Newgale Lodge

Name: Newgale Lodge
Address: Penycwm, Haverfordwest, SA626LA, GB
Telephone: +441437720959
Price range: $$

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An exclusive space for groups & teams to stay in Pembrokeshire's Coastal National Park. Stay. Learn. Socialise.

Group accommodation in two lodges, plus a holiday cottage, set in the beautiful Pembrokeshire Coast National Park. Secluded rural setting within 2-acres just just two miles from Newgale Beach.

03/11/2026

Ask us where the best conversations happen at Newgale Lodge, and we'll tell you: round the fire pit, about half nine at night. 🔥

The sessions are done. Dinner's been eaten. There's nothing left on the agenda.

Someone puts another log on. Someone else goes to get the blankets. And the talk drifts from football, to holidays, to the thing at work that's actually been bothering them.

Nobody's presenting anything. Nobody's taking notes. People just talk.

Planning a trip for your team next year? Come and see it for yourself. Send us a message, call 01437 720959 or visit newgalelodge.com.

29/10/2026

A quick one this week, because these two never get a mention.

Mohammed and Sarah, are our caretakers. 🏡

When a group tells us the place felt looked after, that's them. Beds made, rooms spotless, grounds tidy, and somehow always on hand when something needs fixing at short notice.

They're awesome. Nothing is too much trouble like helping build this fence and the endless hours of washing and painting it. They care about the lodge, they love making it look its best, and they're always happy to help.

Most of what makes a place feel good is the stuff nobody notices. So this is me noticing.

Diolch, both of you. Apnader dhonnobad (ধন্যবাদ). 💚

27/10/2026

Saying "I'm not doing that" in front of your whole team takes more guts than jumping.

We don't take many groups coasteering, but when we do, there's nearly always someone who gets to the edge, has a proper look down and goes "nope".

Which is completely fine. Nobody has to jump, and the instructors are brilliant about it.

What sticks with me is what everyone else does.

Some make a joke to break the tension. Some shout encouragement from a nice safe distance. And every now and then, someone climbs back over the rocks and just stands next to them for a minute. Not saying much. Not trying to talk them into anything. Just there.

That gets me every time.

Because we see exactly the same thing back in the sessions. Someone finally says "I'm struggling with this" or "I really don't think I can do that", and there's a little pause while the team decides, without anyone saying so, whether to make room for it or quietly carry on.

Most people already know which kind of team they're in. They just might not have said it out loud yet.

That's usually where the real conversation starts.

So, which one are you on the rocks?

23/10/2026

Nobody ever sees changeover day, so here it is.

One group leaves in the morning and the next one's due in. In between, every bed gets stripped and made up again, every bathroom gets done, towels go out, bins get emptied, and someone always finds a phone charger down the side of a bunk.

We clean the whole site top to bottom every time a group checks out, and that's 44 beds to strip and make up again before the next lot arrive.

When the next group walks in, it should feel like nobody's ever been here before. That's the job.

20/10/2026

Hello. I'm Ceri and I run Newgale Lodge in Pembrokeshire.
I've been manager here a year now. I'd been helping out at the lodge for six years before that, so when the job came up I didn't need asking twice.

Before this I sold houses at FBM in Haverfordwest, and before that it was nearly 30 years in retail and sales. Ten years with Olan Mills photography studios, twelve at Bright House, and a stint as a relief Post Office clerk. If you've ever renewed your passport in a supermarket, there's a chance it was me.

People think running a lodge is all countryside and cups of tea. Some days it is. Other days it's 44 sets of laundry to bag, unpack and sort, carpets to clean, and every kitchen on site to check before the next group turns up. Then there's the fire alarm test and the extinguisher checks. Twelve years of health and safety at Bright House set me up nicely for that, mind.

I do it all with Ian, our Duty Manager, and Mohammed and Sarah, who keep the place going. Couldn't do it without them (and wouldn't want to!), and they know it.

The best bit is the people. One week it's a school trip, the next it's a family get-together or a company team digging into the tough stuff on a development programme. I spent over 20 years training staff myself, so I love watching a group arrive a bit quiet and leave completely different.

I'll be posting about what goes on here, the good bits and the funny bits. If you're thinking about bringing your team down, give me a shout.

15/10/2026

Yes, our bar is called the Baa. Yes, it's a sheep joke. No, I won't be taking any complaints.

It's the room that gets the most use once the sessions finish. Some nights it's loud, music on and someone losing badly at pool.

Other nights it's three people and a pot of tea talking about something that matters.

Both are fine by me. 🙂

I'm just glad it's not called The Boredroom 😘

12/10/2026

Been on a team away day this year? Can you think of one thing that's actually different now because of it?

I ask because groups tell me the same story when they arrive. They had a lovely day somewhere last time, good lunch, bit of a quiz, and then Monday came and everything carried on as before.

What happens at Newgale is a bit less comfortable than that, at least to start with. We get into the stuff people don't usually say out loud:

• What frustrates them about work

• What's worrying them

• The problems everyone knows about but nobody raises

It can feel awkward on the first morning. But once it's all out on the table, there's usually a real sense of relief in the room. And then there's something honest to work on, which is what makes the difference when everyone gets back to work.

How did your last away day go, good or bad?

And if you'd like a hand making the next one count, send me a message.

06/10/2026

When teams plan a few days away, the default is usually a hotel. I get why. It's easy to book and everyone gets their own room.

But think about what actually happens. Dinner finishes, people drift off to their rooms, and by nine o'clock half the group is on their laptop answering emails. The bar's full of other guests, the meeting room is booked by the hour, and nobody really switches off.

At Newgale there's a choice of rooms, with bunk rooms in Skomer and Ramsey and en-suite rooms in Caldey House. What everyone shares is everything else. Meals, evenings, a drink at the end of the day, all under one roof with no one else around. That part's on purpose.

Most of our groups are people at the same level. A senior leadership team, a group of managers, a cohort of apprentices. Plenty of them only really know each other from meetings, and some have never met in person because they work on different sites.

A few days of eating together and sitting round in the evenings changes that. The best conversations often happen later on, when someone gets a cup of tea and finally says the thing they've been sitting on for months. That doesn't tend to happen in a hotel corridor.

If you're planning something for your team next year and want to come and have a look round first, send me a message.

30/09/2026

People aren't roles. They're people. Your development should reflect that.

25/09/2026

Turns out getting out of your comfort zone isn't always a terrible idea, Dave.

Address

Penycwm
Haverfordwest
SA626LA

Telephone

+441437720959

Website

https://newgalelodge.com/

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