WEEKEND IN
ST DAVIDS & SOUTH WALES
St Davids is city which packs a punch, with many wild beaches and islands, an ancient cathedral, and shops selling products of seaweed and bugs, discovers
Wholesome and kinship. Those are the words to define St Davids (Tyddewi), Britain’s smallest city at Wales’s westernmost point. They incorporate the sense of community that pervades every corner of its rabbitwarren layout and the warm gestures between locals and visitors.
‘Cariad’, the Welsh expression for ‘darling’, can often be heard spoken on entering an establishment; where shopkeepers, gallerists, and restaurateurs are making a living off local ingredients, produce and materials.
Then there’s the gold-and-purplespeckled cathedral standing sentinel above the slate roofs. It’s a tangible connection to the past and another source of pride for locals, as it has been the religious heart of Wales since the 6th Century AD. The surrounding coastal paths pass many beaches, each one unique and nursing countless coastal pursuits. A weekend here is time spent discovering the soul of Wales and the magic of its people.
1.30 PM
FRIDAY PM GRUB KITCHEN
We start at The Bug Farm: the brainchild of entomologist Sarah Beynon and her husband, chef Andy Holcroft, who’ve established a farm and research centre featuring a bug museum, tropical bug zoo, and an indoor play barn for us to compare our jumps to those of insects. The Grub Kitchen – afull-time edible insect café – is where we taste the ‘research’. The Sri Lankan coconut curry and mixed insect pakora are particularly delicious and don’t taste like bugs at all. thebugfarm.co.uk
4PM
SAND DUNES AND ROCKS
We follow narrow stone bridges, scampering rabbits, and trees adorned with hanging buoys, to reach Whitesands Bay. Behind the beach are sand dunes concealing a 6th-century chapel dedicated to St Patrick. Whitesands is known for its surfing waves, but we prefer the rock promontory at the north end, overlooking a second stretch of sand accessible only by swimmers or kayakers.
7PM
BLAS RESTAURANT
Portraits of Welsh legends, including Catherine Zeta-Jones and Anthony Hopkins, welcome me to Blas Restaurant. ‘Blas’ translates to ‘taste’, which is a key principle of this three-AA-rosette restaurant, as is ‘art on a plate’. The smell of braised beef, sprinkled with squirts of green pea and edible
