St Davids Day is celebrated on March 1st each year because, historically, this is recognised as the day that St David died... they say in c.589 AD.
During his lifetime, he was a well known preacher and was the founder of a number of monasteries in Wales. It's said that he brought back a stone from a pilgrimage to Jersusalem... and that this now forms part of the altar in St Davids Cathedral.
St David lived a very frugal life and we are led to believe that he was a vegetarian... eating just leeks and water... if you can believe this!
But most importantly, St David's memory and legacy very much lives on. He was buried in St Davids Cathedral and some of his final words were 'be joyful, keep the faith and do the little things that you have heard and seen me do'.
He is now celebrated and remembered each year in every city, town and village across Wales... and especially so in St Davids.
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St Davids is the smallest cathedral city in the UK and is built on the site of the monastery founded by St David (Dewi Sant) in the 6th Century. It was granted its Royal Charter by the Queen in 1995.
St Davids is within the Pembrokeshire Coast National and has spectacular coastal scenery and abundance of wildlife.
The city has a number of high-quality self-catering cottages, with many, like Ty Gwilym Holiday Cottages in the centre, close to all the pubs and restaurants.
Pembrokeshire has a rich Christian heritage, which, beyond St David includes St Patrick, who, they say, set sail from here when he went to convert Ireland to Christianity.
St David was said to have been born on a cliff top on the Pembrokeshire coast during a huge storm. And his birthplace is marked by the ruin of a tiny ancient chapel close to a holy well at St Nons, just a short distance from our cottages.
St Davids Cathedral was built in the 12th Century from purple stone and is one of the most important shrines of medieval Christendom, as two pilgrimages to St. Davids (often by boat) is the equivalent of one to Rome.
Very near the cathedral is the medieval Bishops Palace, dating back to the 14th century… sadly now derelict since the 18th.
The location of St Davids Cathedral, hidden in a grassy ‘hollow’, adds to the very unique atmosphere that most visitors feel when they come here…. peaceful and therapeutic!
St Davids is now a very attractive place to stay, particularly in Self-catering holiday cottages, with narrow streets filled with cafes, restaurants, hotels and art galleries.
