St Davids via Cilgerran Castle & Pentre Ifan Burial Chamber

Monday, 28 October 2019

We woke up with the sound of the tide outside the window...pretty nice.  We got ready and went down for breakfast.  Another full Welsh breakfast of eggs, toast, mushrooms, tomato, sausage, and beans.  After breakfast we packed up the room and were ready to go by 9:30 AM.  We have a lot to see today, so we needed to get an early start.

First stop is Cilgerran Castle, about 1 hour drive away.  Cilgerran Castle, built around 1223, and was left to ruin and eventually abandoned in 1400.

Next stop is Pentre Ifan Burial Chamber, less than 30 minutes drive away.  Pentre Ifan is a neolithic site over 5,500 years old.  The capstone rests on the tips of three other stones.  It is so cool.

One theory is that it was totally covered up as a burial chamber as seen in this picture below:

However, a new theory is that it is what it is.  It is just a more elaborate version of a standing stone.  Tim and I, with our new neolithic structure knowledge, believe this is the case.

It is now after 12:30 PM.  We have to get to St Davids since there are two sites to see there that close at 5:30 PM.  45 minutes later we were checking into our hotel room and walking to St Davids Bishop's Palace, dating back to the 13th and 14th century.

This is what this palace looked like back in the day:

Once we saw this drawing, we noticed signs of the checkerboard pattern.

Down in the underbelly of the palace where the kitchens were located:

Tall people like Tim have to head the warning of the first two placards while walking around these Medieval buildings...I really can't relate.

The view of St Davids Cathedral from this palace is really nice:

Speaking of the cathedral...time to visit it. St Davids Cathedral is built on the grounds of a monastic community founded by Saint David, the patron saint of Wales, in the 500's.  This cathedral started being built in 1180.

The nave.  I love the wooden ceiling.

The cathedral had an app I downloaded that gave us a tour of the place.  Here we are learning about Saint David (the center panel).  Below him is supposedly a container that holds some of his remains. Because Saint David is the patron saint of Wales, many people came and still come here on pilgrimages.

Here is a view of the cathedral from the cloister:

One last view of this amazing building as we climb the hill back into town:

When we got back to town we decided to stop at a pub for a pint.  There was a fire going by one of tables, but there was a couple already sitting there.  We asked if they minded if we sat there as well since the fire was inviting.  We joined them and stayed for the next 3 hours enjoying each others company.  This is what traveling the world is all about...meeting new people and learning about life in other countries.

Around 8:30 PM we arrived back to our hotel and had a late dinner (Tim: chicken dish; Me: Beetroot and spinach tortellini).  We then went upstairs to our room, watched a bit of TV, and fell asleep.  I am actually writing the blog a few days later as the many pints at the first pub followed by a late dinner really made we sleepy.