See our list of cottages for New Year below and plan your mid-winter break in West Wales. Many cottages offer special short New Year breaks over this period, making it easy to fit in a few days away.
Seeing in the New Year is an important celebration for many and a characterful holiday cottage in West Wales can offer the perfect setting for a memorable occasion.
Enjoy the atmosphere of your cottage whether it’s just the two of you or a group of family or friends. If you’d rather go out and about, there are lots of friendly pubs where you can have a special meal and join in the celebrations. In the filter, select Near a Pub if you want to be within walking distance of a pub. There are even firework displays in some towns in the area - Tenby and Saundersfoot amongst them.
Most Welsh traditions associated with New Year have died out, but as in Scotland, you might find the “first footing” tradition survives in some households. Here it’s best if the first-footer is a tall, dark man and unlucky if the first visitor to cross the threshold is a woman or a red-haired man. Many cottages have an open fire or solid fuel stove so if your first-footer brings the traditional lump of coal, he will like as not have somewhere to place it. Luckily the Mari Lwyd and Calennig traditions are no longer popular as they involve being insulted or splashed with water!
Hardy souls might like to join the traditional New Year swim at Saundersfoot - the rest of us can just look on in amazement!