Tag: Wales

How to spend St Davids Day in St Davids, Pembrokeshire, Britain’s smallest city

Something is stirring in Britain’s smallest city.

Green stemmed and canary-yellow-hued, the daffodils are emerging in the grounds of St Davids Cathedral, the holy site founded by St David [see images above], known locally as Dewi Sant, as a sixth-century monastery.

The daffodils herald the arrival of spring, releasing the close-knit Pembrokeshire community from its winter slumbers.

They also signpost St David’s Day today, celebrating the hairshirt-sporting Welsh patron saint, who is embraced by Wales but with revered with prodigal pride in St Davids.

What’s more, this year’s celebrations mark a significant anniversary: 900 years since 12th century Pope Callixtus II decreed that two pilgrimages to St Davids were equivalent to one to Rome.

I was in Pembrokeshire last week to preview events for St Davids Day, chatting with the locals for a feature with Telegraph Travel. The story was published on March 1st.

“Dewi was known as the water man,” says The Very Revd Dr Sarah Rowland Jones, Dean of St Davids Cathedral. “To this day, he embodies the idea that, if you live a disciplined life, then you will enjoy the riches money can’t buy.”

Diminutive St Davids had its city status reaffirmed by Queen Elizabeth II in 1994 in recognition of its early Christian heritage.

The westerly peninsula is bordered by the Pembrokeshire Coast Path National Trail and a bracing stroll from the cathedral leads to the ruins of St Non’s Chapel, where folk legend says Dewi was born around 500AD.

The waters of the nearby holy well, which gurgled up from the earth at Dewi’s birth, are said to possess curative powers, while the view stretches over St Brides Bay to the RSPB bird reserve of Ramsey Island.

Read the full feature via Telegraph Travel  Welcome to St Davids, Britain’s smallest city.

How to visit Pontcanna, Cardiff’s coolest district for a Welsh weekend like a local

My last story of the year is part of a round-up feature for Telegraph Travel.

I explored the Cardiff suburb of Pontcanna, the en-vogue neighbourhood for shopping, dining and drinking.

Here’s a taster of the text:

The Welsh capital packs heritage attractions and sporting heroes into the compact city centre. But the smart set heads for Pontcanna.

The leafy, northwestern suburb is, along with neighbouring Canton, home to green spaces, hipster hangouts and cool cafes. Crucially, it feels properly Welsh, and the locals outnumber day-trippers.

Better still, it’s just a 20-minute stroll into the city centre via Bute Park and the grounds of Cardiff Castle, part Norman fortress, part Victorian folly, following the river Taff.

Amongst my recommendations are brunch at Milkwood [pictured above] and the restuarant, Thomas.

The latter is the domain of Pembrokeshire-raised chef Tom Simmons, who blends French and Welsh influences for a true taste of the cosmopolitan Cardiff suburbs.

Read the full story via Telegraph Travel, Britain’s coolest 15 neighbourhoods — and how to see them like a local 

Visit the little-known, rural Welsh retreat favoured by the new King Charles

A rare visit over the autumn to a little-known rural retreat in west Wales.

But the Llwynywermod estate, comprising two holiday cottages and a Grade II-listed threshing barn, as well as the main farmhouse, is more than just your average farm-stay holiday accommodation.

It’s the restorative retreat built for our new, King Charles III [pictured above], and the Queen Consort, Camilla, during their regular visits to Wales.

What’s more, the twin holiday cottages, North Range and West Range, are available to the public to book when royal family members are not in residence.

Here’s a taster of the story:

His Royal Highness has been reported as saying it took “a long search lasting some 40 years” to find his bucolic Welsh retreat. The future king retreated to his Welsh home after the death of his father, Prince Philip, the Duke of Edinburgh, in April 2021, giving him space needed to “contemplate the future of the Royal Family”.

The estate is located in rural Carmarthenshire, near to the folklore-rich village of Myddfai.

The village is associated with the Physicians of Myddfai, who are said to have practiced from the 12th century, having acquired their early homeopathic skills when local monasteries flourished as schools of herbal medicine.

Their work is celebrated by the Apothecary’s Garden, incorporating a replica Victorian pharmacy, at the nearby National Botanic Garden of Wales.

David Hardy, Head of Communications at the National Botanic Garden of Wales, says:

“His Royal Highness has a strong connection to the county, evidenced by his decision to make his home in Wales here.”

Read the full story via Telegraph Travel, The tiny royal residence you’ve never heard of.

Content writing: a must-visit guide to Dr Who locations for Visit Wales

My latest content-writing assignment was commissioned by the agency Orchard for Visit Wales.

It was an update of shooting locations for the Dr Who TV series, timed as the producers hand over the keys of The Tardis to new doctor Ncuti Gatwa.

Here’s a sample of the copy:

The list of Doctor Who sites evolves as The Doctor regenerates through new incarnations.
While Jodie Whittaker was handing over the keys to the Tardis, South Wales provided the several backdrops to her final series, Flux.

Previously, Southerndown Beach, the shingle beach located along the Wales Coast Path in Glamorgan, had featured. It’s officially known as Dunraven Bay.

However, the wave-washed beach, popular with fossil hunters, is better to known to Whovians — that’s Dr Who fans — as Bad Wolf Bay.

It played a starring role in several episodes, the most dramatic scene the tearful farewell between Doctor David Tenant and companion Rose Tyler (Billie Piper) [pictured above] in Doomsday.

Read the full content: Follow the TARDIS to top Dr Who locations.