St Davids in the Washington Post

A recent visit by Washington Post journalist Pamela Petro produced this homage to St Davids, which all helps us green our little city:

"Wales has harnessed the tides since medieval times, as I discovered on a quick side trip to the restored tidal mill at Carew Castle, a magnificent hunk of crenellated rock on a bluff overlooking the Carew estuary, less than an hour's drive southeast of St. David's. Today's high-tech version takes ship propulsion technology and reverses it: It uses seawater to turn propeller blades to create electricity, rather than using power to turn blades to move seawater. The turbine is the green jewel in the crown of this little city, founded by a 6th-century saint, where cars run on recycled vegetable oil, the primary school operates entirely on solar power and all the town's homes are being fitted with solar panels or solar shingles...

TYF Adventure, which calls itself "the world's first carbon-neutral adventure company," aims to introduce visitors to the Welsh coast with as little impact on the environment as possible. It wasn't the season for sea kayaking, rock climbing, surfing or coasteering -- too cold -- but on previous trips, I've learned that those are the best ways to investigate the coast, from its trademark gray seals (population about 5,000) to its fossil-rich rocks and white-sand beaches.

A word about coasteering: I haven't done it (yet), but my friends Annie and Caroline claim that it's like "extreme rock pooling," referring to the British love of poking around in tidal pools. "When the sea gets rough, it's like being swirled in a benevolent washing machine," says Annie. Wearing wet suits and crash helmets, they alternately swam in Cardigan Bay, scrambled over rocks and up sea cliffs, shimmied down ropes and hiked cliff-top paths. They swore that it was exhilarating and "toe-tinglingly edgy," and that nothing has ever made them hungrier."