Believe it or not, St David's is a city, in fact, it's the smallest city in Britain. But that doesn't mean that it's lacking in activities as I discovered on my recent trip. The highlight is the enormous St David's Cathedral and the adjacent Bishops Palace.
But for many of the other activities, you'll need to venture outside of the 'city' and along St David's peninsular where you'll be able to visit Ramsey Island and walk along stunning sections of the Wales Coastal Path including the Blue Lagoon.
In this guide, I'll share my favourite things to do in St Davids and the surrounding area.
Where To Stay in St David's
Twr y Felin Hotel (£££) - A luxury hotel in a converted windmill, just outside of St David's in the peaceful countryside.
St Davids Cross Hotel (££) - Excellent location in the centre of St David's with a beautiful garden. Affordable but sells out fast.
Where To Eat in St David's
- The Really Wild Emporium - A small quirky restaurant serving up a taster menu with locally sourced and foraged ingredients.
- The Bishops - A traditional pub restaurant serving well-made classic British cuisine. They have a terrace too.
- Grain - Amazing stone-baked pizza and craft beer. If you want a table, I recommend booking ahead.
1. Explore the historic St Davids Cathedral
St Davids Cathedral is the oldest ancient cathedral settlement in Britain
The current cathedral is around 900 years old and still contains his shrine today. It's long been one of the top attractions in West Wales as it was originally a site of pilgrimage after the pope declared two visits to the cathedral were equivalent to one to Rome.
Given that St David's is a city of just 2,000 people, the cathedral is easy to find. The opening hours are roughly 10am-4pm (or 1-3.30pm on Sundays) however, it was closed during the middle of the day during my visit so it's subject to change.
There is no fee to visit the cathedral, however, the cost of maintaining such an enormous, historic building is significant so I recommend you make a donation of £5 per adult. Unfortunately, there aren't any regular guided tours for the public but there are information boards all around.
2. Visit the ruins of St Davids Bishop's Palace
During the 12th Century, more and more people were making pilgrimages to the newly built cathedral in St Davids. To complement the newly built cathedral it was decided that the bishop’s home should be equally magnificent.
That's why Henry de Gower, who was the bishop of the cathedral at the time, transformed the old servants' building into the St Davids Bishop's Palace.
You can see the ruins from the outside to get an idea of how grand this palace was in its heyday. Notice the rose window which marks the Grand Hall, where the bishop would entertain high-profile pilgrims.
If you're interested in learning more about St David's and its history, I do recommend that you go inside. It's a paid attraction, under the care of CADW, so it's free if you have a membership. The palace is open year-round - find out more about visiting here.
On your visit, look out for the buttons you can press on the way around that will play a short piece of audio to explain what's around you.
3. Take a boat trip to Ramsey Island
Ramsey Island is located around 1km off the St Davids peninsular. The island is a nature reserve owned and managed by the RSPB, and it's one of the best sites in Wales to see the rare choughs as well as seals and a variety of seabirds. We even spotted porpoises (a relative of the dolphin) within a few minutes of leaving the shore.
To take a trip to Ramsey Island, you'll need to leave from St Justinians lifeboat station which is about a 10-minute drive from the centre of St David's. Boat trips depart multiple times per day between April and October.
There are two types of tours to Ramsey Island. I took a sightseeing tour which goes around the island and lasted just over an hour. You don't leave the boat but will be accompanied by a guide who will point out the wildlife from the boat. The other type of tour is a landing tour where you are dropped off and spend 4-6 hours wandering the trails and seeing what wildlife you can spot by yourself.
There are several companies that offer sightseeing tours but only one company has a permit to allow landing tours (this is Thousand Islands). I have put together a full guide to visiting Ramsey Island with the prices of all the different tour operators and the differences between them.
Note: Wales' most famous seabird is the puffin, however, you won't see these on Ramsey Island. You will need to head to Skomer Island to see these. You can take a trip to Skomer Island from St David's, however, it's a long way via boat so it's best to visit from Marloes on the other coast of Pembrokeshire.
4. Walk the St David's Head circular trail
Pembrokeshire National Park is Britain’s only coastal national park. It was also voted one of the top destinations in the world by the National Geographic Traveler magazine who praised the 'rocky cliff tops, sandy beaches, and ancient footpaths'
With its location along the small peninsular in Pembrokeshire, St David's provides easy access to some of the most beautiful parts of the path. One of the popular trails is known as the St David's Head circular route.
This moderate route takes just over an hour to complete and includes rocky coastlines set against mountainous backdrops and several prehistoric monuments including the Coetan Arthur, a Neolithic burial chamber that was built as early as 4000BC.
5. Enjoy a quiet spot at Caerfai Bay
Caerfai Bay is located 1 mile south of St Davids. It’s a small rocky cove surrounded by a mixture of grey, green and vivid pink multicoloured rocks. At low tide, there’s a sandy beach and plenty of rockpools for the kids to explore and hopefully find sea creatures.
The beach itself can be accessed via a steep, winding path, and unfortunately, apart from free parking, there are no other facilities such as toilets located here, with the nearest ones being in St Davids.
There are strong sea currents at Caerfai Bay and no lifeguard patrol so I wouldn't recommend swimming here unless you are particularly confident - see my next recommendation for a better swimming spot.
6. Catch some rays at Whitesands Beach
Although now popular for leisure activities such as sandcastle building, surfing, kayaking and windsurfing, there is also traces of a 6th-century chapel to St Patrick buried beneath the dunes behind the beach
Another feature of this beach is the abundance of wildlife, which includes sea birds, seals and porpoises often spotted close to the shoreline.
There’s parking for 60 cars available above the beach, however, this is often fully used due to the popularity of the beach. Another option to get there is to take the Celtic Coaster shuttle bus which operates throughout the summer from St Davids.
Between October and May, dogs are welcomed on all parts of this beach and can roam freely. Unfortunately, dogs are not permitted to use the beach during other months of the year.
7. Dare to dine at Dr Beynon’s Bug Farm
Dr Beynon’s Bug Farm is located 1 mile outside St Davids and is also a scientific research centre and working farm. At the farm, you’ll find attractions such as a tropical bug zoo, bug museum, insect farm exhibition, and gift shop.
This is a good family activity that's also quite educational. I'd advise allowing around an hour here.
I also ventured into the onsite Grub Kitchen where I tried some spicy crickets. It's a good job you can't see my face in this picture as my tastebuds weren't too happy about this!
8. Visit Oriel y Parc Gallery and Visitor Centre
Oriel y Parc is Pembrokeshire National Park's main tourist centre based in St David's. Thanks to a collaboration with the National Museum of Wales it also doubles up as a unique gallery featuring family-friendly art, exhibitions from local artists, and community-run classes.
It's free to visit and is one of the few activities in St David's that you can do when its raining. Also on site is a shop and the Pilgrims Café which serves a range of delicious food.
The visitor centre is open between 9.30am and 5pm daily and the gallery is open daily between 10am and 4pm. Opening hours for the cafe are slightly different so check ahead if you plan to eat or drink there too.
9. Challenge Yourself at the St David’s Escape Room
Themed around the St Davids area, the St Davids Escape Room offers excitement for those of all ages. If you've never done an escape room before, it's when you are locked ina room and have to uncover clues and solve puzzles in order to escape. If you escape before the timer runs out, then you win.
At St David's Escape Rom, there is a traditional escape room which is themed around the area as well as an outdoor escape room where you have to navigate across a ropes course which is littered with locks and challenges. The outdoor option is particularly appealing if you have a dog since yo can bring four-legged friends along for the adventure.
With this being a popular activity, booking is essential to avoid disappointment. Additional facilities include free parking, shop and toilets. It's located 10 minutes outside of St David's at East Farm Tretio.
10. Scramble along the cliffsides at the 'home of coasteering'
TYF started the world freestyle kayaking championships which was an early form of coasteering. Almost 50 years later, the adrenaline sport is popular right across Wales, but where better to give it a go than St David's where it originally began.
Coasteering is when you scramble, climbing, swim, and jump as you make your way around the cliffside. As well as being adrenaline-pumping, you'll also enjoy spectacular views and see wildlife along the way.
They offer a 'discovery' tour for beginners and those new to the sport or an 'explorer' package for anyone who feels a little more adventurous. TYF run coasteering sessions every single day during summer so you don't need to worry about minimum group sizes, just head to their websites and book a date.
Located in St Davids, TYF also offer kayaking, paddle board tours, surfing and climbing. If you’re into extreme sports then this is definitely the place for you!
11. See where St David was born at St Non’s Chapel and Well
St Non’s Chapel and Well is said to be the birthplace of St David, the patron saint of Wales and the site is named after his mother. There isn’t much left today, however, this site still remains an important place of pilgrimage.
As you approach the chapel ruins, look out for St Non's Well which is said to have healing abilities.
The chapel and well are not too far from St Justinian's lifeboat station which is the launching point for the Ramsey Island tours I mentioned earlier so I recommend combining these two things.
There’s a very small car park for 8 cars around 100m from the chapel or you can walk there along the coastal path from the car parks near the lifeboat station. There is no charge for this attraction.
12. Climb Carn Llidi
Standing at 594m, dominating Whitesands Bay is Carn Llidi which is also part of the Pembrokeshire National Park. From the summit, on clear evenings, during mid-summer, it’s even possible to catch a glimpse of the Wicklow Mountains in Ireland!
As you would expect from a mountain standing at 594m, the walk up there is going to be strenuous, so should only be attempted by those with a good level of fitness and is probably not suitable for younger children.
We are sure that any four-legged friends would welcome the walk though, but they may be a bit tired afterwards!
13. Go for a swim at the Blue Lagoon
The Blue Lagoon has an industrial past. It was formerly the main slate quarry of the St Brides Slate Company and was active up until 1910
Today, the aqua-coloured waters sheltered by rocky cliffs provide the perfect opportunity for a spot of swimming. Those brave enough (I certainly wasn't) can jump or dive from the dedicated area with two jumping-off points.
You can also walk around the top of the lagoon where you'll also find some abandoned buildings from when the mine was active.
Although the Blue Lagoon is free to visit, parking is at Aberdeiddy beach where there is a £4 parking charge per car. See my guide to visiting the Blue Lagoon for more information.
14. Pick up some works of art at Goat Street Gallery
Located in the heart of St David's, Goat Street Gallery showcases a range of artworks from local artists and craftspeople, including ceramic and textiles that are made in the gallery itself by owners Daniel and Amanda Wright.
This is only a small attraction, but I wanted to include it as their work deserves attention. Many of the pieces depict scenes from the local area including the city of St David's. They make a great souvenir to remind you of your visit.
The gallery is open from Tuesday to Saturday and they occasionally run workshops too, check their Instagram or Facebook page to find out more and to see some of the latest pieces.
FAQ’s
What is Special About St Davids?
St David’s is special because it’s named after St David, the patron saint of Wales. It’s also the resting place of St David.
The other fact that makes St Davids unique is that it’s Britain’s smallest city with a population of just of 1,600 as recorded in the 2011 Census. The city status was withdrawn in 1886, but restored in 1994 at the request of Queen Elizabeth II
Is St Davids Worth Visiting?
Yes, St Davids is worth visiting, because you can say that you’ve visited Britain’s smallest city and the resting place of St David, the patron saint of Wales. Also, you can visit one of the most beautiful parts of Wales and enjoy some of the things St Davids has to offer, already written about in this article.
Does St Davids Have a Beach?
Yes, there are plenty of beaches dotted around St Davids. The beaches you can find in the area are, Newgale, Solva, Caerfai, Whitesands Beach, Abereiddy, and Traethllyfyn.
Which beach you decide to visit is up to you, but please note that all have different characteristics so be sure to choose the one that best suits your planned activities before you go.
Published: 13 August 2022 · Last updated: 12 September 2023