Off The Beaten Path - Wales

The first visit is to Ceibwr Bay, a cove on the south side of Cardigan Bay. There are tales of it being a smuggler's cove but today it is part of the national trust.

A tiny inlet of rocks and sand surrounded by tall cliffs. It’s definitely a wild and remote beach. Not good for swimmers but good for porpoise spotting.

One mile to the south is The Witches Cauldron, a jumble of contorted rocks. If you’re planning to visit, check out the tide times to make sure you’ve plenty of beach to play on and that you don’t get cut off by the incoming tide!

Nearest facilities are in Newport. Newport provides all the amenities of a large village including galleries, bike hire, Golf Club and a National Park Visitor Center (open all year but limited opening times in winter). A good choice of hotels, B&Bs, guesthouse, caravan and camping sites can found in the area.

A beautiful site of the area is Pistyll Rhaeadr, which has the distinction of being the tallest waterfall in Wales but doesn't get the credit it deserves. Pistyll Rhaeadr is an enchanting waterfall in the Berwyn Mountains, just inside Wales, west of Oswestry and Shrewsbury.

At 240 feet high it is the UK tallest single drop waterfall. This much-loved waterfall captivating all who visit her. People have returned, generation after generation to take in the spirit and presence of this Special place. Many visitors mention how quickly they come to a sense of peace and reverence within themselves, seldom found in today's busy and fragmented world It is a great place to explore the Berwyn Mountains and surrounding hills, with many walks on all levels to suit a variety of walkers.

Tan-y-Pistyll – meaning little house under the waterfall is where the tea room and B&B accommodation is located, here we can enjoy a welcome cup of tea, snack , or meal with a lovely view of the waterfall from the outside garden seating, or when its colder a warm log fire to sit by.
The Retreat campsite office is located in the barn - lower car park. For those able to spend longer time here, let this hidden pearl refresh and restore you, allowing a quality of nurturing and stopping time to be experienced

St. Govan's Chapel is a chapel located at St. Govan's Head, Pembrokeshire in south west Wales. Built into the side of a limestone cliff, the building measures 20 by 12 feet with walls constructed from limestone, and consists of a single chamber. The majority of the chapel was built in the thirteenth century, although parts of it may date back further to the sixth century when Saint Govan, a monk moved into a cave located on the site of the chapel. One legend suggests that Saint Govan is buried underneath the chapel's altar, located at the east end of the building. The entrance to the building is via. a doorway on the north side, low stone benches run along the north and south walls and an empty bell-cote is located at the west end. The slate roof is suspected to be a modern addition compared to the rest of the building.

The building is accessible from the clifftop by climbing down a set of 52 stairs, although tourist organizations propagate the legend that when counted, the number of steps differs between going down and going back up.

Today, the building falls within the MOD's Castlemartin East Firing Range, which limits access to the building when the range is closed to the public.

Llanthony Priory is a partly ruined former Augustinian priory in the secluded Vale of Ewyas, a steep sided once glaciated valley within the Black Mountains area of the Brecon Beacons National Park in Monmouthshire, south east Wales. It lies seven miles north of Abergavenny on an old road to Hay-on-Wye at Llanthony. The main ruins are under the care of Cadw and entrance is free.

The priory dates back to around the year 1,100, when Norman nobleman Walter de Lacy reputedly came upon a ruined chapel of St. David in this location, and was inspired to devote himself to solitary prayer and study. He was joined by Ersinius, a former Chaplain to Queen Matilda, the wife of King Henry I, and then a band of followers. A church was built on the site, dedicated to St John the Baptist, and consecrated in 1,108. By 1,118, a group of around 40 monks from England founded there a priory of Canons Regular, the first in Wales.

In 1,135, after persistent attacks from the local Welsh population, the monks retreated to Gloucester where they founded a daughter cell, Llanthony Secunda. However, around 1,186 another member of the de Lacy family,Hugh, the fifth baron, endowed the estate with funds from his Irish estates to rebuild the priory church, and this work was completed by 1,217. There are also letters from Pope Clement III, between 1,185 and 1,188, confirming further grants and gifts to the priory from Adam de Feypo and Geoffrey de Cusack in Ireland.

The Priory became one of the great medieval buildings in Wales, in a mixture of Norman and Gothic architectural styles. Renewed building took place around 1,325, with a new gatehouse. On Palm Sunday, April 4, 1,327, the deposed Edward II stayed at the Priory on his way from Kenilworth Castle to Berkeley Castle, where he is alleged to have been murdered.

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