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Published: March 24th 2019
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Gabby the motorhome looks like an agricultural vehicle. She has been driven down miles and miles of narrow lanes and been splattered with mud. She no longer looks gold coloured. The reason she looks like an agricultural vehicle is due to the mud we have driven through as we pulled in and out of passing places. She has rubbed herself on the hedgerows which crowded in on her. She is going to need a serious dose of cleaning when we get home.
So why are we heading down all these narrow lanes. We are heading in the direction of Mill Bay. I doubt many find their way to Mill Bay. We read blogs from motorhomers who base their trips on a theme. They follow the mighty rivers of Europe from source to the sea. They follow the Rhine, the Moselle and the Seine. Some follow Roman history, Others Norman. We had decided over the years to follow Henry VII. We have seen his birthplace at Pembroke Castle a few days ago, we have visited the castle at Sussinio Brittany where he spent many years in exile. We have been to Bosworth Field, to Leicester to see the tomb of the
defeated Richard and finally his final resting place. The bit missing was his return to Wales before he headed for his date with destiny at Bosworth Field.
Today we planned to fill that gap in. Hence the muddy drive to a headland just across from Mill Bay. We planned to park up and walk to the nearby bay. Well that was the plan.
It is 1485 and the 28 year old Henry landed at Mill Bay just round the corner from Pembroke and in Milford Haven. He was accompanied by over 2000 French mercenaries paid for by the King of France. It took him just over 2 weeks to dispatch Richard at Bosworth and the rest is history.
Why did he choose this place? It was known to him and close to his Uncle Jaspers castle. This gave him access to the welsh who were prepared to fight with him. He had maintained a contact with the locals. It was around the headland from Dale Castle where there were English spies . The area around Dale and Pembroke were sympathetic to Henry and his cause.
We wanted to stand on the beach he landed on. We failed miserably. Having braved the awful roads we arrived at the headland. Mr Google had suggested that we might be able to park on a small piece of land near to the lighthouse and the lightkeepers cottages. However reality proved rather different . Private signs sprouted like mushrooms. We were denied parking near the cottages. This was Trinity House land and we were not welcome. There was nowhere closer to the lighthouse so in the end we had to give up. The bay was tantalisingly close. It was going to be one of those days where a good plan didnt quite come together . We tried though and that is the main thing.
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