Dressed in fleeces, trainers and strange hats, we hardly had the same grace, but the evocative atmosphere was there.Across the water we saw the shadow of Ramsey Island, the destination for a host of pleasure trips in the summer. We might see seals there, he said, and we could walk along the famous coastal cliff walk.The lifeboat station, marked as such on every map but signposted as St Justinian’s Harbour, is two miles due west of the city. As we scrambled around exploring, my mobile phone squawked sacrilegiously; it shook me rudely back into the world of today.The sun was shining bravely, but the wind was fighting its corner We bought hats. If we were going to venture out on a coastal walk we had to be prepared, we were told by the man in the sportswear shop, who advised us to start our exploring at the lifeboat station. As it has a cathedral it is technically a city (although it was officially given this title only in 1995), but there are few bright lights here. No doubt in summer tourists swarm around Britain’s most miniature city, but at this time of year it felt as though we had stumbled across a precious secret – particularly the 12th-century cathedral, made partly of local purple stone, and complete with an intricately latticed, Irish oak ceiling. St David himself is reputedly buried here, although recently questions have been asked as to whether the bones really are his.A few steps across the tiny River Arun, which runs behind the cathedral, is the 14th-century Bishop’s Palace.

Rooks circle above the ruins, and a large, central grass quadrangle fringed by ruined buildings creates an enchanted walled garden. So we huddled around it transfixed, making encouraging oohs and aahs as it flitted from flicker to fury.
Finally we levered ourselves into the afternoon sunshine St David’s was our first stop, two miles down the road. We hardly left it alone for a second, scared that if we neglected it, it would slump into a sulk. So we hired a cottage for the weekend on the western tip of Wales. Arrangements were one thing, locating the place late on a Friday night was quite another We found our cottage by a combination of luck and design. Careful map- reading helped us locate the tiny village of Rhodian-y-Brennan, just outside St David’s.

And while sitting in the car looking at a line drawing of the house we suddenly realised that we were mysteriously parked outside it Almost on the stroke of midnight, we’d arrived

The next day we all slept in till noon. Cottages seem to do that to you, especially those with no TV, radio or stereo And no central heating. This meant that we nurtured the wood burner in the lounge as you would a small child. It opens daily (except Good Friday and Christmas Day) 9.30am- 5.30pm.