About
St Davids Bishop's Palace, Llys yr Esgob Tyddewi, stands beside the cathedral below Britain's smallest city, where a 12th-century pope decreed that two pilgrimages to St Davids equalled one to Rome. Between 1328 and 1347 Bishop Henry de Gower turned a building fit only for servants and animals into an immense palace in the Decorated Gothic style: the east range was his private domain, the south range was for show, with the great hall for justice and feasts, and the crowning glory is the arcaded parapet with its chequerboard patterning in quartz and purple Caerbwdi sandstone. The Reformation marked the beginning of the end; the first Protestant bishop may have stripped the lead himself. Reviewers allow one to two hours, climb the tight spiral stair to the wall walk, and pair the visit with the cathedral, which is run separately. Dogs on short leads may explore the ground floor, and the Wales Coast Path's St Non's loop starts in the city.
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- St Davids Bishop's Palace09:30 – 17:00last admission 16:30
Opening times may change at short notice.
Open daily all year: 1 March to 30 June 9.30am to 5pm; 1 July to 31 August 9.30am to 6pm; 1 September to 31 October 9.30am to 5pm; 1 November to 28 February 10am to 4pm. Last admission 30 minutes before closing. Closed 24, 25 and 26 December and 1 January. Cadw may close monuments at short notice in extreme weather. St Davids Cathedral next door is run separately on a suggested donation.
Terrain level 2, easy: the visitor centre leads directly into the palace on a flat, even route; most of the site can be enjoyed at ground level on mostly flat ground with gentle slopes and gravel courtyard paths that suit wheelchairs and buggies, though the ground floor can be wet and muddy and gravel can defeat some mobility scooters; steps lead down to some undercrofts and vaults, which are low and dark and sometimes hold birds and bats, and the first floor is up a flight of steps with handrails, with a steep stair in the south range to a small wall walk and viewing point and a small steep tower in the east range for one person at a time. Toilets at ground level with an accessible cubicle reached by a ramp and baby changing. Audio information panels and lit light cubes in the vaults, portable induction loop, defibrillator, dog bowl, picnic tables, exhibition, gift shop with guidebooks; no cafe or audio guide. A small stream with a footbridge runs beside the palace. Drones are not permitted.
Dogs: Dogs on short leads are welcome all year on the ground floor of the palace; the upper floors are for assistance dogs only. The Pembrokeshire Coast National Park's St Davids City walk, which passes the palace, asks walkers to keep dogs under close control; cattle and sheep may graze Cathedral Close.
Photo: The south range of St Davids Bishop's Palace with its rose window and arcaded parapet, seen through trees across the close wall. Niki.L, CC BY-SA 4.0. Source: https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Bishops_Palace_St_Davids.jpg. Licence: https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0. Resized and cropped for display; derivatives retain the source licence.
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Walking routes2 routes
St David's and St Non's loop (Wales Coast Path)(opens the full route on the National Trust site)
WalkDog access not confirmed13 km distance
