There is a useful and large visitors’ pontoon at the entrance to the lower basin. Berths for smaller boats (sub-6m) and mud berths (‘inner walkway berths’) are offered at a very attractive rate. There is 24-hour security backed up with CCTV, and it was also comforting to note that night staff are on duty after 6.00pm. Most significantly, it had all the facilities we could require as visiting trailer boaters or long-term berth holders. Neyland Marina seemed an easy place to live with. It was also noticeable that they went out of their way to assist us. They were genuinely enthusiastic about the marina. We found James Cotton and his marina staff particularly friendly and helpful. We were especially delighted to learn that the marina makes a very useful battery starter pack available – handy if you have travelled a long way to your boat only to discover a flat battery. Other marinas please note! We also noticed that the marina office has free DVDs to loan. Mercifully, this has a simple log-in process, which we tried and it worked. For those of us with international financial empires to run, kids movies to download or touchy teenagers to placate, the marina has free Wi-Fi. There are full toilet, shower and laundry facilities, and on inspection, they proved to be very good. Neyland comprises 420 pontoon berths, each fully serviced with power and water. The marina is open all year round, seven days a week. Marina fees reflect the different access offered by each basin. Most significantly, there is no tidal gate mechanism to break and keep you in port on a sunny day. This simple low-tech solution means that there is no lock gate to jam. When there is enough water, you just float across. The lower basin has all-tide access, while the upper basin behind the cill has access 3.5-4.00 hours either side of high water. The two basins are separated by a fixed cill. Everything below remains tranquil and pastoral. Although the main road thunders somewhere overhead, you cannot hear it. This curved waterway surrounded by greenery makes it all seem like nature’s work. Its two basins, dispersed over two different levels, are contained within a secluded, steeply wooded cleft. Down on the pontoons, it does not feel like an imposed modern marina. Neyland Marina is modern and well equipped, but blends sympathetically with its environment. Just remember to punch SA73 1PY into your satnav before you set off. If you take the English motorway route, Neyland lies around 2.5 hours’ towing time from the Severn Bridge. The notoriously poor North–South Wales road communications, and the lack of motorways, meant that it took us almost six hours – so tiring that we even toyed with the idea of following the English motorways south, and then doubling back in to South Wales. We had never been to this part of the world before, and we chose to drive right down the middle of Wales from our home on the North Wales coast. The main issue is that this part of West Wales is somewhat remote from the larger centres of UK population, and getting there on just A roads can be time-consuming. This handy proximity to the main road and bridge means that towing your boat overland to Neyland is a breeze. It is situated close to the River Cleddau A477 high-level toll bridge (the toll is only a couple of quid for your boat and trailer). Neyland Yacht Haven, to give it its full name, lies at the eastern end of Milford Haven. After visiting on your behalf, we came to the conclusion that as a cruising base, Neyland Marina held all the aces. In summer 2017, we thought we would save you the long sea miles and the tedious road hours, and after much research, we decided that a port in Milford Haven waterway looked the best opening bet. There are so many ports to choose from that it can be hard to pick the best. West Wales offers a broad range of exciting boating destinations – everything from drying sandy harbours in the challenging Bristol Channel to sleepy rural backwaters in the upper reaches of Milford Haven. Everywhere you look around Neyland and Pembroke you are aware of the past.Īlex Whittaker appraises this attractive marina situated in vast Milford Haven ….Neyland Marina is modern and well equipped, but blends sympathetically with its environment.If you wish to explore this special waterway, then keeping your boat here for a week, a month or a whole season would be ideal.… over and over again we felt that its position, access and facilities were all just so convenient that one had to like it.Neyland Marina is a great cruising base.
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