Recently, Rebecca was bag packing at Tesco Haverfordwest with Guides and I needed to keep the other three kids entertained until the end of her shift. We walked up to Haverfordwest Race Course so the kids could have a run around safely (there is plenty of room here for the kids to run about as you can see in the photo above). There is free parking opposite Haverfordwest Cricket Club (SA61 1HZ) on Dale Road.
This green space hasn’t actually been a race course for over 100 years but a lot of the old course remains today. You can read more about the history of Haverfordwest Race Course and find a three mile walk around this area by following the links. We just played in the field and walked around the North part of the Race Course on our side of the road. Next time we will cross the road and walk the complete course.
There were old large tyres on the course. Presumably they’re either used to train dogs or they’ve just been dumped but the kids enjoyed playing with them. I did warn them that if a dog came bounding up for training then they’d need to let them use the tyres. Naturally, this walk is popular with dog owners, many of whom make the most of the free space and let their dogs of the lead, so this walk is mainly suited for children who are confident around dogs (and dogs who are confident around children!).
As the kids were kept amused by the tyre (honestly they love them) I sat on the bench for a while as they played.
We then finished walking around the course. There is a woodland area at the top of the race course. The kids made wishes.
One of their wishes was to bring Toby Dog here one day as the kids knew he would love it. We then headed back to pick up Rebecca.
This photo makes me laugh- “WARNING: CHILDREN PLAYING”. I should have ran while I had the chance!
Caitlyn liked the lion statues outside the old Imperial Garage site. My parents brought many of our family cars from here when I was younger. I used to always beg them to buy an 8 -seater, but of course as a family of four then five, we didn’t need one. Now I have an MPV of my own out of necessity not choice. One year the salesman gave my sister and I a cuddly Peugoet Lion. They were lovely realistic lion teddies – I remember taking photos of it in the field and car pretending it was a real lion. The new Peugoet cuddly lions are blue and cartoon like, not as nice as the ones in “my day” (they don’t make cuddly lions like they used to!).
Anyway, the kids wish came true. Nanny let us look after Toby for the weekend and we got to take him for a walk up the Race Course. He was so excited to come in the car with us. The only difficult bit was when we arrived he couldn’t wait to get out, so it took me a few minutes to calm him enough so I could let him out of the car safely.
There was plenty of space for the kids to kick a ball around and for me to walk Toby. Of course he loved playing with the ball. This was the girls’ new large tennis ball. While in the field, Toby knew it was theirs and played with it but didn’t chew. When we arrived home the girl’s took their ball into Toby’s garden. I reminded them that once the ball was in his home he would destroy it Toby style. They said that as he loved it they wanted him to have it. Sure enough once he saw the ball was now in his space he was straight into it. I’m so impressed with how nicely he played with it while we were out though!
It was a lovely walk with Toby and one we will definitely do time and time again. This walk is close to Brooksgrove Farm where you can currently go Strawberry Picking in Pembrokeshire (while crops last!) so you could come here for a walk after you’ve filled your punnet.
What’s your favourite local walk or dog walk?
