Winner of 2018 ‘Most Inspiring Photograph’ Award

Winner of 2018 ‘Most Inspiring Photograph’ Award on the Caravan and Motorhome Certificated Location (CL) website pages is:

Woody Kiln Certificated Location in Pembrokeshire

When going on holiday, what do you think of - sunshine, sea and sand, relaxation, spending time with the family in a nice location?  Our members are no different and have chosen a photograph of a beautiful, sandy rural beach in Wales for this award accessible via the Pembrokeshire Coastal Path called Lindsway Bay (first photograph). It’s a beach with a great history.

One of the owners of Woody Kiln CL grew up in St Ishmaels, Lindsway Bay being the local beach.  Families often taught their children to swim in a rock pool which was deep enough to reach up to their chest. 

Lindsway Bay is a pleasant bathing place for families, as the Royal family can confirm as when the Queen and the Duke of Edinburgh made their first Royal visit to Pembrokeshire in 1955, they brought with them the young Prince Charles and his sister Princess Anne.  The Royal Yacht Britannia was anchored in Dale Roads and, since it was beautiful weather, the Royals decided to take a trip ashore and have a picnic on Lindsway Beach. It was not long before the news got around that the beach had an unscheduled Royal visit, and the locals soon went over to have a look. The Royal security men were able to intercept those who seemed intent on sharing the beach with the VIP visitors and managed to politely persuade the public to give the Royals a bit of privacy. No paparazzi intruders in those days so the Royal family later reported a very pleasant day on the sands.

 Lindsway Bay was the scene on August 5th 1980 of one of the most dramatic tanker strandings in the oilport’s recent history. The tanker Donna Marika was not a ship on the scale of the Sea Empress which caused such havoc in 1996, but when it was torn from its anchorage by a strong south-easterly gale and ended up on the jagged reefs of the bay, it triggered an alarming emergency.

Its cargo of petroleum was highly flammable and potentially explosive vapour was leaking from ruptured tanks, the smell spreading over a wide area.  The ship was a virtual time bomb and one spark as it writhed on the rocks could have caused a disastrous blast which would have killed or injured the crew and rescuers. Residents of the village (including the now owner of Woody Kiln) was evacuated to safety and the master and crew brought ashore up the cliffs at dawn. Then began the tricky task of pumping out the volatile cargo, which was carried out successfully until the emergency was over and the empty ship was towed away.

Photos

Photo 1: Most Inspiring Photograph

Photo 2: The oil tanker, Donna Marika

Photo 3: Aerial Photograph of Woody Kiln Certificated Location, Pembrokeshire with a view of the Atlantic Ocean and Lindsway Bay