“People don’t pick you up on the blue high way
On the blue highway you travel alone”
Thursday, August 13th, the morning was clear and sunny outside. The forecast said it was going to rain. I decided to bring a light coat with me just in case. It was chilly outside, so it proved to be a good choice. The rain, by the way would never come.
ST.DAVIDS
Saint Davids Cathedral
I took the way to Haverfordwest (I call it Thereforeshire ‘cause I can never say it right), and from there to legendary St. Davids or Tyddewi. The city of St. Davids is the religious heart of Wales, as it is where Saint Davids was born around the year 500, and founded the city. This is also the smallest city in the UK, but one of the most beautiful seascapes I ever seem. All along the coast there are astonishing views of the sea and dramatic cliffs and rocky formations. All around St. Davids there is ancient sites, since neolithical burial chambers (Quoits) as Iron Age forts.
inside the Cathedral
In the city there is a cathedral dedicated to Saint Davids (where his and Saint Justinian bones are laid, it is said). The 11th century church was built over an older one, which is said to be build over the stones that the mother of Davids was laid at the occasion of his birth. Not only, it is said that his mother -Saint Non- was so scared the her fingers actually clutch the stone leaving marks on it, and (not enough) a thunder stroke over it, breaking in two. One part were used at the building of the Cathedral, and other for the old Chapel dedicated to Saint Non.
The red stone of the Cathedral is quite distinctive, but the square tower and the cross design are quite usual. The interior has some fine details, as the wooden ceilings and the chapels, but can’t be compared with the best examples like Bath, Wells or Salisbury, just to quote some abbeys that been commented in this blog.
This is here where Gerald Cambrensis (Gerard de Barri) wanted so much to become Archbishop, what never happened.
the cathedral façade
the Bishop's House
CAERFAI
My inicial idea was do the whole south coast from Caerfai to St. Davids head but time proved to be short for my pretensions. So I just used it the best I could, and enjoyed this wonderful path. Sometimes we can’t get all that we want, but I don’t regret in any way. I hope I can come back one day to visit the burial chamber of Carn Llidi.
the real cliffs and the map
Caerfai
I started my walk into the Iron Age fort of Caerfai, which stands in peninsula, surrounded by the sea. The Iron Age forts have this common shape of the ditches around, so they are quite the same somehow. Caerfai was special because it is just in front of the sea, so, there is no other way to get to it unless you go through the ditches. The place is a bit scary, because is high and the ground is a bit unstable surrounded by cliffs. Actually the ground is soft. I feel a bit uneasy sometimes even not close to the cliffs.
the ditches at Caerfai
I followed the track around the cliffs and could find some strange stones left aside. One had this big carving of a cross on a wheel (a bit like the Celtic cross), and bust beside two groups of stones resembling like destroyed Quoits, or tombs. Maybe after a while we start to see ghosts.
strange stones, are they quoits?
carved stone aside the path
ST. NON’S
Continuing the path I could found a little chapel and a cottage. As I entered there it happened to be Saint Non’s chapel, mother of Saint Davids.
The Chapel is not old, it dates back 1934, but it happens to be built over an ancient existing chapel, with old stones from demolished churches from Pembrokeshire. The chapel although modern, contains traces of the old chapel as pieces of carved stone used on the main altar. There is not services in this church anymore because despite of its 2 1/2 feet thick rocky walls, at certain times the winds are so strong that the church gets wet inside.
Just a few yards away there is a well dedicated to Saint Non, which waters are said miraculous. There is a cave with the figure of the virgin that makes me wonder why the virgin is associated with the caves. The ancient people had the water as a holy element in their religion, so no wonder that most of the wells are sacred places to them. And many of them are close to caves or rocky formations, because is where the water come from. This association with the virgin can be related with the fertility of the water, or maybe the feminine principle of the earth. Fact is this relation is strong enough to trespass religions, and quite often an artificial cave is made in places dedicated to the virgin.
the well of Saint Non
St. Non’s well is such a wonderful, lovely place. I filled my bottle there and must say it was delicious water (ok, ok, I will have a vermifuge back home). Delicious water in holy place. There is the ruins of where Saint Davids were born too.
these are the ruins where St. Davids was born
the pathway across the cliffs
Back to the track, I continued the track until Porthclais, where I got the bus back to St. Davids as it was getting late. Well, I could not visit all the sites I wanted, but it was a very beautiful day, and I was in need of it, even if the results would not be so visible.
Porthclais
Apart from this, the feeling of being in that place that been inhabited for so many hundreds of years was important for me.
Back to Haverfordwest (sorry about that) I have noticed another stone circle in the middle of the town. I could not go back there, but I had the impression to be a modern one. Looking from Google Earth I wasn’t so sure. A lot of burial chambers and stone circles in Wales are very much part of the landscape, so people don’t really care much.
I noticed it everywhere here.
Way back home I even sleep on the bus...
Tomorrow I probably will move to Swansea, where I want to visit the Gower Peninsula.
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