True relaxation in the UK’s first eco-holiday village

We had just spent a boisterous three days with some friends and their kids in Gloucestershire. Now we fancied a bit of rest and relaxation. Going to the Bluestone holiday village, turned out to be an inspired idea.

Bluestone is near the Pembrokeshire coast, only a few miles from Pembroke itself. To get there from England, it's just a matter of driving to the end of the M4 - past the industrial coastal districts of Port Talbot - and straight into the green heart of South Wales.

The countryside is utterly beautiful: all those rolling hills and so green. And the area around Pembrokeshire is far less developed than similar areas in England. Bluestone is in the Pembrokeshire Coast National Park, which means that for anyone who wants to go walking, it is an ideal base.

For anyone who wants to slob out, it is also a wonderful place. Bluestone is a new unique £110million green holiday village with a wonderful selection of chalets. We were staying in a two-storey wooden house. It was absolutely luxurious: two great bedrooms with en-suite shower and bath and a fantastic living room and kitchen area upstairs. The kitchen was decked out with top-quality equipment.

The development has been described as an eco village so most of the hot water in the homes is generated by solar panels and the kitchen has its own recycling bins. Many of the visitors travel around by bike and if you haven't got your own, you can always hire a bike on the site. The first day we just unpacked and cooked dinner, which we ate on our private patio. And then in the dying sunlight, while the kids played on the grass, my husband and I just absorbed the atmosphere.

The following day, we decided to take the children to the water park, which is run on woodchip from local farmers. The building is tiled with oak slats and there was a series of stupendous slides, which the children loved. Funnily enough, the atmosphere was delightfully quiet - waterparks are normally a vile assault on the senses. Perhaps because of the wooden construction, the place didn't ring with the screams of children. It was almost restful.

Later on we had an archery lesson - you have to pay extra for these - and we went for dinner to a lovely pizza restaurant on the site. There are a good selection of restaurants on the site, and the food is good and reasonably priced - ours cost us around £15 a head.

We were due to leave the next day, but before doing so I insisted on seeing a castle. There are at least three famous castles within a few miles of site. We went to Carew Castles, which was quite stunning. And there was a wonderful tidal mill, only a few hundred yards away from the castle. We didn't have time to see Pembroke Castle or the nearby RAF airfield tower, which is open to the public. Instead, we drove back home to London, vowing that we'd be back to visit the area again and, if possible, we'd stay at Bluestone.

Further information

Details from 0800 0224 517. Bluestone is currently offering winter breaks from £199. For more details visit www.bluestonewales.com

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