St Davids Cathedral

St Davids has fewer than two thousand residents and cathedral status, which makes it the smallest city in Britain, and the cathedral is not on a hill but down in a valley, invisible until you reach the gatehouse and look over the wall. The present building was begun in 1181 on the site of David's sixth-century monastery, in a local sandstone that reads purple-grey in the rain. The floor rises noticeably from west to east and the nave arcades lean, both results of building on soft ground; an Irish oak ceiling of the early sixteenth century holds everything together overhead. Beside it stand the arcaded ruins of the Bishop's Palace, built in the fourteenth century for display.

What to look for

• The sloping nave - a floor that climbs several feet from west to east.
• The oak ceiling - early sixteenth-century Irish oak spanning the nave.
• The shrine of St David - restored and repainted in medieval colours.
• The Bishop's Palace - fourteenth-century ruins with a distinctive arcaded parapet.

When to go

May and June for long light and the coast path in flower; September for warm sea and thinner crowds. The cathedral opens daily and evensong runs in term. Pembrokeshire in August books out and the single road into St Davids queues. Winter is quiet, wet and windy, and services move to the smaller chapels.

Things to know

Parking in the city is limited and charged, and the walk down to the cathedral is steep in both directions. The Bishop's Palace is a separate ticket to a roofless ruin, which not everyone rates. St Davids is a long drive from anywhere, around three hours from Cardiff. Coastal weather can cancel the boat trips you came for.

Nearby

Whitesands Bay, the Pembrokeshire Coast Path and the boats out to Ramsey Island.

Key facts