Manorbier and Mews Cottage are the prescription to soothe big city stresses away

When the sun is shining and the temperature is balmy, the beaches of Pembrokeshire ... the southwestern-most bit of Wales ... are on par with the Caribbean. Powdery golden sand between your toes, picturesque greenery behind you, wide shallows that make swimming easy. Catching the shoreline in clement conditions used to be tricky, but climate change has fixed that. You might as well head to this lovely but still somewhat remote corner of the UK to take advantage. And if quiet, picturesque solitude is your thing, consider the sleepy village of Manorbier.

The traditional holiday hotspots on this stretch of coast are Tenby and Saundersfoot (of which I'll write more in another story), and they both benefit from a broad array of restaurants, hotels, shops and long, gentle beaches. Six miles further west of Tenby, Manorbier is a markedly quieter place. Tourist amenities include one small pub that still manages to feel local despite this being a holiday coast, one nine-bedroom hotel with a restaurant, and a shop that manages to cram a surprising amount into a tiny space. A tea shop, souvenir spot and bike rental place were either closed now that schools had resumed, or never made it back from the pandemic. It was hard to tell.

The whole village runs down a hill between a castle and an ancient parish church to a fan-shaped beach encircled by dunes and high hills. The outstretched arms of the land form a pinch point that constricts the water and stimulates the waves. This is a dramatic surfer's beach, well off the beaten track, and in our off-season wanderings rarely had more than six people lingering on its expanse.

To say Manorbier was sleepy is an understatement. And we ... four corporate captains exhausted by our wars ... loved it. I wanted to stay for weeks. Four nights of such peace and quiet, however, managed to work wonders.

We stayed in Mews Cottage, with cottage being a deceptive word for a substantial five-bedroom property set it its own generous gardens. 

The beds were comfortable, the lounging space ample, the WiFi speedy (though only available in some rooms), the kitchen big enough to cook up a storm had we wanted to, and the beachside decor full of Instagramable shots. 

There's an enormous garden with plenty of room for outdoor games if you were travelling with children. We used it to settle comfortably on benches against the house and watch the sun set, accompanied by the soft interjections of sheep. That was the only external sound heard from the property during our stay. The silence was profound and the stars and full moon vivid in an inky sky; exotic aberrations for the Londoners. Two of the bedrooms are downstairs, facing the garden, and three up. I was delighted to snag the ground-floor double with a glass door opening onto the garden and would open the door in the early morning, snuggled under the duvet to watch the light come up and listen to the songbirds greet the day.

Property manager Kate had left a bottle of pink sparkling wine in the fridge, unexpectedly prescient as we arrived just in time to get the news on for the announcement of the Queen's death. We were able to toast the monarch's service and numb a bit of our sadness with the bubbles. Kate was around throughout our stay to chat and give tips on local attractions.

Mews Cottage exemplifies the reason we've turned to VRBO properties rather than boutique hotels in recent years for our girls' trips. For about half of what we'd spend on the level of accommodation we prefer, we end up in large properties where we each get our own bedroom and there's enough space for both individual quiet time and group merriment. I'm sure this property is more often full of family parties with plenty of kids, but its decor and location meant it was also perfect for grown-ups in search of R&R.

We could have stayed in the parish of Manorbier (population around 2,000) for the whole trip. 

On the first night we walked down to the Castlemead Hotel, the aforementioned 9-bedroom place that advertises itself as a "restaurant with rooms", for dinner. (If I were coming to Manorbier on a short stay, just with husband rather than a group, I'd definitely consider staying here.) Pre-booking is absolutely essential for dining as priority goes to residents and, like everywhere else in the country, staff is sparse. By the end of our visit they'd had to close the restaurant due to staffing issues. The small dining room of about 10 tables is in the building's basement, but it's built into a hill so the windows here actually look over the garden and towards the beach and the coast, perfectly positioned for the sunset. I'd recommend this place just for the view. But the food is worth the trip, too, with dishes heavy on local produce inspired by recipes around the world. Shelves groan with an impressive collection of cookbooks, reassuring us that whoever was in the kitchen loved food as much as we did. My Welsh rib-eye was excellent, and the triple-cooked chips sent everyone into raptures, but the dish of the night was grilled pears on bruschetta topped with local goat's cheese and a sweet balsamic reduction. The portion was so big half of it came home to be my breakfast the next morning.

The Castle Inn had a more traditional pub kitchen majoring on burgers, scampi, pulled pork and chips, with a beach bar atmosphere far more festive than its simple exterior would suggest. We enjoyed our Sunday dinner here but, even more, we delighted in winning the weekly pub quiz. This was entirely due to our fourth girl's Welsh roots (putting her on point for the Wales round) and her surprisingly encyclopaedic knowledge of cartoon canines that saw us ace the picture round. 

While we never actually cooked, the nearby Bubbleton Farm Shop provided goodies for a grazing dinner one night. This place is much smaller than the clever photography on its web site implies; more a farm hut than shop. But they manage to cram a surprising amount of tempting stuff into a very small space. Local rhubarb-spiked gin, sausage rolls, ham and cheeses made up a satisfying buffet on the massive oak table back at the cottage, followed by gourmet welsh cakes and chocolate made by the monks who live on Caldey Island, just off the coast. 

Of course, it wouldn't be the annual girls' trip without a bit of sightseeing and at least one fine dining experience. Read on for those adventures.