St Davids

After seeing two enchanting historic villages, Caerleon and Solva, we continued our journey to yet another delightful one, St. David's (Tŷddewi in Welsh). The city (Queen Elizabeth II conferred city status in 1995 because of the presence of the cathedral) was founded by St. David himself, the patron saint of Wales in the year 550. It is the smallest city in the United Kingdom

Caerleon

We rented a car for the weekend to drive along the southern coast of Wales visiting Caerleon, Solva and St David's. The reason to stop by Caerleon was to check out the Roman Amphitheatre.

This quiet little toen beside the River Usk was the site of a Roman Legionary Fortress and also believed to be the location of the legendary King Arthur's Camelot. We first arrived in the village at the Roman Bath Museum. Unfortunately, we were unable to visit the museum as it opened late on Sunday so did the tourist information office.

We then got the direction to the site of the Roman remains from a helpful local bloke. There is not much left of the fortress wall and the barracks, whereas the amphitheatre looked a lot more impressive with grass over the ruins.

This historical site dates back to the 1st century. The Roman made this place a very important settlement with fortress, barracks, infantry, amphitheatre and bath, in fact one of the major military centres for the Roman Army in Britain.

When traveling to Southern Wales, visitors should try to find time to visit Caerleon. It’s easy to find and almost tourist free (despite the fact that it was a fine summer weekend, there was no other visitors around when we were there).

Solva

Solva (Solfach, in Welsh) is a picturesque little village I visited some years ago and I think it's worth writing about it here. It's located in the southwestern tip of Wales between Newgale and St. David's along the St. Brides bay. The scenery of the coastal route from Newgale to Salvo is marvellous with magnificent views over the secluded sandy beach.

Solva is a pleasant village sitting at the top of an inlet that runs down to the sea. This made it a natural harbour ideal for trading boats previously. Today, few local fishermen and sailboat enthusiasts use the harbour. When we were there it was low tide, so all the boats were left high and dry in the valley. I would imagine a much more beautiful view when the tide is high and the valley is filled up with water.

We parked the car at the car park next to the harbour and in front of it there was a pub with some tourists and locals alike. The atmosphere of the whole setting was so cosy and restful.

We strolled around the Main Street that has restaurants, pubs, B&B's and Welsh craft shops; probably the only place where all the shops are. There is a shop called "Window on Wales" which has a lot to offer tourists such as quality Welsh wool clothing, pottery, books and confectionery.

The Main Street is really attractive with the houses in many different colours. We picked a restaurant and had lunch there, very nice homemade soups.

This nice little colourful village is a perfect place to chill out in summer months. Furthermore, it’s not awash with tourists.