Tyddewi, via The Shed

As the weather on our wedding anniversary day was so miserable we decided to postpone our celebratory lunch. So, today we headed south down the road to Fishguard and beyond in the direction of St David's to visit the fishing harbour of Porthgaen, now famed for a sea food restaurant called 'The Shed'.  Porthgaen owes its harbour to the fact that it was an industrial site for a century, being strategically located with slate bearing rock strata nearby, mixed in with the old Cambrian rock which characterises this rugged coastline. In its turn, slate was extracted, then local clay was extracted and fired into bricks, then the hard bedrock was quarried and crushed into tiny pieces for use as road-stone, all being shipped out from the purpose built harbour to destinations all over Britain. Industry ceased here in 1931 and most of the associated buildings in and around the narrow bay are ruins, except one. 

A large warehouse on the quay survived long enough to be restored and put into service as 'The Shed' sea food restaurant, offering locally sourced produce, and a choice between traditional high quality fish 'n chips 'n mushy peas, or a gourmet cuisine menu of great quality and freshness. The place is very popular, with outdoor tables along one side and indoor tables on two levels, able to cater for scores of eaters at a time. 

Arriving just ahead of the lunchtime rush, we took the precaution of booking a table then went for a clifftop walk on the north side of the bay. 

There are vast fields of barley rolling right down to the coastal path, and at this time of year they are pale golden colour. We walked the length of a field to the next bay - it must have been half a mile long - feasting on the colour contrast with the sea, the dark cliffs and a sky interestingly decorated with clouds. A glorious  unforgettable sight.

We shared a bowl of fish soup for a starter, then Clare had fillet of sole cooked in butter, and I had a large luscious hake fillet, perfectly accompanied by a warm salad of butter beans, sliced onion and tomato with coriander leaf, plus 'tatos newi' - Pembrokeshire new potatoes, washed down with a bottle of prize winning Tomos Watkin OSB bitter ale. It's a great place to eat, and I hope we can return and try other dishes on the menu before we return to Cardiff.

We walked along the coastal path on the south side of the bay after lunch, discovering the extent of the industrialised area and its quarry overlooking the sea. 

Then we drove on down to St David's and visited the Cathedral. The last time I was here was four years ago, when I was invited to preach the Good Friday Three Hours devotion.

Since then, Dewi's mediaval pigrimage shrine has been restored. Five new icons have been painted and installed in niches above its old stone base and a canopy mounted above, decorated in mediaeval style. Reliquaries attributed to St David and another local saint Justinian are on display in niches at ground level. These used to be housed in a repository behind the high altar wall which served as focus for pilgrim devotions before the ancient shrine was re-instated. The repository is a handsome piece of modern craftsmanship in wrought iron and wood in a prominent location, but it is now surplus to requirement and no longer labelled for the interest of visitors and pilgrims. It's merely an unexplained curiosity, in a way, rather sad.

Before leaving Tyddewi, we walked down to St Non's retreat house overlooking the sea and visited both the house chapel, the mediaeval ruins of St Non's chapel, and the holy well adjacent to it. 

 The well is watched over by a statue of Mary Immaculate, a reminder that the retreat house and domain belongs to the Roman Catholic diocese of Menevia, although it is widely frequented by people of all faiths and none. Fields in this vicinity have for many years hosted circle dance summer camps, and many of Non's pilgrims are new-agers, connecting with a sense of sacred space in this region which predates Dewi Sant himself.