The story of the story.

The where and the why!

There is an altogether pointless interview question that asks “Where do you see yourself in five years time?”

My short answer would not have included publishing a children’s story.  Ok, I’d written one, more about that in a moment, but really, a book!

For a good number of years we have holidayed in Pembrokeshire with occasional forays into the Cardigan area. I guess we have got to know it quite well. We had stayed in cottages and caravans, but this year 2012, we wanted something a little different.

It was for the week following my wife’s birthday and I found an advert for The Tree House at Nine Wells just outside Solva on the St David’s road. The weather before our holiday had been really not good. Our week was superb.

It wasn’t a true tree house. It was set on a bank at one end and the other was launched out into the branches of the tree it took its name from.

It was a special place. It had been the artist studio of Peter Daniels who had died in 1998 and now was a amazing holiday retreat under the care of his wife Elizabeth. I think I may have been drawn also to the shared surname and my own interest in art.

I’ll come back to the studio and Peter later.

The weather had been pretty poor just before we went, but we had an excellent sunny holiday. The Tree House is situated at the top of a valley leading down to a cove and the sea. Turning left it leads to Solva and to the right towards St Davids.

On one day we decided we would walk on the cliffs toward St Davids and on to Porth Clais. Which is what we did. The first stretch is called Morfa Common. The walking was easy,lovely sun, a sparkling sea and a soft breeze. We enjoy the wild life and are always on the look out for bird, sea life and anything that catches our attention.

Seals are always a favourite and amongst the Herring Gulls bobbing on the water was a dark shape poking out of the swell. Was it a seal, we couldn’t tell at this distance though it could well have been. A look through my binoculars revealed it to be an orange fisherman’s buoy. Which set my mind to an amusing thought. My wife thought it funny too.

We passed Caer Bwdy and then Caerfai Bays and onward, skirting the more recent chapel, (1935) which was closed and to the ruins of the original chapel and well to St Non.

You can see the newer chapel and a section of the ruin. On top of the rise is a retreat house.

Held by tradition to mark the birthplace of St David, the ruin cannot be accurately dated, but is unusual in that it is aligned north-south rather than the usual east-west. It is thought Saint Non was born around AD 475. She lived as a nun at Ty Gwyn until she was raped by a Prince Saint of Ceredigion . She gave birth to a son, who became St David the patron saint of Wales.

The ruin is thought to be on the site of St Non’s house and to be one of the oldest Christian buildings in Wales. In medieval times the chapel was one of the main pilgrimage sites and after Henry VIII the pilgrimages stopped. The chapel was converted into a house and these are the ruins you can see.

The well was thought to have healing properties particularly for eye problems. It was restored using stones from nearby ruins.

We ended our walk at Porth Clais where we caught the bus down to St Justinians and then back to Nine Wells via St Davids.