St David, or Dewi Sant, is the patron saint of Wales. Believed to have been born in the 6th century in St Non's Chapel, on the edge of the peninsula that now bears his name, during a fierce and wild storm.
He went on to become a renowned preacher, a traveller, a teetotal vegetarian, and is even said to have performed miracles.
Walking the Pembrokeshire coastal path near St Non's Chapel.
Saint David's legacy and legend very much lives on in Wales, and the ruins of his birth place remain a popular pilgrimage site today. They sit alongside a holy well that supposedly burst into life on the night his mother, St Non, laboured. The water in this holy well is believed to have healing powers, so it would seem that from the night of Saint David's birth, he was marked for greatness.
Chapel of Our Lady and St Non.
All of this history perches on the edge of what is now a truly beautiful stretch of the Pembrokeshire Coastal path. Standing at the ruins and overlooking the crumbling cliffs and vast ocean, it's easy to imagine a storm rolling in, battering the walls of the chapel, and how that might have felt for St Non whilst bringing her child into the world.
Much of the landscape in Wales feels the same way, as if the past is very close to the surface. The ground beneath your feet feels rich with myth, legend and history. CraftCourses.com was founded in Pembrokeshire, and our small team is based in the heart of Preseli mountains, said to have once been home to bad tempered giants and a black dragon who guarded a treasure trove. One of the Preseli's cairns - Cerrig Marchogion -represents King Arthur's fallen knights, slain in battle against Twrch Trwyth, a monstrous boar who swam from Ireland with vengeance in his heart, and chased Arthur and his men from St David's to the Preselis.
Carn Arthur, or Arthur's seat, in the Preselis.
The balcony in our office overlooks Y Frenni Fawr - a hill home to a mysterious, ancient oak forest (where some of the trees are so small, your shoulders brush the canopies), and tales of the Tylwyth Teg (fairy folk) leading wanderers astray with their dancing. The roots of CraftCourses.com are embedded in these lands that surround us, and all its stories.
Moonrise on the Summer solstice, 2024, at the top of Foel Drygarn.
The misty path up to Y Frenni, and the ancient oak forest.
I walk the hills regularly, and all of the myth and legend woven into them is as much a part of the history as Saint David himself. It feels almost plausible that you might need to dodge out of the way of arguing giants heaving mammoth stones at one another, and when the mist rolls in unexpectedly, you're practically waiting for an ominous dragon-shaped shadow to pass overhead.
Walking through the Preselis.
View from the top of Foel Drygarn. Possibly my favourite view in all of Pembrokeshire.
Saint David leaves behind a mighty legacy. He has a list of miracles to his name: resurrecting a child, healing blindness, moving mountains, and his words, uttered so long ago during his final sermon: "Gwnewch y pethau bychain mewn bywyd - do the little things in life" - have been passed down through history, remaining a familiar maxim in modern Wales.
His most famous miracle involved a hill forming beneath his feet whilst giving a sermon in Llanddewi-Brefi; it is said that a white dove perched on his shoulder, and the earth rose up beneath him so that the members of the congregation at the back of the crowd could hear him better. Allegedly, the hill bloomed with a carpet of daffodils. It is also written that he ordered soldiers to wear leeks on their helmets to distinguish themselves during a battle against the Saxons, a battle that was won.
On March 1st, the date of Saint David's death, people all across the country will commemorate his life and legacy by feasting on traditional Welsh delicacies and donning traditional Welsh clothing and the national emblems: leeks and daffodils.
Founder Kate and Harm's children celebrating their Welsh roots
Kate and Harm's children in traditional Welsh attire on St David's day, always a big event on their school calendar.
Cymraeg (Welsh) is 4,000 (!!!) years old; it is one of the oldest living languages in Europe. The years this language has been spoken and developed is an integral part of the culture and landscape, weaving in the legends and stories that often give places their namesake. For example, Cerrig Marchogion, the cairn in the Preselis said to represent Arthur's fallen knights, translates as "rock of the knights."
Language is so important, the beating heart of a culture, and a thread back in time to historical figures like Saint David.
The Pembrokeshire coastal path, St David's.
The path through the Preselis, part of the "Golden Road".
I'm not sure I believe in miracles, but I do believe in the magic, beauty and power of stories, and that by telling them, we each add a layer of meaning to past, present and future. I believe that story-telling is a fundamental part of human nature, to preserve a feeling of the moment that we live in, and to pass it on.
If any of this has inspired you to venture out to wildest Wales, click HERE to peruse courses across the country. Perhaps you could even wander down to St Non's, and soak up some of Dewi Sant's legacy. Or, if you're feeling brave, pay a visit to the bad tempered Preseli giants.
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