St. Davids & St. Non, Pembrokeshire

St. Non was St. David’s mother and her life is celebrated on March 2nd each year, the day after her son. This walk tracks around the bay named after her; the place where, according to legend, Dewi Sant was actually born. It’s a dramatic stretch of coast, with steep cliffs dropping into an often turbulent ocean; and it also provides some superb walking with relatively flat paths and fine views across St. Bride’s Bay. It’s only a short walk, but it’s a rewarding one, that traces the coast from the tiny harbour at Porthclais to the sandy sweep of beach of Caerfai, passing the chapel and spring of the Patron Saint’s birthplace along the way. It starts and finishes in Wales’s smallest city and will almost certainly leave plenty of time for a visit to the magnificent cathedral too if you fancy it.

Your route…

Start from the main car park in St. David’s – a little way east of the tiny city, next to the Tourist Information Centre. Then turn left onto the narrow lane that leads down towards Caerfai Bay. Ignore the first turning on the right at the top end of the car park but take the second, a narrow road that leads into a residential area. Follow this for a few paces and then swing left onto a waymarked hedged bridleway. Follow this past the end of another residential road to a junction with a lane.

Walk straight across the lane and take the waymarked path straight ahead to a fork. Keep right to cross a stile and then keep the hedge to your left to another stile, which you cross close to a farm. Go through the gate ahead and turn left to walk towards the farm before turning right. Then, as the drive swings left, bear right, keeping the hedge to your right, to walk through the caravan park towards gorse bushes on the far side. Keep straight ahead to a path junction where you keep straight ahead again to meet the road above Porthclais.

Turn left to drop to the bottom of the valley and then turn left again onto the coast path keeping the stream and bridge to your right. Now climb up to the cliff tops, which offer great views over the harbour, and then veer around to the left with the views now over St. Bride’s Bay. Follow the path easily around the inlet of Porth y Ffynnon and continue past the headland of Trwyn Cynddeiriog and on towards St. Non’s.

Now keep your eyes open for a footpath on the left that leads up to the ruined chapel, which marks the exact spot legend suggests St. David was born. From the chapel head up to a gate that leads to a Holy Well, shrouded by a grotto, which is said to have sprung up on the night of St.David’s birth. To return to the coast, pass beneath the new chapel to another gate. Turn left and continue easily around to Caerfai Bay. At the car park (D), turn left to follow the lane back to St. David’s and the main car park, or continue down steps to the beach.

Words & Images: Tom Hutton