COTE DE WEST WALES

 13 July

Dismay and discovery: 

Discovery I was arriving at Whitesands, situated on the St David's peninsula viewed as the best surfing beach in Pembrokeshire. Certainly there were a lot of people viewing it today. It is a glorious beach, fringed with camper vans. It’s only an hour and twenty minutes from the house although it felt a lot longer especially on the roads after leaving Haverfordwest.

 

Dismay: having to pay £5 to park the car in a field.  

Discovery II: However the parking shock was offset by the excitement of viewing the excavation of Saint Patricks chapel.  

Dyfed Archaeological Society were coming to end of a six-week dig. They discovered hundreds of bodies (skeletal remains) some dating back to the sixth century. I saw a skull and torso in a shallow grave so felt I got my £5’s worth.

Detail on the dig here: https://www.dyfedarchaeology.org.uk/wp/discovery/projects/st-patricks-chapel-whitesands-st-davids/

 

We walked the coastal part for a short while and high up there was a wonderful view of the bay. The crowds below on the beach now look like lots of coloured gemstones on a pale white cloth. In the fields behind, lots of tents and vans; parking is obviously the new local farmers' cash crop.

 

As the sun climbs even higher, we head joyfully home.

 

14 July

L the Plummer arrives as arranged. He fixes a leak in the cold-water pipe, discovers another and fixes that too. Then he fits a simple thermostat so we can control the central heating from inside the house, very grown up.

 

Whilst all this was going on we finished the installation of two Billy Bookcases. The Ikea Billy Bookcase is declared to be the most commercially successful piece of modern furniture. More than 110 million have been sold since its launch forty years ago. It good to be part of this design movement.

 

On the way back from Whitland Reclamation Site we stop at Pendine Sands to give Rosie a walk and test drive our new windbreak. Its erection provided some entertainment for the family close by. We must buy a mallet.