Wales - Day 15 - 21 - Barmouth to St David's

Wednesday 5th June - Tuesday 11th June
Mileage 163 from Graig Wen Campsite near Barmouth to Lleithyr Farm near St David's
Parking Co-ordinates 51.89738, -5.276

Wednesday 5th  🌧️🌧️☁☁☁🌞🌞🌞

Today was just a long driving day, but we made it even longer by going on a little detour back to Porthmadog, and our reasons for doing that were several!!  We needed to replenish our supply of LPG(gas)(and we knew that one of the few garages in Wales who stocked it was out that way), I wanted to exchange some knitting wool I'd brought on our first visit there, and as we were already in the town we also revisited the town's brand new Lidl for groceries.  So all that took until lunch time - but that was soon sorted because our little trek into the town had required us to pass by a fish and chip shop, so somehow a portion of said goodies jumped into my hand and we shared them in the lovely surrounds of Lidl's car park😂😂!  However, that meant we'd been fed and watered and we could just get on with our journey south.

Sarah the Hen 😂😂

We arrived at Lleithyr Farm around 5ish and as we parked we got a bit of a feeling of 'Deja Vu', and that was because back in May 2015 we'd stayed in the next campsite along the road which just so happens to belong to the Motorhome and Caravan Club.   But back then they'd charged £23 per night, and for this occasion we're only paying £14 - and there's everything here that there is there!  Additionally, this site is really delightful because they've got a small 'farm animal walk', rabbits all over the place and also a badger sett at one side, and when you add in the far reaching views that include Carn Llidi this one has definitely been added to our list of favourites. (opposite and below are some of the animals we met around the site)

Sven - a Kunekune Pig 🐖🐷🐖

Nugget and Buddy who are Falabella ponies,

Fernando, Flint and Frankie - and there were many more 🐑🐐 etc.

After our long day in the saddle van we were more than happy to spend our evening sitting outside sipping cider in the very warm sunshine and I think we only finally came in to cook our tea at around 8pm!

Thursday 6th 🌞🌞🌞🌞🌞🌞🌞🌞
🚶‍♀️🚶‍♂️12 miles

Lleithyr Farm Park lies within the Pembrokeshire Coast National Park which covers 240 square miles and has 186 miles of spectacular and dramatic coastline, and recently much of that has mapped to take in a 360 degree virtual tour by Google Trekker.  The website has loads of info about this area and it lets you pick out what you want to see without even moving from your arm chair, but as we'd been here before we already knew what we wanted to do - at least for today.

Our plan was to take the 15 min toddle down to the beautiful Whitesands beach and then from there to proceed around the head land using the coastal path all the way to Porth Clais.

But first things first - the reception for the site had been closed when we arrived yesterday so we needed to go and book in, and on our way back to the van we were delighted by the sight of 3 badgers trundling across the road!

It was a first for us because we've never seen LIVE wild badgers before!
However it seems that they're quite naughty - apparently in the night they nipped into
someones awning and stole chocolate cake!!!

Then after that we got underway, but within a very short distance Wally popped up for a pic.

Where did you get that hat😂😂😂

And after that our breath just kept being taken away by the stunning grandeur of this part of the coast line - it certainly rivals anywhere else we've been in Europe.  However, even though between us we took loads of pics none of them did the scenery justice and you really have to be here in person to appreciate the magnificence of it all.

Whitesands Beach to the South

and to the North

A Seal Basking in the Sea

Ramsey Island - We sat opposite the island while we munched our lunch and watched
several large jelly fish passing though the Ramsey Sound
I thought they might be Portuguese Man O'War  Jellyfish but Wiki reckoned not!
Apparently they were just big common ones that are sometimes called 'Dustbin Lids'

The wild and rugged Ramsey Island is owned by  RSPB and is home to vast numbers of sea birds as well as huge numbers of seals.  Additionally, it is also here that the Bitches and Whelps are found.  These are a reef of rocks which stretch out into the Ramsey Sound and when they are combined with the strong tides  that race through the sound the result is an area of notoriously rough and dangerous water.  When we visited in 2015 we went on a Rib boat ride through them and although the water churned and swirled it was more fun that danger, but it seems many have come to grief on this stretch. One story told how back in 1910 one of St David's lifeboats (The Gem) was launched to go to the aid of a vessel called the Democrat which was dragging it's anchor and was in danger of being carried onto the reef.  Having successfully rescued the crew the Gem  got into difficulties, and in those days the lifeboat was only powered by oars and sail.  Sadly the wind and tide overcame her and she was wrecked on the end rock of the bitches and 3 of the crew lost their lives and the remaining crew member and those they had rescued were left clinging to the reef throughout the stormy night.

The coastal part of our walk terminated at the harbour at Porth Clais and after we'd sat and had another coffee and munched cake we made our way up into St David's but by this time it was 5pm so we didn't bother with the town as it was likely everywhere would be closing.  Instead we followed a small lane that led us by the abbey  and cathedral and then made our way home for another well earned rest in the evening sunshine.

The Bishop's Palace 

St David's Cathedral
(I think maybe Wally followed us here)!!

Friday 7th 🌧️🌧️🌧️🌧️🌧️🌧️🌧️🌧️

Oh Dear, Oh Dear, Oh Dear!!!   Today brought Rain Rain and more Rain, and along with that came strong gusting winds!!!  It seems we're on the edge of Storm Miguel which has popped over from Spain for a little visit.  However, we should count ourselves lucky because the West Coast of France. some of Spain and the Bay of Biscay have suffered 80 mile an hour winds and if it'd been that bad here the poor campers wouldn't have stood a chance!  Therefore, due to the inclement weather and our long walk yesterday we've awarded ourselves a day of rest and we've done nothing much more than sit on our bums for most of the day!


Saturday 8th 🌧️🌧️ ⛅⛅🌞🌞🌞

This morning we thought we might have to battle the wet and windy elements again but by lunch time Mr Sun had started to put his hat on and by 1ish he was fully out to play.  Therefore, we delayed our outing until early afternoon and then headed out along the coastal path to St Justinians before we proceeded up into St David's City!

As we walked along the Coastal Path I managed to Snap this Kestrel
hovering over the cliff side looking for his lunch

This seems to be how Kids from this area spend their Saturday Mornings

When  we reached St Justinians we took our time to find out a bit more about the Lifeboat Station that are found there.  We learnt that the The Royal National Lifeboat Institution was founded in 1824 by Sir William Hilary as the National Institution for the Preservation of Life from Shipwreck.  The station at St Justinians was opened in 1869 and provides a 24 hour search and rescue service to 100 nautical miles from the coast and to date it seems it's saved 360 lives in more than 420 launches.  And all this is done by people who are unpaid volunteers because the main part of the charities funding is provided by legacies and donations and the vast majority of that is spent on equipment and training.

The New and Old Lifeboat Stations at St Justinians

After our browse around the station we left the coast and proceeded up into the City of St David's which is the smallest City in England.  It is the final resting place of St David who is the Patron Saint of Wales and his history suggests that he was born close by in Saint Non's which is just a few miles South of the City.  


The most imposing feature of St David's is it's beautiful Cathedral.  The present one one dates back to 1181 but apparently that is at least the fourth church to have been built on the site that is reputed to be that on which St David himself founded a monastic settlement in the 6th century.  Today, sitting dappled in bright sunlight, it and The Bishop's Palace were a lovely place to sit and lick our ice creams, and as we looked down it was almost possible to imagine how the many hundreds of pilgrims who come here would file down the long staircase and into the building.   While there we learnt that the Cathedral has been an important place of pilgrimage for nearly fourteen centuries and that in 1124 Pope Calixtus II declared that two pilgrimages to St Davids were equal to one to Rome and that three were equal to one to Jerusalem itself!

While we were in the tiny City we also spent some time browsing around the shops and while doing so we learnt about 'OGGIES'!  It seems that the St David's Oggie long preceded the Cornish Pasty with historical references as early as 1181 when it is thought they were served to stone masons while they were building the cathedral.  They smelt delicious but as we'd already eaten we declined.



Sunday 9th 🌞🌞🌞🌞🌞🌞🌞

Today should have been the day that we moved  further south but because we'd so much fallen in love with this spectacular bit of Wales we decided to stay for another couple of days and spend more time in the presence of this beautiful and dramatic coastline.

Carn Llidi

Towering 600 feet above the St David's peninsula Carn Llidi dominates our views from the campsite in a North Westerly direction, and by bypassing it the terrain we found ourselves in was completely different

Today we circumnavigated it and then head north towards the Coastal Path before making our way back to St David's Head, and in doing so we passed by loads of small coves and precipitous cliffs many of which had unpronounceable names😂😂😂.

Here the territory was mostly moraine that was partially clad in rough grass and heather but amongst that there was an occasional orchid or other wild flowers that had managed to find purchase, and apparently this is a feature that the area is particularly renowned for.

This side of the peninsula also seemed much less populated - for most of the time we were out we had this wild and wonderful area all to ourselves!

Us on St David's Head - a place that marks the divide between the Irish Sea and the Celtic Sea!

Our Site from the foothills of Carn Llidi - T4rdis2 is there somewhere!

Monday 10th 🌧️🌧️🌧️🌧️⛅⛅🌞🌞🌞

Bloody Weather Predictions!!! 😠😠  They had informed us that there might be a bit of rain first thing but by about 10am the sun would be out -  WRONG!!  But 'hey ho' we didn't let that spoil our day.  We did try to wait it out but by 11.30 there seemed no sign of the wet stuff stopping so we donned our coats and nipped out to catch the Celtic Coaster to St David's (a little bus that bypasses our site every half hour).  The bus dropped us at St David's visitor centre and after a quick poke around there we made out way down to the Coastal Path at Caerfai

From there we'd got about 10 miles to walk back to Whitesands Beach and although we'd done some of it last week we'd be walking in the opposite direction so we new the views would be quite different and equally stunning.

After only a short distance we arrived at St Non's (St David's birth place) and saw both the new and old chapels, and also St Non's Well which is said to have sprung up during a thunderstorm when St David was born about 500 A.D. and it's waters are reputed to cure infirmities.





Maybe we should have both jumped in - we wouldn't have got much wetter if we had 😂😂😂

At this time the rain was still drumming down on us in a steady rhythm but we were hopeful that by the time we got a couple of miles further on to Porth Clais it might have stopped so that we could enjoy our picnic!  Oh dear WRONG again 😂😂😂!

The Harbour in a seaward direction 

And in an inland direction

The Harbour here was built back in the 12th Century to serve the city of St Davids but today it's much more laid back and peaceful - but it was still very wet as we munched our sarnies! And really it was a shame we hadn't waited another half an hour because then the rain stopped and the sun started to peep out!  But really it didn't matter because we'd saved our coffee and cake and when a lovely little beach appeared a couple of miles further down the track we didn't need any persuading to perch our bums on two convenient rocks while scoffing said snack and watching the waves washing up on the outgoing tide.

You can just see our beach at the top of the pic.

And from there we just plodded our way back, first to St Justinians and then on to Whitesands and back to the campsite where our feet were put up for a well earned rest!


Monday 11th  - a howling gale and lots of 🌧️🌧️🌧️🌧️ in the afternoon.

Today was another day that we should have left the Lleithyr Farm Site but the howling wind and severe weather warnings that have covered much of the country made us decide to stay for just one more day.  We've seen several news reports of flooding and torrential rain that others have suffered, but here we've got off quite lightly because although the wind has been quite ferocious the rain didn't start until lunch time and even then it was mostly only pitter pattering.  Tomorrow we'll definitely move further South, probably to Llanelli and from there we'll hopefully be able to re-explore some of the Gower Peninsula


Bye for now

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