INTRODUCTION

A survey of 1770 showed a few cottages and a farm that went by the name of Sandersfoot by the edge of the sea in a quiet and sheltered location in a corner of south-west Wales. From these small beginnings the village of Saundersfoot developed and the area once occupied by those early dwellings is now a seafront car park. In the interim, the village has seen quite a fair amount of activity associated with the mining industry of the South Pembrokeshire coalfield. By 1846 seven local collieries were using Saundersfoot Harbour but the success of the industry in south-east Wales and difficulties in mining the seams in Pembrokeshire led to the decline and eventual closure of the last remaining colliery near Saundersfoot in 1930. But all was not lost for since the 1850s the coal mining industry had been running in tandem with an infant tourism trade. Today the harbour, once filled with coal laden ships, still has an industrial presence as it provides a haven for local fishing boats that can often be seen unloading their catches but most of the craft in the harbour are for recreational activities. The village has returned to a peaceful seaside location that in the summer comes alive with tourists and holidaymakers. For the third consectutive year we made it our base to savour some more of the attractions in the area.
So let us start by taking a look at the village itself. There are several routes to approach the village and during our visits we have tried all of them. One of them gives probably the most impressive views over the bay if you can ignore the street lamps, poles, overhead lines and "Men Working" signs.	The flowers (left) look good though and just a few more yards down the hill, the view opens up across Saundersfoot Bay to the villages of Wiseman's Bridge and Amroth in the distance.
Two alternative routes into the village reach the centre via narrow lanes ....
.... merging on this corner where "The Hean" overlooks the sensory garden on the sea front.
All roads into the village though eventually lead to here. With the entrance to the seafront car park behind, this is a view of the centre of the village. To ease traffic flow especially during the summer months when many coaches pass along the narrow lanes, a one-way system is in force.
One of those narrow lanes where you are unlikely to see any of those coaches as it is a "No Through Road" with restricted turning possibilities is The Strand. Formerly known as Railway Street a tram-line had the rails relaid in the 1870s to allow a locomotive to travel along the lane and through tunnels driven through the cliffs to transport coal from Wiseman's Bridge and beyond to the harbour at Saundersfoot.
Today many of the properties on The Strand have been converted into shops, guest houses, bars or private dwellings but the base once again for our stay in Saundersfoot lies on the opposite side of the village. A couple of hundred yards from the harbour on Stammers Road is Bob and Jayne King's excellent Jalna Hotel.
Image produced from the Ordnance Survey Get-a-map service. Image reproduced with kind permission of Ordnance Survey and Ordnance Survey of Northern Ireland.