This is the first November I have spent in the UK for nearly a decade….it’s bloody dark isn’t it!

The weather since February had lulled me into a false sense of security; a mild winter, a gorgeous early spring and a lengthy summer that shone on into October made me wonder what everyone had been moaning about during the years I was away. It all seemed rather nice, I wasn’t dying of heat stroke and the climate seemed very pleasant and manageable, bucolic even. And then the clocks went back and the afternoons became very long evenings and the rain started and hasn’t stopped and the leaves migrate into the house with every footfall and open door and the dogs have started sleeping late and pretending that they really don’t need a wee because outside is yuck and they just don’t have the coats for it.

I shouldn’t complain, I love the sound of the storms in the night, the rain lashing against the windows, feeling all cosy and tucked up in my bedroom (being exfoliated by the new kitten who has cat breath is not so cosy admittedly).

I love the brief breaks in the weather that let us get out and about under dramatic skies and when it does rain there are long lunches to enjoy at our favourite restaurants where the welcome is warm and they don’t throw you out into the cold at 2pm on the dot. (The Grove in Narberth, I’ve mentioned it before, I’ll probably mention it again, it just has the whole genuine welcome/fantastic food thing sorted!)

But I have to admit, the thought that these dark days will actually go on for months is a bit of a downer. Right now it has a certain novelty value but not being able to get out in the garden and plant the remaining hundreds of spring bulbs is a bit trying and the thought of having to clear the gutters for the second time in a month is a bit grim and we’re not yet into the anticipatory glittery glowiness of Christmas which is at least pleasantly seasonal and has the hope of clean, bright snow.

As it is only the first week of November I’m not yet ready to dive headlong into Christmas just to brighten my world up. It’s all a bit too soon despite the urgent playing of carols in the shops as they packed away the Halloween stuff, and after the year we’ve had I am longing for my first proper Christmas back at home to be a good one so I don’t want to peak too soon!

So I think I am going to skip the rest of November in the UK, it’s time to leave my Pembrokeshire haven for a bit, hit the road again, go follow the sun and then come back and really indulge in a proper family Pembrokeshire Christmas of log fires and huge meals and bracing walks by the sea (with a suntan).

• best lunch pembrokeshire,
• november in Pembrokeshire,
• the grove narberth,
• winter in wales