St David’s Christmas Markets

You may be surprised to hear that The St Davids Peninsula and surrounding area is a great place to do your Christmas shopping this year! The fantastic array of St David’s Christmas markets offer gifts for the whole family with the added bonus of having items which are handmade with love and care and won’t literally cost the earth. As we are all much more aware of buying sensibly and sustainably today, supporting local and buying goods which haven’t been shipped from the other side of the world now makes more sense than ever.

Avoid the crowds, the car-parking nightmares, the stress and frenzy of city centre shopping malls and come and stay in one of our cosy home from home apartments. The perfect base for relaxing and making memories with your loved ones. Spend some quality time together in a mini pre-christmas getaway! We are situated on the High Street where you can step out and shop in stress free bliss!

St Davids is wonderfully atmospheric as Christmas approaches. On Saturday 30th November at 5.15pm the village is a-bustle with local families for the much loved lighting ceremony of the Christmas Tree, a busy yet intimate gathering on the Cross square at the centre of the city . Mulled wine which flows generously from neighbouring shops will warm you up on the coldest of nights and songs from the school choir will melt the frostiest of hearts.

What is there to do though in this tiny city I hear you ask? Well less is more as they say. You will notice you have more time in a place like this. And time is precious. Give yourself the greatest gift of time this Christmas – time spent relaxing, time spent talking, laughing, enjoying, experiencing life. Quality time. Time just being together. There are so many lovely little quaint pubs, restaurants and cafes that offer such a warm welcome. If you come out of season you get treated like a long lost friend in these quiet months. People give you the time of day unlike in the summer when staff are run off their feet.

There is an array of places to eat out and sample local produce at its finest. Most people only see St Davids when its super busy at the height of the summer season but it’s an absolute treat and you won’t be disappointed if you miss the crowds. Imagine sitting around a crackling log fire in a cosy pub where there are no queues or long waits on food orders, or parking right up close to an empty beach with no car park charge for a sunset stroll?

 

Saturday 16th and Sunday 17th November – Melin Tregwynt Annual Christmas Fair

There has been a woollen mill here in this remote wooded valley since the seventeenth  century and today this century old family business employs thirty people. The blankets and items produced here are of the finest quality, spun and woven through time like the tales of the workers who create them over the chatter and clatter of the looms. https://melintregwynt.co.uk/

There’s an idyllic walk through the woods from here to Abermawr beach. A rolling storm beach so breathtakingly remote and windswept that it’s sure to take your breath away. Isolated and remote but never lonely as you feel a connection to the past here, imagining smugglers’ boats coming in on the tide to Aberbach next door. And there’s nearly always a sheepdog that will befriend you along the way. A little known fact is that Brunel had plans to bring a railway here to service a port that was planned for this barren beach. Imagine how different it could have been?

The cafe is lovely here at Tregwynt if you decide to stay for lunch. Alternatively you may like to swing by the Sloop Inn in Porthgain and sit by the log burner to enjoy a leisurely lunch, where they are likely to have fish on the menu, as Porthgain’s harbour still has working fishing boats. There’s a big industrial history that surrounds this quaint sleepy harbour village and the pub displays many an artifact, picture or story of these bygone days. Once upon a time tall ships traded from this tiny harbour! Come and discover it for yourself. http://sloop.co.uk/

Saturday 23rd and Sunday 24th November – Victorian Christmas Fair – Picton Castle            

Picton Castle is a fabulous place to visit. The beautiful forty acres of gardens and woodland walks complete with a victorian walled garden provides the loveliest of settings for this Christmas Fair with so much to delight the whole family. It is home to The Welsh Owl Garden where you can see these beautiful birds of prey.

As Pembrokeshire’s finest stately home the castle itself is simply stunning and has tours available by booking only. There are Christmas Candlelight Tours available on 3rd and 5th of December where you can see the castle decked out in all its Christmas glory for the Lords and Ladies. In the Courtyard is Maria’s cafe, and if you haven’t sampled Maria’s fabulous home cooked cuisine and Deli you are really missing out. Be sure to book a table if you want to eat here though. https://www.pictoncastle.co.uk/

Sunday 30th November  – Solva Woolen Mill Christmas Fayer

This traditional working Woollen Mill weaves rugs and runners in a myriad of colours. Nestled in a peaceful valley setting alongside the river, upstream from Solva harbour the babbling water is a calming tonic for the soul. https://www.solvawoollenmill.co.uk/

After the Christmas Fayre and a spot of lunch in the cafe you could walk downstream to Solva. Here there are more shops and galleries and you will find Mamgu’s Welshcakes Cafe where you can sample traditional welsh cakes like ‘mamgu’ – grandmother used to make.The lovely Becky and Thea who run this gorgeous cafe have created a stylish and cosy contemporary haven which provides breakfast, lunch, loose-leaf teas, espresso coffee and welshcakes with a modern twist, using various added local ingredients. Their breakfast comes with a leek and welsh cheese welshcake and always a smile! https://mamguwelshcakes.com/

Saturday 7th December – Oriel Y Parc Christmas Market

A celebration of Christmas with a range of stalls selling local food and crafts. Festive food in the café and live music. The event runs from 10am to 4pm and there is free parking. It is free to attend the event but there’s a £2.50 charge per child to meet Father Christmas in his grotto and receive a Christmas present. As well as the shop and cafe Oriel Y Parc is a  Pembrokeshire National Coastal Park Visitor Centre, a must stop to plan your stay. It is a hub for tourist information, which also  incorporates a National Museums and Galleries of Wales venue.  Here you will find a range of precious historical artifacts and famous works of art from the national collection.

The Centre also hosts local art exhibitions and there is a lively calendar of activities, workshops and events here. I love spending rainy days here as it’s a great space architecturally with its high glass windows, timber frame, medieval looking tower and grass roof, which make it spacious, light and atmospheric.

Afterwards take a wander down the High Street – not your usual city centre High Street that’s for sure as we have mainly local independent shops and galleries. We have two lovely local owned deli’s, St Davids Food and Wine and The Veg Patch which both have an abundance of scrumptious goodies to temp and treat you.

There are gorgeous local galleries a-plenty for that special piece of art. A  sprinkling of clothes retail chains namely Crewe, Fatface and Mountain Warehouse. The independent TYF stocks the fabulous Patagonia range of outdoor clothing, amongst others, which although more pricey is made sustainably and will last the test of time. And talking of time, with time to spare, why not pop into the den of delight that is the Meadow Cafe. An absolute haven of deliciousness. This gem of a little coastal cafe retreat, with a friendly warm welcome, serves sustainably sourced and well balanced dishes. There’s even board games on offer, see out a game of chess as you sit out a storm with the best coffee in town. https://www.themeadow.co/

Sunday 8th December – Pointz Castle Christmas Fair

Pointz Castle Is a family run Ice Cream Parlour and cafe which serves luxury gelato style ice cream in a  tantalisingly delicious range of flavours. The ice cream is made on the working farm from the family’s own dairy herd. It’s a spacious venue in a converted barn with ample space for kids and a play barn too. There are set to be over 25 stalls offering a wide range of locally made and sourced gifts. It’s a really local, friendly venue, a mere 5 miles from St Davids on the main Haverfordwest road. After you’ve had your fix of shopping and ice cream why not drive on to Newgale and stretch your legs on the vast wild expanse of beach that is Newgale sands only 7 miles from St.Davids.    https://www.facebook.com/pembrokeshireicecream/

Newgale beach a vast swathe of empty beach awaits your eager step out of season!

For availability and self catering apartment bookings see https://galwadymorstdavids.co.uk/

Hope you enjoy your stay!

Becky x