The Pembrokeshire Expedition.

A report by Bill and Margaret Black

This was an excellent trip which was well organised and well researched. The company was good, and, speaking as novice dowsers, we had a good insight into dowsing the ancient Pembrokeshire sites. We thoroughly enjoyed ourselves. However, there is always a “downside” to everything – we have to write the report!

Eventually we reached our destination after having wandered down many grassy high-sided lanes which seemed to lead to nowhere. The few signposts weren’t very helpful as they didn’t seem to be in English! On reaching Port Gain, a few took advantage of The Sloop Inn, where they were introduced to Rev. James, whilst others enjoyed a walk round the ancient industrial harbour.

The following day we were up at the crack of dawn and set off at 10am for Nevern, visiting Pwyllgerwaelod and Cwm yr Eglwys, two quaint harbours at Dinas Island, en route.

Nevern is a pretty village best known for its church with the bleeding yew trees and its location along the ancient Pilgrim’s route to St David’s. The church traces its origins back to the Celtic Christians and has many ancient stones and interesting graves. In the churchyard is an impressive 10ft Celtic cross which has a large energy field. Inside the church can be seen examples of ancient Ogham writing on a few of the window sills. Some of us had a strange reaction whilst standing on a certain spot in the aisle. Nearby, the pathway to St David’s is marked by a cross cut into a rock and we saw this together with impressions of footprints said to be made by the pilgrims.

After lunch, and another meeting with Rev. James, we had a guided tour around the Iron Age fort at Castle Henllys which featured in the BBC series” Surviving the Iron Age” televised in 2001. The site includes reconstructed Iron Age buildings complete with artefacts. Archaeologists are still excavating.

Next stop was Pentre Ifal burial chamber; one of the largest in Wales and dating from at least 4000BC. - a very peaceful site and still used by pagan groups.

Time for a sun downer.  Rob and Jack recommended Bessie’s (Dyffryn Arms), a tiny one-roomed hostelry tucked away in the Pembrokeshire countryside which doesn’t seem to have changed for 100 years!  

No beer pumps here but excellent ale skilfully decanted from a jug and served, by Bessie & her granddaughter, through a small hatch in the wall.

Day three saw us looking for the Pilgrim’s route at Mathry church. John quickly traced the 2 cross-inscribed stones used by the pilgrims. Another ancient relic was the local General Store and Post Office. Most of the shelves were empty and there was a good collection of cobwebs.

We rolled into St David’s shortly before lunch paying a quick visit to St Non’s Well, St Non being reputed to be the mother of St David, before our guided tour of the cathedral. When the guide found out that we were dowsers he asked if we could identify the course of a stream which was believed to run under the cathedral. Surprise! Surprise! No one admitted to having any dowsing equipment with them!

On the way back to base, we took a short detour to Tremaenhir to seek out some standing stones believed to be in the vicinity. We found several and John was told by the local farmer that a further stone was in a hedge nearby. Clearly, this site needs further investigation. How many more stones are here and what is their significance?

We had two major visits to make on our final day. The first was to the Preseli Hills- the source of the blue stones used in the construction of Stonehenge. Some thought it was a race to the top- no prize, but out- of-date Kendal mint cake was passed around. The views  from the site were superb.
As a result of all this exertion, a final visit to Rev. James was called for.
After lunch, we motored on the Laugharne, our second visit of the day. Laugharne is a small town built on the Taf estuary. It has a castle, but Dylan Thomas is its claim to fame. He lived at the Boathouse during his latter life where he wrote many pieces of work including Under Milk Wood. The Boathouse is now a heritage centre and tea-room where some of us enjoyed a slice of Bara Brith.

We would like to thank Glan for organising the accommodation and mini-bus and driving it on the outward and return journeys. Thanks to Rob for organising & researching the itinerary who, as well as navigating the narrow Pembrokeshire lanes- without rod or pendulum, gave us a running commentary based on his local knowledge and lifetime experiences. Our final thanks to Jack for contributing so much of his local knowledge. Now you can see why we enjoyed ourselves so much!

Bill& Margaret.