Walk 378 -- Porth Clais to St Non's

Ages:  Colin was 75 years and 42/43 days.  Rosemary was 72 years and 184/185 days.

Weather:  19^th – Extremely hot and sunny without a breath of wind.  20^th – Still hot and sunny but there was a slight cooling breeze. 

Location:  Porth Clais to St Non’s.

Distance:  1 mile. 

Total distance:  3880½ miles. 

Terrain:  Cliff paths, slightly undulating. 

Tide:  Didn’t notice either day. 

Rivers:  None. 

Ferries:  None. 

Piers:  None. 

Kissing gates:  Nos.914 & 915 by St Non’s Well. 

Pubs:  None. 

‘Cadw’ properties:  No.12, the Bishop’s Palace by St David’s Cathedral. 

Ferris wheels:  None. 

Diversions:  None. 

How we got there and back:  We were holidaying in our caravan near Whitesands Bay.  On the morning of the 19^th Colin left me at Porth Clais while he drove to Solva (where we intended the Walk to end), parked the car expensively, caught a bus back to St David’s and walked down to Porth Clais.  But I was taken ill with heat exhaustion and we only completed half a mile before we had to turn back.  We caught a bus — Colin got off in St David’s, caught another bus back to Solva and brought the car back to the caravan.  Meanwhile I stayed on the first bus until I got to the caravan site and spent the rest of the day lying on my bunk with the blinds down.  We wasted £15.40 on bus fares and car parking today — all for nothing! 

In the late afternoon of the 20^th we drove to St Non’s and walked along the cliffs to the place where we had turned back the day before.  We then retraced our steps to St Non’s. 

The next day we intended completing the Walk to Solva, but it proved to be the hottest June day since 1976!  Not wanting a repeat of my illness, we didn’t go out walking.  The next day, the 22^nd, we returned to home Malvern. 

 

19^th June 

While waiting for Colin at Porth Clais I was getting uncomfortably hot sitting on a seat in the sun — with a robin for company!  He seemed very tame, and kept perching on the back of the seat where I was sitting.  I took several photos of him — it was magic! 

I moved to another seat in the shade, but I was still uncomfortable.  My eyes began to sting.  I thought, at first, it was sun cream got into my eyes, but as it gradually got worse and my nose began to stream I wondered if it was hay fever — though I have never had hay fever in my life.  By the time Colin arrived I was already in a state.  But I was determined to carry on, particularly as Colin had paid £5 to park the car at Solva, £3.70 on his bus fare and then walked from St David’s in intense heat. 

We started up the path on the east side of Porth Clais which was quite steep with some huge steps which my knees didn’t like at all.  We got to the top where the continuation of the path was much easier as it was fairly flat.  Surely there will be a breeze up here?  There wasn’t.  Nobody we met said, “What a lovely day!” – they all said, “It’s too hot!”  We walked round a little cove to a headland that stuck a little further out, but there was still not a whisper of a breeze.  It was as hot as the Sahara Desert — at least that’s what it felt like. 

By then my eyes were stinging so much I could hardly bear to open them.  My nose was a constant stream, and all the tissues I had in my pockets were reduced to soggy lumps.  My head was swimming, and I felt nauseous.  I felt dreadful!  I was afraid I might faint, and Colin was very worried.  I hated having to give in, but there was no way I could continue.  We had walked a mere half mile. 

Very slowly and carefully we returned to Porth Clais where we caught a bus (£1.50 each) – me to the caravan site where I lay on my bunk with the blinds down for the rest of the day – and Colin to St David’s where he got on another bus (£3.70) to return to Solva to pick up the car.  So we spent £15.40 on bus fares and car parking for nothing! 

 

20^th June 

Now fully recovered, and with a strong breeze to cool us down, Colin suggested we did another half mile of the cliff path to St Non’s in the late afternoon.  This would shorten tomorrow’s Walk to Solva.  We parked at St Non’s and walked west along the coast path until we came to the point where I’d given up yesterday.  There we turned back and walked east. 

There was a rope looped round a large rock, it snaked away down a sheer cliff.  At the bottom on a ledge lay a semi-naked couple looking like two dead bodies!  But they were very much alive, they had taken off their climbing gear and were sunbathing. 

It was only a short Walk, but we saw rock arches and caves.  There were gannets flying around — we saw one dive into the sea straight as an arrow.  And we saw hosts of butterflies, mostly red admirals but there were quite a few painted ladies as well. 

 

 

 

We came to the ruins of st Non’s Chapel, not much of it left now.  It is reputed to be the place where St Non gave birth to St David, and is a very sacred spot to the Welsh.

 

 

 

Nearby St Non’s Well is said to have sprung up in a thunderstorm when St David was born, and the water is said to “cure infirmities”.  (We didn’t try it out.) 

There is a retreat centre and modern chapel nearby but it is private.

Opposite the well is a very Catholic-looking statue of Our Lady in a grotto.  It is reminiscent of Lourdes. 

 

That ended Walk no.378, we shall pick up Walk no.379 next time at St Non’s Well.  The walking time for the total Walk, which was only one mile, was not noted, but it must have been less than an hour.  The weather forecast for the next day was very hot and humid with no wind.  Neither of us wanted me to be ill again, so we didn’t walk and instead went home the next day. 

I still can’t believe I suffered heatstroke in Wales! 

 

St David’s Bishop’s Palace 

We visited St David’s Cathedral and the adjacent ruined Bishop’s Palace on a different day.  The Cathedral is quite unique, making the tiny township of St David’s the smallest city in the world!  Built in the 12^th century, the cathedral is quite small and has a sloping floor and leaning arches due to the weight of the tower and the marshy ground on which it was built.  (Is it safe?)  It was practically destroyed by Cromwell’s soldiers in the 17^th century — lead stripped from the roof, etc — but restored and repaired two hundred years later so that it is still in use today.  It is not only a working cathedral, but it is also a big tourist attraction which helps to pay for its upkeep.

The adjacent Bishop’s Palace was built mainly in the 13^th and 14^th centuries, though there had been monastic buildings on the site for many centuries previously.  At the Reformation in the 16^th century, lead was stripped from the roof and the building fell into disrepair.  The ruins are now owned and cared for by Cadw.