Cistercian monks make the chocolate and perfume sold in the shop near Caldey’s harbour, using lavender grown here. Ynys Bŷr, its Welsh name, comes from St Pyr, the abbot of a monastery on the island in the sixth century. A priory built in the 12th century lasted until the Reformation; Anglican Benedictine monks revived monastic life in 1906 and built the abbey that stands today, and when money ran out, Belgian Cistercians bought the island in 1929 and have lived here since.
Boats cross from Tenby harbour, a journey of around twenty minutes, from April to October, Monday to Saturday and on Sundays in the school holidays. They land at Priory Bay, by the small village and a lighthouse built in 1829. St Margaret’s Island, a nature reserve with no public access, lies just off Caldey’s western tip.
