FINAL BRIEFING FOR FRIENDS 25TH ANNIVERSARY CELEBRATIONS
Dear Friends,
25th Anniversary Celebration Weekend The weekend celebrations will consist of: the dinner on Friday evening; three guided walks of varying lengths throughout Saturday; and finally an invitation to attend the Choral Eucharist in St Davids Cathedral on Sunday morning. The outline timetable for the weekend is below:
DATE AND TIME / EVENT20 May / Anniversary Dinner
19:00 – 19:45 / Reception
19:45 – 21:30 / Welcome Address and Dinner
21:45 – 22:30 / Speeches and Guest Speaker (Tori James)
22:30 – 22:50 / Grand Raffle Draw
22:45 – 01:00 / Cash Bar
21 May / Anniversary Walks and Talks
09:45 – 13:00 / Morning Short Walk (starts 10:00)
09:45 – 18:00 / All Day Long Walk (starts 10:00)
13:00 – 14:30 / Lunch (for short walk participants)
14:30 – 18:00 / Afternoon Short Walk
18:00 – 19:00 / Refreshment at Oriel Y Parc
19:00 – 20:15 / NPA Quiz About the Park (prizes!)
22 May / Service in St Davids Cathedral
11:15 – 12:00 / Choral Eucharist
Anniversary Dinner The Anniversary Dinner will be held at Wolfscastle Country Hotel. The evening will start with a reception and complimentary drink in the Garden Room. Please note that after the complimentary drink at the reception, all further drinks throughout the night will need to be purchased from the Garden Room bar. During the reception you will have an opportunity to choose your dinner wines, browse around the Friends’ presentation boards, look at the map showing Saturday’s walks and a seating plan will be available. You will be seated at round tables of between 8 and 10 in the Ball Room. NOTE: you are free to sit anywhere on your allotted table and place-cards, containing your name and food choices, will be placed in the middle of your allotted table for you to take and use as a reminder. On completion of the main course the Anniversary cake will be ceremonially cut.
On completion of the dinner there will be a loyal toast and a comfort break. The Chair will give a short presentation which will be followed by our guest speaker - Tori James. The evening will end with the Grand Raffle draw and there will be a cash bar thereafter.
One final reminder on dress code: while jacket and Tie/Lounge suit has been promulgated, those wishing to wear black tie (and ladies equivalent) should feel free to do so.
Anniversary Walks and Talks Saturday is your (completely voluntary) opportunity to work off the excesses of the night before! Friends who did not attend the dinner are equally welcome. Two short and one long guided walks are on offer - all of them beginning and ending at Oriel Y Parc in St Davids.
WALK / ROUTE DESCRIPTION / CHALLENGEMorning Short Walk
Commences 10:00 / Oriel Y Park; off road route south to the coast at St Nons; West to Porth Clais and then inland back to St Davids. / Distance 6km.
Total Ascent 177m.
Estimated time 3 hrs (inc breaks) (assumed walk speed of 2.5 Km/hr)
Afternoon Short Walk Commences 14:30 / Oriel Y Park; south to coast by road; East to Caer Bwdy Bay; North to Trevinert; continue North to open land near Myndd du and the small reservoir. Turn West following open land and return to St Davids. / Distance 7km.
Total Ascent 132m.
Estimated time 3.5 hrs (inc breaks) (assumed walk speed of 2.5 Km/hr)
All Day Long Walk Commences 10:00 / Oriel Y Park; Porth Clais by inland route; coastal path West around St Davids Head and then North to Whitesands Bay; head inland just South of St Davids City Golf Club and East of Treswny; follow road to St Davids. / Distance 13km.
Total Ascent 395m.
Estimated time8 hrs (3km/hr and includes lunch and breaks).
It will be assumed by the walk leader that participants are medically fit to undertake their chosen walk(s). Each walk has been designed to provide participants with options to leave the walk early and head back to Oriel Y Parc/St Davids if they so wish. The Total Ascent figure is the total ascent achieved if the whole walk is completed. It does not imply that the walk is one long ascent!
The routes will be shown on a display board at the back of the dining room on Friday evening and Ian Pattinson will be available to provide any additional information to those who might want it.
If you intend to undertake any of these walks please ensure you remember to bring suitable clothing (including additional layers) and footwear and water. The long walkers will need to bring their own packed lunch. The walks will take place irrespective of the weather – currently the weather is forecast to be light showers with a SW Wind at 18 mph.
There is ample car parking at Oriel Y Park. Note that car parking charges apply.
Tea and cake refreshment will be available at Oriel Y Parc from 18:00 to 19:00 and thereafter the National Park Authority will host a fun quiz to test your knowledge of the National Park and a few questions on folklore and local legend have been thrown in for good measure. All Friends are encouraged to attend, irrespective of whether you attended the dinner or the walks.
Service in St Davids Cathedral The Anniversary Weekend will complete with a Choral Eucharist in St Davids Cathedral starting at 11:15. Parking can be difficult and so friends are advised to arrive early. There will be no reserved seating. On completion, St Davids offers a variety of places to take lunch and say your final goodbyes to other Friends.