.  For more information on the DogFriendly magazine visit https://www.dogfriendly.co.uk/magazine