Ilkeston Cam On Holiday 2001 - South West Wales - Part
03
Monday - The City of St David's
All the photos on this page were taken in July 2001
Very few visitors to this part of the UK will return
home without first making the pilgrimage to the far SW corner
of Pembrokeshire and what is officially Britain's smallest city.
We were no exception so Monday's destination was St David's.
 Our route from Saundersfoot
took us through the lovely coastal village of Solva where once
again we witnessed the brightly coloured frontages of dwellings
in the main street. These days the village is noted for a number
of high-quality craft shops but in the past, it was a thriving
port.
Sheltered by steep hills and standing at the head of a narrow
inlet, Solva is one of the safest anchorages in this part of
Wales although today most of the vessels are purely for pleasure
and leisure.
One interesting fact I have discovered about Solva is that many
nineteenth century emigrants left from here for New York at a
cost of £3/10/00 (£3.50) each.
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For all its interest, Solva was only a brief, albeit
pleasant, distraction on our route to St David's and its magnificent
cathedral. Standing in a grassy hollow, the cathedral and the
adjacent ruins of St David's Bishop's Palace form the spiritual
home of the patron saint of Wales.
A Prayer for Pilgrims to use on arrival at St David's
Our Father in heaven, We thank you for the life and witness
of St David. We thank you for his constant faith and trust in
Jesus your Son, for his simple life of obedience and his rejection
of the materialism of the world. We thank you for his zeal in
telling others of your love and grace; for his tireless work
in extending your kingdom; and his seeking to make this nation
of Wales a Christian nation. We thank you for this place of worship
and pilgrimage on this site where David spent much of his life.
As we have come here today, send your Holy Spirit: to renew and
revive our faith and trust in your son Jesus who died for us;
to give us strength to live obedient lives, serving the Jesus
who rose again to be our Lord and Saviour; that just as David
went out to proclaim the Good News of Christ in his day, so we,
in all that we say and do, may continue to make Christ known
in the world today. In the name, and for the sake of Jesus our
Lord. Amen.
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A monastic community was established here in the 6th century.
The followers observed a vow of silence and spent their time
in prayer and hard manual labour, enjoying a frugal existence
wearing animal skins and eating only a basic diet.
The founder became Archbishop of Caerleon and the anniversary
of his death, 1st March circa 589 is now celebrated by Welshmen
everywhere as St David's Day.
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It was not until 1120 that St David was canonised
and no trace has been found of his original church. Norman clergy
took control of the church in Wales in 1115 and the present cathedral
was started by a Florentine monk some 60 plus years later. Building
work continued for a good 300 years and it has been modified
and restored a great deal since.
 
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There are many features in the cathedral worthy of
note including a stained glass window that was produced as late
as the 1950s as well as a beautiful 14th century rood screen.
The ceilings deserve a special mention too. The mediaeval roof
of the tower (below left) was restored by Sir George Gilbert
Scott in the 1870s and decorated with episcopal insignia while
that of the nave (below right) is richly decorated wood.
 
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Pride of place though must go to a little alcove
containing an iron-bound oak casket. It is believed to contain
the bones of St David and his confessor St Justinian. The relics
of St David were found beneath the floor of the cathedral in
1866.
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Outside, the climb up the hill to the village-sized
city that is home to the largest cathedral in Wales gives the
visitor ample opportunity to view the grassy hollow where the
cathedral was built to hide it from marauders. No such concerns
though about today's pilgrims for whom two visits are said to
equate to one to Rome and three pilgrimages are equivalent to
one to Jerusalem!
 
A Prayer for a safe journey home.
Lord Jesus Christ, you travelled once by hard and dangerous
roads; you drew near to your friends as they journeyed on their
way home to Emmaus, walking with them and sharing with them your
truth. be present with us as we travel from this place; guard
us in every danger; make us aware that you are with us; and bring
us safe and well to our homes; for your own name's sake. Amen.
Before our journey home though there was still much more to see
in Pembrokeshire, some of it planned and other by happen chance.
Leaving St David's I decided to look for the Chapel at the foot
of a cliff that I had seen on a TV programme but found another
religious site instead. That was St Non's Chapel and to read
about it, continue to Part 04.
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