The Castle Keep-er

The 45-year-old mother of three is no stranger to the Principality.

She has lived in Pembrokeshire for more than a decade and has helped run a family holiday caravan park in St David’s.

“I love Wales; the people are so friendly. My husband is a local person, my children were born here and we would not want to live anywhere else,” she says.

Mandy is responsible for running the castellated manor house, set in 99 acres of mature parkland.

HPB acquired St Brides in 1991 and its restoration earned it a Prince of Wales Award for Architecture. There are 22 luxury apartments and leisure facilities in the main building and a further 28 apartments and cottages in the grounds.

More than 8,000 visitors flocked to St Brides last year alone, making it one of the most popular of HPB’s UK destinations, and it is estimated that visitors have spent more than £25 million in the region since it opened.

Mandy’s husband Phil farms a mixed beef cattle and arable farm with her father-in-law Brynmor in nearby Broad Haven.

Besides her involvement with the caravan park, she has divided her time bringing up their young family and studying for a degree in management and tourism at Trinity University College, Carmarthen, where she graduated last summer.

“I didn’t go to university when I left school but it was something I always wanted to do. So when the family came along, I waited until my youngest was one before I started my studies,” she says.

Mandy adds that she loves the challenge of managing such a popular site. “Everyone who comes to Pembrokeshire is knocked out by the natural beauty of the landscape and, of course, St Brides itself,” she says.