SOUTH WALES GOLF & LEISURE 2007
  
     
 
5 days, 4 nights, 4 rounds of golf
 
     
 
Includes  
- 5 days' hire of rental vehicle
- 4 nights' accommodation with full breakfast daily at the selected hotels
- 4 rounds of golf (for golfers).
   
Itinerary  
Day 1
transfer to Penally Abbey Hotel, Tenby. Sightseeing afternoon
Day 2
golf at Tenby. Non golfers visit Tudor Merchant's House, Carew Castle & Begelly Park Gardens

Day 3
transfer to Great House Hotel, Bridgend. Golf at Ashburnham. Non golfers visit National Botanic Gardens & National Museum
Day 4
golf at Pennard. Non golfers visit Caerphilly Castle & Museum of Welsh Life 
Day 5
golf at Royal Porthcawl. Non golfers visit Cardiff Castle & Dyffran Gardens
   
Price per golfer from £780
Based on a group of two or four, sharing twin/double rooms
Tours with driver/guide can be arranged on request
 
     
 
HOTELS
  
     
 
The Great House, Laleston, Bridgend

The restoration of this historic Grade II listed building, which dates from the 1550s, has been completed with great sympathy. Many original and period features contribute to The Great House’s mature, dignified character – such as the flagstone floors, oak beams, inglenook fireplaces (one with the single largest unbroken span of stone in Wales), mullioned windows, stone archways and dovecote in the south wall.

The Bedrooms, each one with a personality of its own, reflect the warmth and the friendliness all through the house. They are individually decorated, have private en suite facilities, bathrobes, direct dial telephones, trouser press, hairdryers, tea and coffee making facilities and provide every comfort during your stay. There is wire free web access in the Hotel reception area.

The combination of exceptional comfort and fine cuisine makes Leicester's Restaurant at The Great House very special. The restaurant has twice been awarded 'Country Restaurant of the Year' and holds 2 AA Rosettes. This confirms the high standards of cooking and service. The freshest local Welsh produce is used and the food reflects a modern approach to classical cooking. Many of the dishes use local organic ingredients.
 
Penally Abbey, Penally, Nr Tenby

Built on the site of an ancient monastery, Penally Abbey has magnificent sea views of Caldey island and the Gower Peninsular. It comprises of three separate limestone buildings: St Deiniol's Lodge; The Coach House and Abbey House; all different in style, but all equally alluring. This is the perfect combination of preserving the best of the old, whilst embracing the best of the new. Here, the aged-old traditions of genuine hospitality survive, making your stay so memorable.

A sense of history is preserved within the dignified Grade II listed mansion itself, which has been lovingly restored and decorated with antiques and period furniture – many bedrooms have four-poster beds. But Penally isn’t just about period features. The adjacent St Deiniol’s Lodge offers light, airy bedrooms – a touch of urban chic transposed to a country house setting.

Dining in Penally Abbey's restaurant is a romantic candle-lit affair. The room has many beautiful features: high coved ceilings; large ogee head windows; hand carved fireplaces; crystal chandleliers; round, polished, mahogany tables and views across the gardens toward the sea.They take pride in the freshness and quality of the ingredients and hold the simple philosophy that understated but delicious food, a beautiful environment, and friendly, unassuming staff, turn dining into an experience to remember.

 
     
 
GOLF
  
 
 
Other gems in this area: Southerndown, Celtic Manor, The Vale, Pyle & Kenfig, Machynys, Langland Bay, Clyne
We have opted for what we believe are the pick of links courses in South Wales for this tour - but there just as many equally fine courses in the area well worth playing if you get the chance. We would be happy to add one or two more if you want to play 36 holes on any day, or swop any round with the courses we've suggested.
   
Royal Porthcawl  
It is nothing but a great shame that Royal Porthcawl does not have the infrastructure required to host an Open Championship - the closest it has come to staging a world-renowned event was the Walker Cup in 1995. Then, the American team, with Tiger Woods, were blown away, quite literally, by the course. Wind is a constant factor here - it's just you against the elements. With the closing hole playing towards the sea and into the wind, there are few courses in Britain that can produce a finer finish. The sea is visible from every hole here and, while the first three holes run alongside the beach, many others climb high to afford panoramic views of the Bristol Channel.
Tenby  
From the first hole to the last, you will never forget the layout of this renowned links course. With stunning ocean views it maximizes all the natural features of this beautiful part of Pembrokeshire. The course provides a true test of any golfer's ability. Still regularly used for Welsh Amateur Championships, Tenby's tight fairways, fast-running greens and thick rough combine to provide an endlessly varied challenge. The course runs alongside Tenby South Beach and, whilst this makes for spectacular views, it also means the course is exposed to the elements - a strong gusting wind makes this a great test for the 'thinking' golfer.
Ashburnham  

A classic links course, the Ashburnham golf course celebrated its centenary in 1994. Overlooking Carmarthen Bay the course's first two and final two holes are inland near the clubhouse, with the rest being a traditional out and back parallel to the sea. With trouble generally to the right on most holes this is not an easy course, particularly for slicers. Ashburnham is a very special links course that has a special place in the hearts of a number of golfers; indeed, former Ryder Cup captain Bernard Gallacher won his first professional event at Ashburnham when he won the Schweppes PGA Championship in 1969, while Sam Torrance also won his first event at Ashburnham by lifting the Martini International in 1976.

Pennard  

Pennard Golf Club, located 8 miles west of Swansea in the Gower Peninsula, an area of outstanding natural beauty. Golf has been played there since 1896. The holes are routed over classically undulating and tumbling linksland, full of hummocks, hillocks and hollows and pocked with dunes large and small; in sum, exactly what we might hope to find beside the shore. Yet this exceptional terrain is not beside the shore - It is two hundred feet above it. No wonder Pennard has been called "the links in the sky." Awkward lies and stances are a matter of course and the rugged terrain becomes even more dramatic on the back nine.

 
     
 
SIGHTSEEING
Tudor Merchant's House
 
Built in the 15th Century, and still furnished and decorated with authentic Tudor fittings, Tenby's Tudor Merchants House successfully illustrates the lifestyle of a successful Tudor family.
Carew Castle & Mill Pond
 
The magnificent Carew Castle has a history spanning 2000 years. Set in a stunning location, overlooking a 23 acre millpond, the castle displays the development from a Norman fortification to an Elizabethan country house.
Begelly Park Gardens
 
The gardens are a combination of water gardens, formal gardens, informal gardens, japenese gardens and woodlands. The area covers approximately 12 acres and was once a working coal mine.
Manorbier Castle
 
Manorbier Castle is a fortified manor overlooking a sheltered beach. The lands on which it is built were granted to the Norman knight, Odo de Barri, at the end of the 11th century.
The Pembrokeshire Coast National Park
 
The Pembrokeshire Coast National Park is the only one of Britain’s 14 National Parks to be entirely coastal in nature and has some simply stunning scenery