Wales
Caldey Island
Monks make chocolate and lavender perfume on an island a short boat from Tenby.
A few minutes by boat from Tenby's harbour in west Wales is an island run by Cistercian monks who farm it, pray in it, and make chocolate, shortbread and lavender perfume in it. Caldey has held monks since Celtic times, and the monastery still looks down over the village green where visitors sit with tea.
The island works at walking pace. From the landing a lane leads to the village, the monastery above it, the Abbey Church and the Old Priory, which carry the older religious history of the place; people have lived on the island since the Stone Age. Priory Bay is the sandy beach, red squirrels move through the woodland, seals rest on the rocks, and a gentle walk climbs to the lighthouse for the whole Pembrokeshire coast laid out. The chocolate factory can be glimpsed at work, and what it makes is sold in the village; boats run from Tenby harbour through a season from spring to late October, always weather permitting, which is part of the bargain: Caldey is an island that decides for itself whether you come. It is a half-day that feels longer, and it pairs naturally with Tenby, whose harbour the boats return to.
Solo
Take an early boat, walk to the lighthouse before the day-trippers spread out, and sit in the Abbey Church before the day fills.
Couple
Priory Bay for the afternoon, chocolate from the monks, and the last boat back to Tenby for supper on the harbour.
Family
Red squirrels, seals on the rocks, a beach and a chocolate factory, all within a walk children can manage between boats.
- Caldey is owned by monks of the Cistercian Order, whose monastery overlooks the village green, and the island has held monks since Celtic times.
- The monks make chocolate, shortbread and Caldey lavender perfume on the island itself.
- Red squirrels dart through the woods and seals rest on the rocks; Priory Bay is the beach, and a walk climbs to the lighthouse for the coast view.
- Boats leave from Tenby harbour, weather permitting, through a season that runs from spring to late October.
Chocolate and shortbread made on the island by the monastery, sold in the village and eaten on the sand at Priory Bay.
Tea in the island village between the monastery and the green, then a picnic carried over from Tenby for the walk to the lighthouse.
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