All the way to the Britain's smallest city: St Davids

Occasional travels sometimes takes me to the magical places. And this trip took me exactly where I needed to be at the given moment.

Deciding where to travel was easy. We wanted to go somewhere in Wales where we would be close to the beach but also to the nature. Additional factor was to stay in YHA accommodation, which is very affordable and convenient. And so there was YHA St Davids in Pembrokeshire. Site that is located just 9 minutes by car from the historical city of the same name, but also with easy access to the beach.

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The route from West Midlands would take us around 4 and half hour without stopping, so we decided to make a stop in one quite popular Welsh coastal city - Aberystwyth. It was not my first time of being there, but it is sometimes nice to remember places we have been. And honestly, this time it felt completely different. It felt dull, unbelievably windy and boring. I know this is things you probably should not be saying out loud, but the reason for it was the weather! Just one small difference and it can change the whole perception of the place.

In spite of having quite sad weather, we managed to have nice walk together. We walked the long promenade and visited pier, Castell ruins and the War Memorial which are kind of monumental and you cannot miss it even if you would want to. Continued by buying tasteless loaded fries while being attacked by hungry seagulls and pigeons alongside with the weather made us to get quickly to the car and move further to our final destination: St. Davis.

Aberystwyth

Now let me introduce you to some bits from St Davids history.

St Davids was declared city in 1995 and became the smallest city in Britain by population. Apparently its age is not very clear, but it has been understood that the area could have had church or monastery founded around year 470 AD. Some other resources mentioned that the area has been an important for religious people since ancient times with clear evidence of standing stones and forts dated to Iron Age. A monastery founded by St. David was multiple times raided by Norse raiders between 6th to 11th centuries. The city has become a popular destination for religious pilgrims. What we can see now is a "newly" build St Davids Cathedral from 12th century and the ruins of a medieval bishops palace.

St Davids Cathedral with the Medieval Bishops Palace on the left side

The whole city is really small, we did not really walked it whole, but you can judge it by seeing its centre. Just a small square with mostly just restaurants and pubs make it busy in eating times, but otherwise quiet. The most visited location will be most likely the area with old bishops palace and cathedral, as we could see the most people over there. No wonder, this place is stunning. The cathedral stands close from the small river, down the hill surrounded by stone wall and just beside the palace, making it very attractive for an eye or camera.

At the evening we had dinner at the local hotel restaurant - St. Davids Cross Hotel, which was really tasty. Sleeping in YHA hostel was a bit challenging. We slept in converted barn (I assume), and our room was quite big with a simple sink, bunk bed and two small chairs to sit on. Toilet and shower were shared with other guests. Going sleep we felt cold, so we turned heating on, but then both were forced to get out the bed because of the warmth. In spite of this, I still consider this hostel quite charming with beautiful views.

YHA St Davids

First and the only morning of our trip took us straight back to the Cathedral where we found a great breakfast place. MamGu's Kitchen offers variety of meals for breakfast or lunch. We both ordered Chai Latte to drink and then my friend veggie English breakfast and I had my first time ever veggie loaded bun. And it was tasty! Majority of ingredients used for our breakfast were sourced locally. I just love support local economies.

Straight after breakfast we went to the Whitesands Bay. Carpark is under the postcode SA62 6PS and it cost 5 quid for the whole day. If you come early, you can secure yourself parking spot. There is also overflow car park on the side, just in case.

Beach was sandy and very nice. And water quite chilly. But it is a beautiful location where you actually can spend whole day at. Either climbing the cliffs and enjoying breath-taking views, swimming, water sporting, or simply just sun-bathing.

Once we had enough, we went to visit Henrhyd Falls located in Coelbren (SA10 9PH), approximately halfway to the West Midlands. Parking is for free at this nature attraction, but the parking is on owners risk. On the way from parking to the falls is a refreshing bistro offering some café, food and ice cream. But you are not allowed to take any of the foods nor drink purchased there to waterfall as it is a valley protected and maintained by the National Trust. After about 10 minutes long steep descent you will reach bridge that must be crossed and then you have to climb multiple set of wooden stairs, which are quite narrow so people must give way to each other. Getting of the stairs brings you to the further hike which is just alongside the edge of the hill on the stones mixed with mud, which can make the surface quite slippery. You can actually go under the waterfall itself, or down to the small pond that is under it and have a swim. It does not look deep. However for my taste, it was quite busy, so be ready for it. The worst part of this trip is the ascent back to the parking. Half of this walk is on the steep hill, which can be a bit challenging. But it still definitively worth it.

Henrhyd Fallls

The waterfalls were the last stop of the trip. Then straight home :-)

Maybe I might sound slightly negative about some places or experiences, but know that this is just me describing it in raw version without wearing any pink glasses.

I hope you made it this far. If you have, you can send me some comment or like.

Thank you and I hope to share my next adventures with you again!

With love

Little Pluto xx