DAY 26

Friday 17^th 2016                                                             

Cardigan to Tenby                                                                          Miles 106

Today I have driven through almost zero visibility in cloud and rain and also perfect visibility in beautiful sunshine.  I have visited yet another castle and been joined by a friend for the next part of my journey.

 

Fishguard

Leaving Cardigan early this morning I set off for Fishguard, another ferry town with ferries across to Ireland.  Unfortunately as I crossed the border into Pembrokeshire, everything became grey and overcast with drizzly rain. I got some clearance so that I could see the small town of Fishguard.  The beach close to the ferry dock seems to have grey uninviting sand rather than the golden coloured sand that I was to see along the cost later in the day..  As I set out to get to Strumble Head the rain intensified and the cloud cover increased.  The road on which I was driving was at a low level in relation to the fields and there were high hedges.  This was the predominant feature of most of the roads today.  So, unless the road actually ran along the edge of the beach, views were limited to grass banks and hedgerows.  Even though I have to drive these roads to keep true to my objective of driving whatever road is closest to the ocean, there was little sign of the ocean and I could have been driving anywhere.  No doubt you have to be sitting on a double decker bus to get a good view!

I had never been to Pembrokeshire before so I was very much looking forward to it and viewing the much talked about coastline.  Unfortunately the weather and the hedgerows did not play ball and I was limited in what I saw until later in the day.

 

Another one of my objectives was to visit the city of St. Davids and its cathedral. Until very recently to be a city in the UK the town had to have a cathedral.  A favourite pub quiz question has often been ‘What is the smallest City in the United Kingdom’.  The answer was St. Davids, which had a cathedral, though the town itself was very small.  Quite recently the ‘need to have a cathedral to be a city’ rule has changed and there are places now designated as Cities that do not have a cathedral.

 

St Davids' Cathedral

The Nave

St Davids is a lovely cathedral.  Alongside it is the ruins of the Bishop’s Palace, which appears to have been almost as large as the cathedral itself.

St David's Shrine

St. David lived from 500 to 589.  He was born into royalty with his father being Prince of Powys and his mother the daughter of a local chief.  In medieval times they believed that he was the nephew of King Arthur.  He became a monk and insisted that no personal property could be owned.  It was also said that he founded Glastonbury Cathedral and, though this cannot be proved, there is evidence that he was responsible for plans to expand Glastonbury.  He was canonised as saint in 1120.  He was buried in what is now the cathedral but in the 12th century it was sacked and burnt by the Vikings.  Bones said to be those of St. David were carbon dated in 1996 but turned out to be bones from the 16^th century.

The cathedral has some fascinating wooden bosses on its ceilings. It is not as elaborate as many other cathedrals, but is still a magnificent building.  It was a place of pilgrimage for many years and on every Friday at noon there is a short service to remember St. David.

Traveling through Wales the Welsh language is very much in evidence.  The road signs are in Welsh (first) and then in English.  In Caernarfon I heard many people in the streets and shops talking in Welsh. Wales is very much a land of two halves.  The people of the north speak Welsh and use it in every day conversation, whereas the people in the south of Wales, speak almost entirely in English.  Until today I had not appreciated how much this was like Scotland where the highlanders of the north keep their gaelic language alive, but the lowlanders of the south stick mainly to English.  In Scotland the highlanders have a Nordic ancestry whereas the lowlanders have more of an Irish origin.  In Wales the south became industrial and interacted with the English, plus the immigrants who came to work in the mines.  However the more rural north was less affected by outside contact so the language remained in daily use.    Since the formation of the Welsh Assembly, every child at school in Wales is now learning Welsh.  Considering I was in Scotland only 5 days ago, this really highlights just how varied the British Isles are, two completely different languages only a few hundred miles apart.

After visiting the cathedral I then drove along St Brides Bay. This took me right alongside the water.  There were wind surfers braving the elements, but not many other people on the beach.  Again I lost sight of the water as I drove through the lanes emerging again at the small village of Dale where the sun at last began to break through.  Dale is another one of those places where rather drab looking buildings have been painted in bright blues, yellows, pinks and whites and the colours seem to harmonise so well with the colours of the landscape. 

Dale

I next had to travel back through the lanes, again out of sight of the ocean, heading towards Milford Haven.  Milford Haven is an industrial port mainly serving the oil and gas industry and my first sight of it was across of field of cows.  The sight of the towers and chimneys seemed in sharp contrast to the rurality of the field of cows from over which I first espied the chimneys. 

Towards Milford Haven

Across the toll bridge at Neyland and on towards Pembroke I crossed a high bridge, down below from which could be seen hundreds of boats moored and anchored in a large natural marina. This area was like that around St. Brides Bay, with lots of narrow lanes obscured from the ocean.

Pembroke, viewed from the castle

Pembroke Castle

Pembroke is another Welsh town with a fine castle.  This was built in 1093, just 30 years after William beat Harald at Hastings and before Edward 1’sts line of fortresses.  Pembroke castle was built mainly as a fortified home, but over the year’s it’s ownership changed hands many times under various forfeitures or battles.  In 1648 after it’s owners changed sides to the Royalists, Cromwell had the owner beheaded and the castle destroyed.  In 1928 the castle was partly restored by General Phipps who took over ownership.  Today trustees of the Phipps family and Pembroke Council manage the site.

Tenby

My destination for today was Tenby, where I was to meet my friend Bob at the railway station.  I arrived about 1 minute before his train and it was good to meet up with him again and to share his company.  Together we drive into Tenby to look for some afternoon tea.

Tenby

Tenby revealed itself to be one of the most beautiful places that I have come across so far on my trip around Britain.  It was a wonderful sight looking down onto the boats bobbing around in the natural harbor and the water sparkling in the sunlight.  

Tenby Harbour

I later discovered that there are at least four separate beaches in Tenby all with great sand and great views. This is a town that I would certainly like to return to and perhaps stay a while.  My sister had told me how lovely Tenby is and she was not wrong.

Me In Tenby!

Bob and I were assisted by the Tourist Information Office in finding a lovely place to stay in Lamphey. This meant a journey of about 7 miles back towards Pembroke, but the small hotel proved to be extremely comfortable and their dining room excellent (but their internet connection was non existent, hence this edition of the blog is late).

Tomorrow we have a long drive through South Wales and back into England and Bob will leave me at Bristol.  I will then be on my own again on Saturday evening in north Somerset and north Devon before being joined by another friend Pete, in Bude on Sunday night.