In association with
Sykes Cottages
Icon/Navigation/Chevron/Left Back to search
1 of 23 View Image Gallery
  • Step in - South Wales - 1098761 - photo 1
close

Step in

(Ref. 1098761)

Pontfaen near Fishguard, South Wales & Pembrokeshire Show on map

4.4

Sykes rating

  • 4 Guests

  • 2 Bedrooms

  • 1 Bathroom

  • Pets No

Features

  • Off road parking
  • Open fire
  • Garden / Patio
  • Washing machine
  • Dishwasher
  • Broadband / WiFi

Reviews & Ratings

Accuracy of the listing
Cleanliness
Comfort
Facilities and Maintenance
  • All reviews
  • cottage (7)
  • valley (6)
  • our (5)
  • step (5)
  • great (5)
  • house (5)

12 Customer Reviews

  • "This was our third trip to Step In."

    We love the remoteness and the peace, the tranquility and the beauty. It allows us to properly switch off. The house and gardens are great, the welcome is always warm and there’s so much to do in the area. We will be back!

    Dear Martin Thanks so much for your glowing review. I'm delighted you all find it so restorative here. I do myself too. Step In looks forward to welcoming you back in 2024 Property Owner

    Reviewed by Martin5.0Jul 2023

  • "In our opinion; Step In is a lovely, comfy cottage, with two nice gardens."

    It is set in a rural location, in a narrow valley, and so it does come with some of the traits to be expected, including a relatively remote location accessed by minor roads. A bit more attention to detail with routine House Keeping would have been appreciated.

    Reviewed by James4.7Jun 2023

  • "Super cottage, peaceful and relaxing whatever the weather."

    We had 6 days of glorious weather and one where we sat by the fire reading and playing classical guitar; the acoustics are great. Numerous walks close to the cottage so pack your walking boots and camera. The best part is that WiFi, Satnav and phone signal are poor due to the narrow and steep sided valley, which is wonderful for a truly relaxing holiday

    Reviewed by Gillian4.7Oct 2022

  • "Step In was very comfortable, had everything we needed and more."

    Facilities were excellent. The local walks were endless, with amazing scenery and so quiet all day. Our neighbour across the road was very helpful and informative too. The only little criticism, was the duvet on the king size bed needs to be a king size duvet...it was too small for the bed. Otherwise a 5 star stay and we will definitely be booking again.

    Reviewed by Beverley5.0Sep 2022

  • "A very nice place to stay."

    We loved being in a quiet, peaceful valley away from everything. Thank you for the very generous welcome pack.

    Reviewed by Lindsay5.0Sep 2022

  • "A very lovely well equipped house."

    Very comfortable Wi-Fi was a bit sketchy and slow but I do understand we were in a Welsh Valley. Very lovely to have the basket of treats and very dog friendly property.

    Reviewed by Emma4.7Aug 2022

  • "Lovely cottage."

    Thank you for the lovely starter pack very much appreciated. House requires a thorough clean as alot of cobwebs and dead spiders everywhere. Sofas on the small side for a family of 4.

    Dear Santho Thank you for your comments. I am pleased you liked the cottage and the starter pack. I am sorry to hear though, that there were a few spiders and cobwebs in the cottage which caught your attention. No one has mentioned any beforehand. The spiders must have had a busy time recently there! I shall chat with the cleaning team about this. Thank you for alerting me however. Please note there are 2 two seater sofas in the living room and a settle which seats 3 moderate-sized adults easily. Therefore there is plenty of seating for a family of four people in the living room. Property Owner

    Reviewed by Santho3.1Aug 2022

  • "Beautiful cottage with a great, quiet, rural location."

    Very peaceful at night with owls and foxes around. The riverside garden was gorgeous and the fire pit a real bonus. Only 15 minutes into Fishguard and 30 minutes to a whole load of local attractions and places to visit. A few little touches were missing: we had to buy bin bags, dishwasher tablets and toilet rolls, and the food waste bags had run out (though we worked out that you can simply ask the collection crew for some). However these were minor niggles and we'd absolutely book to stay there again!

    Dear Richard Thank you for your feedback. I am pleased you had a lovely stay and enjoyed the tranquility of the location which is as you rightly point out truly special. With regard to the details you mention, we do try to provide spare bin bags which comply with Pembrokeshire County Council's refuse services. I am sorry there were too few for you on this occasion however. I shall make sure enough are put out in future and the cleaners know to do this. With regard to details such as dishwasher tablets we do provide some but as Step In is a self-catering cottage the expectation is that guests will bring some of their own housekeeping items too. There is always plenty of washing up liquid so hopefully you were not without means to wash dishes for your stay! Property Owner

    Reviewed by Richard4.7Jul 2022

  • "Problems with tv connection,."

    .. internet, ...owners tethering hotspot for wi fi....mobile connection....other than E E although owner arrived to empty bins, didnt understand the problem, sent a tree surgeon out,to claer a line for the dish...!! then wanted to have a tv man in cottage when we were there instead of between change over!!! trying to be help ful, but honestly not realyl much of idea how holiday cottage should be run......... there should be on the cottage info ,warnings about intermittent Tv and Wi Fi difficulties and some mobile network limitation. Only EE works. this is common in parts of the Gwaun vakkey and cannot be fixed, in places. This is fine, if you know...we still would have chosen to go, but would have taken more books, games etc, to do. settees not large enough for 4 people if they stayed...small doubles, cottage clean, rubbish a problem.........as only one grey bag will be collected every three weeks, .......owner did come to empty bin as it was over flowing when we got there......

    Julie thank you for your comments and I am sorry for your frustrations with the TV connection. The problem has now been fixed and I would note this is a very recent issue with the TV signal at the cottage and there is actually no general problem with an intermittent TV signal. The satellite dish, due to the issue of tree branch growth in the spring, has now been moved so we are confident this issue will not occur again. You are correct in the fact the Gwaun Valley does generally suffer from a poor mobile phone signal with EE seemingly the only provider that gives a fairly comprehensive coverage for the area. Traditional WiFi via the landline is also problematic due to the distance many of the properties are from the nearest exchange. For this reason, we have provided our guests with a mobile phone that gives a good WiFi signal using the phones WiFi hotspot. With regard to the rubbish, it is Pembrokeshire Council’s model to collect non-recyclable rubbish every third week whilst collecting all recyclables every week and unfortunately there is nothing, we nor any other owners, can do about this. We are pleased to hear that you enjoyed your stay. Property Owner

    Reviewed by Julie2.5Jun 2022

  • "We take UK breaks maybe four times a year, so we have stayed in a lot of cottages."

    Step In is located in the most tranquil valley, where you can only here the noise of the river Gwuan, the wind in the trees and farm noises 99% of the time. The peace really helped us to switch off. The cottage itself was clean and comfortable, with modern fixtures and fittings. We were left a generous welcome pack and extensive instructions. The area around has a fantastic range of activities and points of interest, including a great hike right from the door. Thank you.

    Dear Martin Thank you for your appreciative comments and wonderful rating for Step In. I am delighted the cottage met all of your requirements and enabled you to relax and have a memorable and restorative stay. You are right it is truly restorative there. Very special! I am pleased we got the balance of instructions right in your case and did not overdo it and that you appreciated the welcome pack! Thank you once again for your kind comments. They are most appreciated. Property Owner

    Reviewed by Martin5.0May 2022

  • "Needs hand rail at front steps!"

    ! Skylight back boiler room rain leak. Awful TV reception.. WiFi problems.. Poorly lit lounge couldn't read in there.. Where was the games room? Rinky dinky not useable, we'd looked forward to it! Lovely heating and hot water +++.. lovely cottage dog had fun, bird life incredible, lovely and peaceful, nice friendly neighbours.. had to cut short our stay as had a bad fall (not at house) had to come home early but had been out and about quite a bit, lots to see, plenty leaflets provided at cottage! Having extra freezer a bonus thank you. Sorry couldn't strip beds etc as would normally do, too much pain! Vacuum cleaner had blown up this was mentioned to Sykes so hope it was passed on.

    Barry thank you for your comments. We have just taken over the cottage as a holiday let and in preparing it for the holiday season have not had time to equip adequately what could be termed a 'games room' nor the caravan for the time being, therefore we have taken these descriptions off the website for now. Our apologies about the TV reception. It seems to have been a sudden issue due to spring tree growth obscuring the signal for the satellite dish and this matter has been rectified. We are in the process of improving the lighting issue in the lounge also. We are pleased nevertheless you enjoyed your stay and the peace and tranquility of the valley - it's USP. Property Owner

    Reviewed by Barry3.8May 2022

  • "We had a lovely time at Step In, A great location situated in the quiet Gwaun valley in a slightly raised location."

    With great views from the garden patio which catches the sun in the morning making it perfect for breakfast, even when were were there in April. Ten minutes access by car to Fishguard for groceries, pubs and takeaways. Lots of walking locally. We really enjoyed our time here and hope to return.

    Dear Mark Thank you for your wonderful write-up and score (!) about Step In. I'm delighted you all loved it so much and that the weather made it doubly idyllic for you. I do hope you return. I'm trying to improve it all the time. Very best wishes Sue Property Owner

    Reviewed by Mark5.0Apr 2022

Show more Hide all

This property is part of the Coast & Country Holidays collection.
Over 250 carefully selected and perfectly located properties, helping you create your perfect holiday.

Summary

  • Two bedrooms
  • 1 x King size double
  • 1 x Twin
  • Bathroom with bath, shower over, basin and WC
  • Kitchen/diner
  • Sitting room with wood burning stove
  • Central heating
  • Oven, hob, microwave, fridge/freezer, additional larger fridge/freezer in laundry room, washing machine, tumble dryer, dishwasher
  • TV, WIFI, selection of books and games
  • Fuel, power and starter pack for wood burning stove inc. in rent
  • Additional logs can be taken from the store by the door and payment left in the honesty box indoors
  • Bed linen and towels inc. in rent
  • Parking
  • Electric Vehicles: This property does not have a charge point for electric vehicles and charging from within the property is prohibited. Enclosed back garden with patio, lawn and furniture
  • Garden across council road with lawn, fire pit and furniture
  • Sorry, no dogs and no smoking
  • Stone steps lead up to the property, please take care
  • The river Gwaun, across the road from Step In, can be reached from the unfenced garden, please supervise any children at all times
  • Shops and Coast just 12 to 14 minutes away, pub 1.6 miles

The property

Enjoying the countryside on its doorstep in Pontfaen near Fishguard, Pembrokeshire is the delightful, detached cottage, Step In.

Even though it enjoys countryside views, the property is also within reach of Pembrokeshire's stunning coast, giving a family of four the best of both worlds.

After parking, take in the scenery and the sounds of the river running by before wandering inside this charming abode.

The sitting room envelopes you with warmth, thanks to the toasty wood burning stove, as you enter the property and offers sumptuous sofas for you to kick back whilst you watch TV.

Continue to the spacious kitchen, where an array of handy appliances can be found, as well as a dining table which seats the whole family.

Just off the kitchen rests the utility, where a washing machine, an additional fridge/freezer, a dishwasher and a tumble dryer can be found, for added convenience.

At the end of an eventful day, freshen up in the cloakroom or enjoy a soothing soak in the bathroom upstairs, where you can also enjoy rural views from the comfort of the bath.

Choose between a lovely double and a twin to enjoy a well-earned rest in; both rooms offer coastal blue touches throughout, whilst the double enjoys double aspect windows showcasing views of the garden and the countryside.

In the morning, enjoy a steaming cup of coffee on the back garden's patio.

Across the council road lies another quaint garden, where a picnic bench, fire pit for you to relax in alongside the idyllic river Gwaun.

Travel a short distance into Fishguard for your amenities, where you can learn all about Welsh folk heroine Jemima Nicholas and the Last Invasion of mainland Britain in 1797!

Also, enjoy beautiful Lower Town, the location for Dylan Thomas' 'Under Milk Wood' big screen adaptation featuring Richard Burton and Elizabeth Taylor.

Be sure to pay St Davids a visit, Wales' smallest city, which also enjoys access to a range of beaches, including Whitesands Bay, along with the Porthclais harbour and St. Non's Cliffs.

Spend the day in Cardigan, home to the historic wonders of Cardigan Castle and the Guildhall Market, as well as hosting the enchanting Welsh Wildlife Centre in nearby Cilgerran, where ample walking can be enjoyed.

Spend more time within the Pembrokeshire Coast National Park for even more seaside fun or explore the mystical Preseli Hills, the source of the Bluestones of Stonehenge and then visit the historic town of Pembroke with its castle that gave us the Tudor Dynasty, or travel to Tenby for a fantastic day at the beach.

Whatever you choose to get up to, Step In offers a relaxing base to which you can retreat.

View on map

About the location

FISHGUARD

St. Davids 16 miles; Tenby 36 miles.

Fishguard is an ideal holiday destination on the award-winning Pembrokeshire Coast, which has been voted the second best coastal destination in the world according to the National Geographic magazine. The town itself has an array of gift shops, tea rooms, restaurants and pubs and offers the opportunity of viewing the superb Last Invasion Tapestry, which has been compared to the Bayeux Tapestry. Day trips to Ireland run daily and the picturesque Lower Fishguard Harbour is a delight for sailing enthusiasts. From this perfect holiday base you can enjoy the amazing coastline, the Pembrokeshire Coast Path, the beautiful Preseli Hills, where the Stonehenge Blue Stones originated, or explore the array of historic castles, working mills and visit the smallest city in Wales with its magnificent St. Davids Cathedral. Whatever you are looking for, this is a fantastic location for all ages.

This property offers the following short breaks:

  • Winter