Maenclochog and Rosebush
Maenclochog and Rosebush
Maenclochog is a small village in Pembrokeshire’s rural heartland in the foothills of The Preseli Mountains, pronounced ‘mine-cloch-og’. Rosebush is 1 ½ miles further north.
Rosebush village sprang up when two slate quarries started operating here, The Bellstone quarry and The Rosebush quarry. They operated between 1825 and 1891 and supplied the slates for the Palace of Westminster in London. A railway line was built to transport the slate but that has long since disappeared. The village platform, however, does still exist.
In Maenclochog researchers have found what are believed to be the remains of a 13th-century castle.
The village was served by The Maenclochog Railway formally known as the Narberth Road and Maenclochog Railway which ran from Clynderwen on the Great Western Railway via Maenclochog to Rosebush.
The tunnel just outside Maenclochog achieved fame during the war when it was used as a testing site for bombs by Barnes Wallis, creator of the ‘bouncing bomb’.
Activities
Pantmaenog Forest near Rosebush has recently been open to the public and has over 12km’s of walking, mountain biking and horseriding trails. Rosebush has direct access to the great walking on the Preseli Hills.
Attractions
On the west side of the village is The Waldo Memorial, commemorating Waldo Williams, one of the leading Welsh language poets of the twentieth century. He was also a notable pacifist, anti-war campaigner and Welsh nationalist.
Just south of Mynachlog-ddu is the small stone circle at Gors Fawr. The circle has 16 blue stones and forms an egg-shaped ring. It’s believed that there was once an avenue leading to the two outliers, which are found to the north east. There’s another partial stone circle on The Preseli Mountains above the village at a place called Bedd Arthur
To the south west of Maenclochog is Penrhos Cottage, a tiny cottage that was once home to a family of 12! This is a typical North Pembrokeshire thatched cottage that has survived almost unchanged since the 19th Century. Built as an ‘overnight’ cottage in about 1800 and later rebuilt in stone, Penrhos, with its original Welsh oak furniture, provides a unique opportunity to view the cottager’s life in the past. The cottage is open by appointment only via Scolton Manor.
Food and drink
Rosebush’s village pub is the legendary Tafarn Sinc. The pub was originally built as a temporary structure to service the needs of the quarrymen in the nearby slate quarry, so was built from timber covered in corrugated zinc sheets. It must be one of the only ‘tin shed’ pubs in the country and it’s worth a visit. If you go at lunchtime on a Sunday in winter and you want something to eat, you need to book your Sunday lunch in advance. There is also a bistro and bar in The Old Post Office.
In Maenclochog there is a village pub., The Globe, well as a petrol station, 2 village shops.
Accommodation
This part of Pembrokeshire is very rural and relatively remote so there isn’t a great deal of accommodation in the vicinity. The nearest hotels would be in Haverfordwest or Narberth. There is one B&B in Maenclochog and another in Mynachlog-ddu . There is a Holiday Park in Mynachlog-ddu and a caravan and camping park at nearby Rosebush. There are some self catering cottages in the vicinity and in neighbouring villages such as Llys Y Fran.