Our last few days in Wales

During the last few days in Wales, we stayed closer to home - with the exception of a visit to St. Davids - the smallest city in the U.K.
Due to its cathedral, city status was granted to St. Davids in 1995 by Queen Elizabeth II - but it's actually a small, attractive village. Set within Pembrokeshire Coast National Park the city is popular with tourists, artists and pilgrims.
The cathedral was built on the site of a 6th century monastery, was raided regularly by the Vikings during the 10th & 11th centuries, leaving only a shrine to St. David which over the years was almost lost in the surrounding greenery. On its current site, work on a "new" cathedral was started in 1181.
On the day we visited we were fortunate to be able to wander around the cathedral when all was quiet and also to hear part of an end of year service for one of the nearby schools.
On the opposite bank of the River Alun are the remains of the Bishops Palace, which along with the cathedral, was the finest collection of buildings in Wales during the medieval period. No expense was spared in creating a grand residence which was fit for major figures of the church and state.
We toured what remains of both the lower and upper floors, which included two complete sets of state rooms - one for personal use and the other for ceremonial - all arranged around a central courtyard. These ruins have helpful educational recordings around the site to help envision its "glory days." We also have the bonus of Marjie who can fill in any gaps in the information!
The Bathstone wheeled window set high in the great hall is stunning, but due to the softness of the stone, it has, over the years, needed extensive restoration. The palace is an excellent example of the decorated style of Gothic architecture, with elaborate carvings of leaves and vines around the main doorways + over 100 decorated corbels showing animals and faces - some quite grotesque!
Another day we walked around the more "modern" historical update of Milford Haven Marina. At the beginning of the 20th century, this area was crowded with fishing trawlers and a 1/2 mile long fish market. At its peak over 3,000 people worked in a shanty town of offices, stores and workshops spread around the waterfront.
We walked alongside the 300 berth marina, admiring many of the large yachts. With boutique shops and restaurants this historic area is now a pleasant place to spend a couple of hours.
Even closer to our home base is St. Ishmael's Garden Centre - one of Pembrokeshire's oldest - which has been on its current site for over 80 years.....proving that the popularity of garden centres is not a new trend. Set deep in this rural area, down some of those very narrow roads, it's almost a secret.....but one that we happily discovered!
The peaceful setting here is perfect for browsing through the outdoor selection of plants and flowers, while the indoor part has a garden tearoom which we certainly took advantage of. With a selection of teas, coffees and cakes + breakfast & lunch items we were all set for relaxing in this lovely semi-outdoor setting. When my choice of Victoria sponge cake was deemed a little dry by our server, she offered me a bowl of clotted cream to accompany it. The cake was definitely not dry.....but it would have been rude to refuse the cream, wouldn't it?!
Dinner that night also included another hidden gem. In our village of Marloes, a "sandwich-board" sign had caught my eye.....Camille's Pizza - open 5-8 p.m. Thurs, Fri and Sat. After investigating, we tracked it down to a take-out pizza operation (complete with a wood burning pizza-oven) which was located in the back garden of a lovely house, tucked neatly into a "purpose built" out-building.
The operation is run by an enterprising young woman who, with her husband, built onto their parents house - which they now share with them and their own 2 little girls.
When we went to place the order for our custom made pizzas, these little girls were playing in their garden with mum & dad - all of them enjoying a beautiful summer evening until the next customer arrived.......not a bad way to make a living......and the pizzas were good!
Our final day in Pembrokeshire saw the return of weather that was similar to when we arrived.....cool & windy with rain showers.....but how lovely the 2 weeks in between have been! We took our last walk to Marloes Sands, which has quickly become one of our favourite places in this area - but this time by a more circular and extended route.
Heading in the opposite direction from our destination, we left the village and found our way onto an entrance of the coastal path. We climbed upwards, continuing along the cliff tops - surrounded by magnificent coastal views. We saw both Skomer Island - home to nesting puffins - and Gateholm Island, which is closer to shore & accessible only when the tide is out......if you're willing to climb over a large expanse of rocks to reach it! We "took a pass" on that, deciding to wind our way back down to the other side of the headland and spend a little time on the beach & rocks of Marloe Sands. During our final visit there, we saw huge areas of coves & beach, now exposed by the low tide, which were new to us.
Heading back to our holiday home we marvelled at the beauty and rugged wildness of this ever changing coastline......sorry to leave it - but looking forward to our next couple of weeks in Yorkshire with time to reconnect with family and old friends.
Of course.....dinner for our last night in this area just had to be "Pooky's" fish & chips!