Tafarn Sinc the corrugated iron pub

Tafarn Sinc, Rhos-y-Bwlch, Rosebush, Clunderwen, Pembrokeshire

As anyone visiting Pembrokeshire in West Wales will know, this is a beautiful part of Wales especially if you are just doing a bit of touring around, generally at a leisurely pace given the narrow roads and lanes. Follow the road from Cardigan across the Preselli Hills to Haverfordwest and look out for the sign to Rosebush to find the famous corrugated iron pub.

Yes, the outside walls really are made of corrugated iron panels, painted red, and inside the wooden floor has sprinkles of sawdust, wooden benches, hams hanging from hooks in the ceiling (now artificial rather than smoked or salted sadly) and a large black wood-burner in the centre. It is what you call a pub with character!  

However, it is run efficiently with excellent beers and lagers and a wide range of dishes on the menu, all cooked and presented well and at very reasonable prices. It is actually owned by the village and run as a co-operative, the manager and staff paid a salary, with funds raised through contributions to 400 shares – they raised £400,000 so were able to buy it and ensure the facilities were up-to-date without changing the character. Not an easy task as we will all have seen in our own locality.

The village used to have a train line serving the quarries nearby, long since closed down but there is a quirky little tableau outside with bits of rail, a platform, and several mannequin figures as waiting passengers. There is even a recording in the background of a train arriving, stopping and moving on, so it feels like you are back there in Victorian times just having a drink while waiting for the local service – brilliant. Rosebush is a pretty little village with a small caravan/camping site nearby but little else. However, on a warm sunny summer’s day, it is worth searching out to enjoy the atmosphere as well as refreshments, especially with friends.