We are blessed with many gorgeous places in Wales to eat, drink, stay and have fun and in Pembrokeshire you'll find so many of them, but it's just a case of digging out the gems - which sometimes are in the middle of nowhere.
One such family-run venue that serves cracking food and has views over the gorgeous Preseli Hills is found minutes from the big guns of tourism, Bluestone and Oakwood. Wakeboarding and aquapark, Wild Lakes in Martlewy, is a hive of watersports activity but if you look further you can get a brilliant dinner inside or outside their pretty, fairy-lit tipi where the menu is put together by chef Ian Willson, who was previously at Wolfscastle Country Hotel and Slebech Park as head chef.
The menu, which is filled with local and seasonal produce, will see visitors try small plates - or 'plates dwti' - like BBQ brisket dirty fries, chargrilled lime and chilli prawns, an impressive choice of Pembrokeshire beef burgers and wood-fired pizzas. It's exactly the type of grub you want after a day of hiking the hills, swimming at the coast or an adrenaline-filled afternoon of rollercoaster riding at the nearby theme park.
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Wild Lakes is run by siblings Sarah, Steph and Mark Harris, whose story behind the wakeboarding park you can read here, and they wanted to offer something a little different from your regular activity centre fare, and it certainly makes them stand out - the food is tasty, fresh and is served swiftly in the tipi which is a lovely place to sit of an evening. You also don't have to book into the park for an activity to eat there as their food offering is open to all to book.
Steph told WalesOnline what they wanted to achieve when opening the tipi: "They are fun and relaxed and offer a sense of informal-ness that kids can play whilst you’re eating, or families can have a good natter with little restriction of ‘you only have your table until this time’.
"We’re a family-run business so it only makes sense to offer a dining area for families to enjoy, we’re also dog-friendly so the whole family can come. We didn’t want to go down the route of your bog-standard food and what’s expected of an activity place. Instead, we wanted to provide an experience. Having Ian Willson come on board with us and set up the tipi dining menus has been the fundamental factor, Ian has loads of experience in all aspects of relaxed and formal dining, therefore he's got free reign to do what he wants, when he wants.
"He’s a wizard in the kitchen and when it comes to creating fab tasting menus, suited for the environment he sure does know how to do it. It also means that as the summer season goes, Ian can flip over to full fine dining and again provide a totally different experience for customers."
Being so close to big attractions like Bluestone and Oakwood is a plus for Wild Lakes on one hand, making the venue much easier to find, Steph added: "It’s a double plus for the views we get of the Preselis and the sunsets over the fields. We do often get families coming over for food and some good coffee. It’s a great little haven and hub for activities. However, our only negative sometimes is that often people assume that we are owned and run by either Oakwood or Bluestone, which at times can be a little frustrating. We are only a family-run business amongst some big local attractions."
Having two AA Rosette chef, Ian, onboard is a plus, considering he's a dab hand at building during the winter - this year they hope to extend the kitchen - and he's a top wakeboarder, too. He's joined in the kitchen by two other chefs, Pau and Cai, who have been trained up to run a service while he's doing a spot of DIY or taking in the waves. Steph said: "Ian is a true part of the family - we think even our family dogs Bryn and Dewi like him!"
