The quirky Jocelyn dudes were in full swing as I entered the room. Diners were tapping their toes, with one corpulent gent just about keeping the beat with his spoon.

I soon found out why this was called the banqueting suite – it really was a feast to remember. I went a bit retro to begin with but luckily this wasn’t one of those pink and gooey horror stories from days of yore. No, this was a delicate prawn cocktail with the added touch of rolled brown bread and smoked salmon.

Other starters on my table included garlic mushrooms, cream of onion and thyme soup and duck rillettes, so I spent a couple of minutes resembling Stressed Eric, wondering whether I’d made the right choice.

By now the Jocelyn Trio had really got going. Lily, James and Oliver were reeling off one tune after another, adding a lovely swing to the meal. So much so that I got a bit carried away and accidentally catapaulted a prawn off the table. Nobody noticed, I hope.

As the music veered from the melodic to the ecstatic, and back again, the main course was served. I went for roast Pembrokeshire chicken with sage and onion stuffing, which was a triumph. Unfortunately, it’s not always easy to find Pembrokeshire chicken when you eat out around here, so thumbs up to the chefs for sourcing locally.

This delicious bird was perfectly cooked and succulent, served with a delightfully balanced stuffing, intensely flavoured homemade gravy, and the best roasted tatties this side of my ma’s kitchen.

Then a gaggle of waiters and waitresses took to the floor, whirling about to the music as they dished out additional veggie delights, from “Molly Parkin parsnips” to boiled carrots, which were unexpected yet very welcome additions.

Other main courses included everything from herb crusted salmon to slow-braised Welsh brisket, and all of them looked lip-smackingly delicious.

At this stage the conversation was getting so good, and the food proving so faultless, that I was almost tempted to get on the stage and reel out an ode to the chefs and hosts. Thankfully the musicmeisters weren’t knocked of balance by yours truly and pudding was promptly served.

And here’s my first and only complaint! How on earth is a sober diner supposed to choose between warm chocolate brownie, cherry frangipane tart and profiteroles? I shut my eyes and struck out with my pen – a cherry frangipane tart it was, and this masterpiece of puddingry couldn’t have been better.

The pastry was perfect – as was the general texture and flavour balance, and the crème anglaise.

Well done the Wolfscastle!

Wolfscastle Country Hotel recently became only the second in Pembrokeshire to be awarded 4* Country House Hotel status.

One of a small number of family-owned hospitality businesses in Wales, the hotel is a former vicarage which was bought by current owner Andrew Stirling in 1976.

It is one of only 50 included in Welsh Rarebits, the Welsh Gold Collection of privately-owned hotels of distinction.

The 4* accolade followed a rigorous inspection by Visit Wales and, said Andrew: “The grading was the icing on the cake of our very successful 35th anniversary year.

“It’s really given us the impetus to go onwards and upwards for 2013, and we are very excited at a number of new initiatives we have planned, including a new brasserie extension at the front of the hotel which is currently under construction and should open in April.”

Andrew Stirling with the Four Star Grading Sign

http://www.mirror.co.uk/lifestyle/travel/british-breaks/pembrokeshire-holidays-on-the-welsh-coast-wolfscastle-1369143

Barti Ddu Memorial, Little Newcastle

Bartholomew Roberts, also known as Black Bart or Barti Ddu, came from Little Newcastle – a village just a few miles from this hotel, in the foothills of the Preseli Mountains. He went on to raid over 400 ships in the Caribbean, going down in pirate history for his audacity.

You can see a memorial to the man on Little Newcastle’s village green. And he’s not the only renowned pirate to have come from Pembrokeshire…

Maybe that shouldn’t be such a surprise – the county’s surrounded on three sides by 200 miles of wonderfully wild coastline that today creates a natural playground for walkers, climbers, coasteerers and kayakers.

In the past it was more useful for concealing anyone wanting to keep their ‘import’ business hidden, or for catching unsuspecting vessels on its rocks. “Wrecking”, the gathering of any booty shed by a shipwreck, was a regular feature of Pembrokeshire life and it’s suggested that wreckers actively worked to lure passing vessels to their doom by using onshore lanterns to confuse them.

Even the more inland communities relied on the bounty of the coast and, in medieval times, the men of Wolfscastle would be “summoned by a horn” to head to the sea shore, should news of a wreck reach the village. Sometimes it was a risky business for local wreckers: One day back in 1791, a ship carrying condemned gunpowder ran aground at Druidston, but when drunk looters started throwing gunpowder over the side of the ship they triggered massive explosions, taking many to a nasty end.

Perhaps it was growing up surrounded by such activity that gave Pembrokeshire’s youth its taste for piracy? Whatever the reason, their searoving deeds were hard to quash. Queen Elizabeth 1st tried and failed to end lawlessness along the coastline, as did many before and after her, but it wasn’t until the Napoleonic Wars, when Navy ships began patrols along the coastline, that Pembrokeshire’s age of piracy finally came to an end.

These rogues and chancers still hold a fascination for us. And, although you’re unlikely to spot the Jolly Roger being hoisted, or find a treasure on the shoreline, and although us locals have channeled their energies into more peaceful pursuits, Pembrokshire’s beautiful countryside and coastline remains as wild as it ever was – come down and explore!

Photo (C) Word Waiter PR – Pembrokeshire.

You can see the starting point for this short walk from the Wolfscastle Country Hotel. It’s just across the road, where the village’s motte-and-bailey is hidden among a stand of trees. A motte-and-bailey was “entry level” castle building, a simple earthwork with a log wall and the Norman invaders of the early Middle Ages put up thousands of them.

At Wolf’s Castle they built right on the frontier, a contested landscape where the invaders bumped up against the native Welsh. Standing on the man-made hill you find yourself wondering who, or what, was the Wolf’s Castle “wolf”?

There are plenty of opinions. One has it that the last Welsh wolf was cornered and killed at Wolf’s Castle. But the same story is linked with other locations, like Wolf’s Leap in the Cambrian Mountains.

Personally, I prefer the theory that the Wolf was more man than beast. During the Middle Ages the tag “wolf” was sometimes given to an outlaw, so perhaps the valley was once home to a human wolf or wolves.

And the steep-sided, wooded gorge did apparently have a reputation as bandit country. It’s still well-wooded, with huge beeches, ashes and chestnuts crowding the banks of the Anghof, which flows into the Western Cleddau at Wolf’s Castle. Anyway, after passing through the castle field the path drops down into the deep and narrow Anghof Valley, turning left along a track on the western bank of the river before veering right over a bridge.

The valley is the perfect location for an autumn walk. The river roars like a lion and the leaf colour is impressive, from the burnished gold of beech and butter yellow of ash leaves to the warm umber of oak and chestnut.

In time the route reaches the Quarry Bridge. Flocks of small birds flit through upper branches, while jays shriek in the woodland peace. Further on is Sealyham, where the path takes you close to the door of the big, white, Sealyham Mansion, which is now an outdoor activity centre. If the weather is with you it’s worth pressing on along a quiet lane for five minutes or so to look at St Dogwell’s Church before turning back to the hotel.

In its earth-bank enclosure, the little church is very atmospheric. It is named for St Dogwell, also Dogfael or Dogmael, a 5^th Century Welsh saint, and cousin of St. David. But it’s a place with an even longer historical reach.

At the edge of the churchyard stands a column of stone that is marked with carvings in the old Ogham (pronounced ‘oh-um’) script. Stones marked with Ogham script are to be found across the north of Pembrokeshire, evidence of the Irish migrants who settled the county in pre-Christian times.

The best option for the return journey is to retrace your steps back through the valley past Sealyham Mansion, keeping to the right, to the west of the river, rather than recrossing Quarry Bridge. The path leaves the woodland onto the A40 and then it’s just a matter of minutes back to Wolf’s Castle.

When you arrive back at the hotel, I’d say you should reward yourself with a lunch, tea or dinner. I can recommend the cawl, full of flavour and perfectly matched with crusted bread and a slab of sharp Llangloffan cheese.

“…we headed out again for Sunday lunch to the Wolfscastle Hotel in the village of the same name. Here we had what all four of us agreed was one of the best Sunday lunches ever. It was busy when we arrived and you soon found out why once our food, including scallops, began arriving. It was superb quality and astonishing value.”

Jenni Falconer recently presented her pick of the UK’s most romantic getaways, on ITV’s This Morning - Wolfscastle Country Hotel was her Welsh choice!

Novelist and travel writer Niall Griffiths recently visited and wrote about the hotel and its fascinating environs – see his Visit Wales blog for more…