Maenclochog named as one of UK's 'best kept secrets'
The tiny village of Maenclochog in north Pembrokeshire has been named as one of Pembrokeshire's best kept secrets in a list recently compiled by The Times.
The list, which aims to help people find the perfect place in which to live, has identified 20 villages described as being 'the friendliest and prettiest under-the-radar spots,' and has identified a list of the best 'secret' villages in the UK. And this week the tiny village of Maenclochog discovered that it had scooped second place.
The list was compiled by Tim Palmer who is one of the main judges and writers behind the annual Sunday Times Best Places to Live guide who is renowned for hunting down some of the UK's best communities and locations.
He describes Maenclochog as a 'hearty little community deep in the Pembrokeshire countryside' with 'brilliant village shops, a much-loved pub and two petrol stations'. The article also claims the village has 'a choice of excellent English or Welsh-medium schools'. The Times goes on to say that it's 'the sense of community that makes the village stand out.'
Researchers have found what are believed to be the remains of a 13th-century castle at Maenclochog while the village appears on a 1583 parish map of Pembrokeshire.
It was served by the Maenclochog Railway,which ran from Clynderwen on the Great Western Railway via Maenclochog to Rosebush while the tunnel just outside Maenclochog was used during World War 2 as a bomb-test site for bombs by Barnes Wallis, who was the creator of the bouncing bomb.
Following the Second World War an attempt by the War Office to take over 16,000 acres of the Preselau slopes, as a permanent military training ground, was thwarted by a strong campaign led by local ministers of religion and headteachers. They argued that the acquisition would have meant a loss of farming livelihood, and Maenclochog might have become a garrison village.
Meanwhile the percentage of Welsh speakers in Maenclochog has almost halved in recent years, with only 41% of the population speaking the language
Maenclochog named as one of UK's 'best kept secrets'
The tiny village of Maenclochog in north Pembrokeshire has been named as one of Pembrokeshire's best kept secrets in a list recently compiled by The Times.
The list, which aims to help people find the perfect place in which to live, has identified 20 villages described as being 'the friendliest and prettiest under-the-radar spots,' and has identified a list of the best 'secret' villages in the UK. And this week the tiny village of Maenclochog discovered that it had scooped second place.
The list was compiled by Tim Palmer who is one of the main judges and writers behind the annual Sunday Times Best Places to Live guide who is renowned for hunting down some of the UK's best communities and locations.
He describes Maenclochog as a 'hearty little community deep in the Pembrokeshire countryside' with 'brilliant village shops, a much-loved pub and two petrol stations'. The article also claims the village has 'a choice of excellent English or Welsh-medium schools'. The Times goes on to say that it's 'the sense of community that makes the village stand out.'
Researchers have found what are believed to be the remains of a 13th-century castle at Maenclochog while the village appears on a 1583 parish map of Pembrokeshire.
It was served by the Maenclochog Railway,which ran from Clynderwen on the Great Western Railway via Maenclochog to Rosebush while the tunnel just outside Maenclochog was used during World War 2 as a bomb-test site for bombs by Barnes Wallis, who was the creator of the bouncing bomb.
Following the Second World War an attempt by the War Office to take over 16,000 acres of the Preselau slopes, as a permanent military training ground, was thwarted by a strong campaign led by local ministers of religion and headteachers. They argued that the acquisition would have meant a loss of farming livelihood, and Maenclochog might have become a garrison village.
Meanwhile the percentage of Welsh speakers in Maenclochog has almost halved in recent years, with only 41% of the population speaking the language