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On Saturday the 30th of June 2018, Myself , the wife, George and Ben our dog left Llanungar Camp site in Solva and walked down to the bus stop. This was a bit of a trek and found out afterwards after rushing so we didn't miss the hourly bus we could have just hailed it anywhere on its route!
Anyway we get the 0937 hrs
411 bus to St Davids. After 10 minutes we arrive after a roller coaster bus ride at 60mph with loads of up and downs.
St Davids is the United Kingdom's smallest city in terms of both size and population (1,841 in 2011). Being the final resting place of
Saint David, Wales's patron saint, it is the de facto ecclesiastical capital of Wales. St Davids was given city status in the 16th century because of
St David's Cathedral. City status was lost in 1888 but, at the request of Queen Elizabeth II, restored in 1994.
Tradition states that David was born to
Saint Non at what is now St Non's, just to the south of the city, in about AD 500. It is said that he was baptised at
Porthclais, now the city's port, and was brought up by his mother at
Llanon. St David may also have been educated at Ty Gwyn, Whitesands, by St Paulinus.
In the 6th century, David founded a monastery and church at Glyn Rhosyn (Rose Vale) on the banks of the River Alun. The area was originally known in the Welsh language as Mynyw and to the Romans as Meneva or Menevia. The monastic brotherhood that David founded was very strict — besides praying and celebrating masses, they cultivated the land and carried out many crafts, including beekeeping, in order to feed themselves and the many pilgrims and travellers who needed lodgings. They also fed and clothed the poor and needy. The settlement that grew up around the monastery was called Tyddewi meaning "David's house". In 519 the archbishopric of Caerleon in the county of Monmouth was transferred to Mynyw, which was renamed "St Davids" in honour of the archbishop and saint by whom the transfer was accomplished. The original cathedral built on the site was often plundered by the Vikings and was finally burnt and destroyed in 1087. The present cathedral was built by the Normans and contained many relics, including the remains of St David. It was visited by many pilgrims, many of whom were nobles and kings, including William the Conqueror in 1077, Henry II in 1171, and Edward I and Queen Eleanor in 1284. Pope Calixtus II decreed that two pilgrimages to St Davids were equivalent to one to Rome ("Roma semel quantum dat bis Menevia tantum"). Because of this, a vast income was raised from visiting pilgrims in the Middle Ages. Pilgrimages later fell out of favour due to practices such as the selling of indulgences, and the income from them faded away. By the 19th century, the city of St Davids was isolated and neglected and was described in the
Penny Cyclopaedia,
After a look at the Farmers market and a few shops we walk around to the Cathedral and Palace.
Set on a spectacular Pembrokeshire peninsula jutting out into the Atlantic upon the site of an earlier sixth-century monastery built by St David, the patron saint of Wales, St Davids Cathedral has been a site of pilgrimage and worship for more than 800 years.
The present cathedral was begun sometime between 1180 and 1182 and is the culmination of centuries of rebuilding and expansion. Constructed in the Transitional Norman style using fine-grained, purple Cambrian sandstone, it has survived both the collapse of its tower and an earthquake in the 13th century, although today the floor slopes noticeably, the arcades veer from the vertical, and the east and west ends of the building differ in height by about four metres!
St Davids Cathedral as we see it today has been extended and altered over the centuries by many individuals, but its appearance was probably most influenced by Bishop Gower in the 14th century, and later, in the 19th century, by the renowned architect, Sir George Gilbert Scott, who undertook a significant restoration of the fabric of the building. In the 20th century, the ruinous St Mary's Hall was restored for use as a parish hall and in the 21st century the restoration of the cloisters has made our own very significant impact on the appearance of the Cathedral.
Brief History of The Cathedral
c.589/601 St David dies having founded a monastery at the current cathedral site.
645-1097 St Davids (Menevia) is attacked and destroyed many times
9th century King Alfred summons help from St Davids in rebuilding the intellectual life of Wessex.
999 Bishop Morgenau killed by Vikings
1080 Bishop Abraham killed by Vikings
1081 William the Conqueror visits St Davids to pray
1089 David's shrine vandalized, stripped of precious metals.
c.1090 Rhigyfarch writes "Life of David" highlighting David's sanctity.
1115 Bishop Bernard appointed by King Henry I.
1123 Bishop Bernard secures a "privilege" from Pope Calixtus II. St Davids becomes a centre for pilgrimage.
1131 Bishop Bernard "dedicates" a new cathedral.
1171 Henry II visits.
1181 Present cathedral begun
1220 Collapse of the "new tower"
1247/48 Building damaged by an earthquake
1328-47 Gower's episcopate: rood screen and Bishops Palace built.
1365 St Mary's College built.
1509-22 Edward Vaughan's episcopate: Holy Trinity Chapel built.
1530-40 Nave roof and ceiling constructed.
1538 Bishop Barlow strips St Davids shrine of its jewels and confiscates the relics of St David and St Justinian in order to counteract "superstition".
c.1540 Edmund Tudor's tomb placed in front of the high altar.
1648 Much of the building destroyed by Parliamentary soldiers.
1793 West Front rebuilt by Nash.
1862-77 Sir George Gilbert Scott's restoration.
1901 Lady Chapel restored.
1900-1910 Remaining eastern chapels restored.
1982 Queen Elizabeth II distributes the Royal Maundy.
1989-90 Celebration of the 14th centenary of St David's death.
1993 St David's Day celebrations with the Prince of Wales.
1995 Queen Elizabeth II confers city status to St Davids.
2004-07 New Cloisters built
There is an entry fee to enter but we didn't go in as we had the dog with us.
We walked around the grounds looking at this remarkable building.
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| St David |
Ben took advantage of the stream running through to cool down, it was an absolute scorcher of a day!
We walk on round to St Davids Bishops Palace,again a entry fee and again we didn't go in because of the dog.
St Davids Bishops Palace (also sometimes denoted as Bishop's Palace or Bishops' Palace) (Welsh: Llys yr Esgob Tyddewi) is a ruined medieval palace located adjacent to St Davids Cathedral in the city of
St Davids (Welsh: Tyddewi), Pembrokeshire, one of the most important ecclesiastical sites in Wales. The site dates back to the 6th century, although the building that stands today dates largely from the late 13th and 14th centuries.
St Davids became home of the
Marcher Lords, responsible for guarding the border between England and Wales, so would have been a site of great strategic importance. It was also considered a hugely important religious site, housing relics of the
St David, patron saint of Wales.
William the Conqueror is said to have visited as a pilgrim in 1081.
The original monastery that stood on the site was established in the 6th century and, over the succeeding four centuries, was ransacked at least 10 times by Norse raiders. The arrival of the Normans in the 11th century brought some stability. They appointed a Norman bishop and attempted to protect the site by building a motte and bailey fort and, later, a stone defensive wall.
The Bishops Palace has been described as the work of a series of 'builder bishops', with work carried out in the late 13th and 14th centuries.
In 1284, King
Edward I visited St Davids on a pilgrimage and this visit may have inspired some earlier work because
Bishop Thomas Bek, who served from 1280–93, was among his former statesmen. Bishop Bek was responsible for construction of the chapel in the south-west corner, the hall, the private apartments and the gate.
The man responsible for much of the site that can be seen today was
Bishop Henry de Gower (1328–47). He carried out major works in the cathedral itself, built the Great Hall with wheel window in the east gable, the distinctive arcaded parapet and the porch. Gower's main legacy is the two great ranges. The east range – the simpler of the two – was the first to be built. The much grander south range was built for entertaining.
The beginning of the Reformation also heralded the decline of the Bishops Palace. In 1536
Bishop William Barlow stripped the lead from the roof to pay for the dowries of his five daughters. He made so much money from this that a sixteenth-century account said that more than twelve years revenue of the bishopric would have been needed to cover the cost of replacing it, and the building fell into disrepair. Bishops stayed less at St Davids and, by the middle of the 16th century, the chief
episcopalresidence had been relocated to
Abergwili,
Carmarthenshire. In 1616,
Bishop Richard Milbourne applied for a licence to demolish some of the buildings. By 1678, when another licence for demolition was sought, the palace was considered beyond repair.
We leave and walk back into the centre and up to the ice-cream parlour for a cooling ice-cream, Ben particularly enjoyed his!
We walk up and down a little trying to find the road that will lead us to the Coastal path. I stopped and asked a man who claimed he used to work as a trust guide. He directed towards the sea on my right! I looked at him blankly and thanked him, the sea was clearly on my left as I knew, he was of no use what so ever ( maybe thats why he's no longer a trust guide ha ha).
We walk up Goat street and asked a local resident who walked us up to the path we needed.
After passing a hotel we follow a path down to the Coastal Path and St Nons Chapel and well.
The Chapel of St Non is located on the coast near St David's in Pembrokeshire. Held by tradition to mark the birthplace of
St David, the ruin cannot be accurately dated but is unusual in that it is aligned north-south rather than the usual east-west. Near to the ruined chapel is a retreat, a modern chapel and a
holy well.
The ruined Chapel of
St. Non is close to the
Pembrokeshire Coast Path a few miles from the city of
St David's. According to Christian tradition, Saint Non (also known as Nonna or Nonnita) was born around AD 475 and was a daughter of Lord Cynyr Ceinfarfog who lived as a nun at Ty Gwyn near Whitesands Bay until she was raped by Prince Sant of Ceredigion. She gave birth at
Caerfai to a boy, who became the patron saint of Wales, St David.
The ruin is thought to be on the site of St Non's house and to be one of the oldest Christian buildings in Wales. In medieval times the chapel was one of the main sites visited by Christian pilgrims. Following the Protestant Reformation, pilgrimages stopped and the chapel was converted into a house before being used as a garden.
A
holy well close to the chapel was thought to have healing properties, and to this day visitors throw coins into the well for luck. Records of a survey of St. David's by Browne Willis in 1717 state that "there is a fine Well beside it [St. Non's Chapel], cover'd with a Stone-Roof, and enclosed within a Wall, with Benches to sit upon round the Well. Some old simple People go still to visit this Saint at some particular Times, especially upon St. Nun's Day (March 2nd) which they kept holy, and offer Pins, Pebbles, Etc at this well", and reports from 1811 state that "the fame this consecrated spring has obtained is incredible and it is still resorted to for many complaints". It was thought to be particularly effective for eye problems and was restored in 1951 by the Catholic Church, which also erected a shrine using stones from nearby ruins. The vaulting over the well replaced ruins of medieval stonework in the 18th century. Water from the well was used by
Pope Benedict during his visit to Britain.
We follow the path and pass the modern chapel built near the ruin in 1934 by Cecil Morgan-Griffiths, a solicitor from Carmarthen, using stone from ruined local chapels. He had built a house (now used as a retreat) overlooking the sea, and the nearest Catholic church was over sixteen miles away, so he decided to build one on the historic site. The new chapel is the most westerly in Wales and is also one of the smallest, as it is only 25 feet long by 12 feet wide. It has stained glass windows representing St Non, St David, St Bride, St Brynach and St Winifred. The stoup at the door is all that remains of the Chapel of the Fathoms, and the altar uses a white stone from the altar of St Patrick's Chapel. The window over the altar is in the school of William Morris. Cecil Morgan-Griffiths died the year after the new chapel was completed.
We follow the path along St Non's Bay, The wife and George aren't impressed, it is a really hot day.
Pembrokeshire really is a stunning coast line.
Pembrokeshire Coast National Park is a national in west Wales.
It was established as a National Park in 1952, and is the only one in the United Kingdom to have been designated primarily because of its spectacular coastline.
We now approach Caerfai Bay, this looks like pure heaven everyone is hot and fed up, I aim to stop here to cool down and rest a bit.
A small rocky cove at high tide, sandwiched between towering cliffs 1 mile south of St Davids. The rocks around Caerfai are multi coloured with a mixture of grey, green and vivid pink.
At low tide a sandy beach is revealed with plenty of rock pools to explore. Beware as there are strong currents in the sea off Caerfai.
Access to the beach is down a steep winding path.
After walking down the steep path,Myself and Ben are in for a swim, while Mel shelters in a bit of shade and George paddles.
We make our way back up the steep path and up to the
Caerfi Bay camp site at the top and take the opportunity to refill my now empty 2L water bottle.
We walk on following the path up the cliffs.
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| A group abseiling down the cliffs, Looks fun! |
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| The Mare, Green scar and black scar islands in the distance. |
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| Caer Bawdy Bay |
The path climbs steeply out of Caer Bawdy Bay.
After passing Trelerw village on my left and across Morfa Common we are finally heading back inland to the Campsite. George is really flagging now and moaning like a trooper.
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| Porth y Rawr |
I didn't take the path I intended and will mean a bit of road walking but it did have the bonus of a rope swing that cheered George up.
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| George had cheered up but Mel still doesn't look impressed Ha Ha|! |
We walk out at Nine Wells.
It was said by pilgrims in the past, that two trips to St Davids was equal to one trip to Rome. On this journey, Nine Wells had the last well to quench the thirst, before reaching the Cathedral city.
Later Nine Wells took the title of the only settlement in the UK to have its name spelt wrongly on its road side name sign - Naw Fynnnon (with 1 'n' too many). But times have moved on and nowadays Nine Wells has a correct sign for the small settlement which straddles the A 487, 1 mile west of Solva and 2 miles short of St Davids.
We walk up the busy road hugging the side as cars whizz by before taking the road back to the campsite, GPS says 5.5 miles in total. Everyone s glad to be back!
