Cambrian Mountains

CAMBRIAN MOUNTAINS TOURISM AMBASSADORS NEWS SPRING / SUMMER 2012

CAMBRIAN MOUNTAINS INITIATIVE A rural initiative inspired by HRH The Prince of Wales

MENTER MYNYDDOEDD CAMBRIAN Menter wledig a ysbrydolwyd gan EUB Tywysog Cymru

WATER, WATER EVERYWHERE

THE CHARM OF LLANERCHAERON

FOLLOW THE TEXTILE TRAIL

VISITING OUR AMBASSADORS

The Cambrian Mountains Initiative

HRH The Prince of Wales pictured on a farm visit with Cambrian Mountains farmer James Raw

he Cambrian Mountains of Mid Wales comprise some of the most beautiful, unspoilt landscapes in Europe. They include rare natural habitats for wildlife and are home to traditional upland farming practices dating back to the Middle Ages.

help sustain traditional upland farms, rural communities and the natural environment. A key objective is to help promote rural enterprise and add value to regional produce and services by ensuring strict ethical standards and high quality for consumers.

Stunningly beautiful, the area is however an unforgiving landscape in which to live and farm. This is why HRH The Prince of Wales has initiated The Cambrian Mountains Initiative (CMI) to

The Cambrian Mountains Initiative (CMI) is a wide ranging project that includes a number of different organisations and partners who are focused on preserving and promoting the very best of the area

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– in particular our exceptionally clean natural environment, vibrant rural communities and traditions.

In 2008 Their Royal Highnesses The Prince of Wales and The Duchess of Cornwall established their Welsh home (above) at Llwynywermod at Myddfai, near Llandovery. We are most grateful to them for their enthusiasm and unstinting support for the Cambrian Mountains region and our local communities.

About our Tourism Ambassadors 2012 As part of The Cambrian Mountains Initiative (CMI), a new scheme of CMI Tourism Ambassadors has been established to recognise high quality tourism establishments in the area. They include hotels, restaurants, self-catering accommodation as well as visitor attractions.

The scheme is designed to acknowledge the Ambassadors’ important contribution to rural communities, including their use of Cambrian Mountains and other local food produce; also the way they encourage visitors to connect to the countryside and culture of Mid Wales.

The award of the prestigious accolade ‘Cambrian Mountains Tourism Ambassador’ is based on independent advice each

year. The establishments listed overleaf are the CMI Ambassadors for 2012 and more will be announced in due course.

These Ambassadors have signed up to strict criteria and principles and are entitled to use the CMI Tourism Ambassadors brand identity and display the Cambrian Mountains distinctive wooden plaque.

This special, bilingual plaque was created by Coed Cymru using native Welsh sycamore wood sourced in the Cambrian Mountains. The tree came from Pontsioni, near Builth Wells and was hand-turned by Richard Freeman of Llanidloes.

www.mynyddoeddcambrian.co.uk

Adding brand value to local produce To support the Cambrian Mountains Initiative, HRH The Prince of Wales has helped develop a distinctive brand. As part of this, His Royal Highness has kindly painted a special watercolour that is now incorporated in the brand identity.

The painting is of Cwm Berwyn (meaning ‘Berwyn Valley’) near Tregaron in the heart of the region. It is seen from the top of Rhiwdywyll, with Pantshiri on the left and Craig y Fintan on the right.

HRH The Prince of Wales first explored the Cambrian Mountains as a student at Aberystwyth University in 1969.

The Cambrian Mountains brand is being used by local food producers to help signify taste, quality and provenance. All producers agree to strict brand principles and are committed to help sustain the CMI as a whole.

Cymraeg!

This newsletter is aimed primarily at visitors to the Cambrian Mountains from outside the region. Each year tourists are fascinated to discover that this part of Wales is very bilingual and that Welsh (Cymraeg) is widely used in everyday life. The Welsh language contributes to visitors’ experience of being somewhere unique and quite different.

Exploring the Cambrian Mountains One of Wales’s best kept secrets, the Cambrian Mountains region has a rich, and diverse history dating back to well before Roman times.

Throughout the ages, the mountains have been variously mined for gold, silver and minerals, as well as providing stone and timber to build traditional farmhouses, roads and railways.

In the 12th century, Strata Florida (in Welsh ‘Ystrad Fflur’) was a magnificent Cistercian abbey where monks established large scale sheep farming and the export of Welsh wool and meat. The Cistercians also spawned a host of other crafts, skills and traditions such as weaving, as well as creating associated trade routes across the mountains.

The monks also excelled in Welsh poetry and recorded myth and folklore in manuscripts, including the Tales of the Mabinogion. Many of their trade activities led to settlements around the edge of the central rock mass and in time these communities formed a necklace of towns and gateways to the actual Cambrian Mountains. Today the ruins and site of Strata Florida are preserved as a visitor attraction see www.cadw.wales.gov.uk Walking, mountain biking, canoeing, fishing, natural history, spectacular wildlife plus a host of cultural activities are on offer. Whatever your interest, you are sure to find fascinating aspects to explore and enjoy. Once discovered, vistors return time and time again to the Cambrian Mountains finding ever richer cultural dimensions and fresh new activities to pursue.

In many local communities Welsh is people’s first language. In Ceredigion county 52%, and in Powys 21%, of people speak Welsh and many schools also teach through the medium of Welsh. It is an ancient Celtic language that is pronounced phonetically. Why not try a few phrases yourself?

Cymru - Wales Bore da – good morning Nos da - good night Plis – please Diolch yn fawr – thank you Gwesty - hotel Brecwast - breakfast Coffi - coffee Te – tea Siocled - chocolate Biscedi – biscuits Cwrw - beer Gwin coch – red wine Gwin gwyn – white wine Iechyd da! – cheers! (good health)

www.cambrianm ountains .co.uk

Visiting our A

Machynlleth

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A haven of tranquility, the hotel’s nine bedrooms offer understated elegance and fabulous décor (including owner Rob Reen’s stunning paintings). Award winning cuisine (AA 3 Rosettes) offers a wealth of superb, fresh (and wild) local ingredients whether for dinner in the evening or over a simple snack in the bar at lunchtime. An idyllic retreat with superb gardens.

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Ynyshir Hall Eglwysfach, near Machynlleth www.ynyshirhall.co.uk

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Aberystwyth

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All our Cambrian Mountains Ambassadors are committed to welcoming you warmly during your stay in the area. They provide high standards of hospitality and serve local produce. As businesses and employers they also help sustain our local communities.

Non-residents are welcome in most establishments for meals (or spa days!) but please check details.

Advance booking is also advisable to avoid disappointment.

Our Ambassadors also include two fascinating visitor attractions (marked ) – the National Trust’s Country House Llanerchaeron (Ciliau Aeron) and the Welsh Quilt Centre (Lampeter). Both offer home-made light meals and afternoon teas.

When visiting a Cambrian Mountains Ambassador, please ask them more about the Cambrian Mountains Initiative and life in the area.

Mwynhewch eich ymweliad!

Enjoy your visit!

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Aberaeron

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Lampeter

Luxury Lodges 02 Trefeglwys, near Llanidloes www.luxury-lodges-wales.com

Guidfa House Crossgates, near Llandrindod www.guidfahouse.co.uk

This peaceful 80 acre farm features bird watching and nature walks from its six luxury self-catering lodges and honeymoon cottage. Each 5 star lodge is set in its own private grounds with an individual hot tub and enjoying panoramic views of the Cambrian Mountains. Welcome packs provided and luxurious beauty treatments available on site.

Enjoy your stay at this lovely 5 star B&B country house near Llandrindod Wells. Expect a warm welcome and home-made food as you unwind with books by the log fire and afternoon tea in the elegant sitting room. Evening drinks or wine and cold platters served to resident guests if they choose not to dine out locally.

The Metropole Hotel Llandrindod Wells www.metropole.co.uk

Lake Country House, 05 Hotel & Spa Llangammarch Wells www.lakecountryhouse.co.uk

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A longstanding favourite, this 4 star Victorian spa town hotel dates from 1896. A mix of traditional and modern, recently upgraded bedrooms compliment a new hotel spa and treatment centre (also open to nonresidents). Enjoy fine dining and delicious Sunday lunch in the hotel’s AA Rosette restaurant or informal meals in the Spencer’s Brasserie.

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Luxury spa and country house hotel in fabulous grounds. The elegant, comfortable lounges and bedrooms/suites are richly appointed. In the restaurant Head Chef Sean Cullingford offers modern Celtic cuisine (AA 2 Rosette) with discrete unobtrusive service and an exceptional wine list. Non-residents welcome for spa days as well as lunch, dinner, afternoon tea.

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Llanddewi Brefi

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Llanbydder Pumsaint

Llandeilo Carmarthen

Lasswade Country House Llanwrtyd Wells www.lasswadehotel.co.uk

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AA 2 Rosette. 4 Star ‘Restaurant with Rooms’. 2011-12 UK Green Champion and 2008-10 UK Sustainable Food winner.

Personally run by owners Roger and Emma Stevens whose eight bedroom Edwardian House was described in the Daily Telegraph as ‘having one of the best views in Wales’. Located in the smallest town in Britain on the A483 southern approach to the Cambrian Mountains.

Ambassadors The New White Lion Llandovery www.newwhitelion.co.uk

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Newtown

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The Falcondale Lampeter www.thefalcondale.co.uk

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Refresh and re-invigorate yourself in this extremely comfortable, 5 star Grade II listed boutique hotel accommodation in historic Llandovery. Each of the six bedrooms is influenced by local Welsh characters and folklore legends and features individual styling with tasteful furnishings, antiques, objets and crafts.

Home cooked breakfasts and pre-booked meals or picnics for resident guests only.

Superbly located on the outskirts of the historic university town Lampeter, the Falcondale country house hotel offers sumptuous accommodation for holidays and short breaks. Lunches and dinners (non-residents welcome) are a delight in the hotel’s AA 2 Rosette restaurant (awarded for 5 consecutive years!) – not least because chef Mike Green and his team champion local producers.

Ty ˆ Mawr Mansion Cilcennin www.tymawrmansion.co.uk

The Yurt Farm Penuwch, near Aberystwyth www.theyurtfarm.co.uk

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Llanfair Caereinion

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Llandrindod Wells

Builth Wells

Llangammarch Wells

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Llanwrtyd Wells

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This 5 star award-winning restaurant with rooms includes nine individually styled suites and luxury en-suite bedrooms plus an intimate restaurant.

(AA 2 Rosettes). Over 90% of seasonal produce is sourced within a ten-mile radius of the hotel, much of it organic.

For a special treat, enjoy dinner followed by a movie evening in the hotel’s 27 seat cinema!

Thea and Laurie invite you for an eco-friendly break in a quiet hay meadow on their family’s organic farm. The simple luxury of their yurts is unforgettable, with wood burning stoves, handcrafted furniture, organic bedding and solar showers. Explore the farm, collect eggs and feed the cows. Enjoy delicious meat and vegetables around the campfire.

The Castle Hotel 07 Llandovery www.castle-hotel-llandovery.co.uk

Y Ffarmers Llanfihangel y Creuddyn www.yffarmers.co.uk

Gwesty Cymru Aberystwyth www.gwestycymru.com

Traditional, warm and friendly coaching inn, now fabulously renovated with a relaxed atmosphere – including an old fashioned bar, roaring log fire, plenty of comfy sofas and a warm welcome.

The hotel’s 15 luxury en suite bedrooms feature simple stylish décor. Delicious food served all day includes local delicacies and traditional dishes.

Set in a pretty village near Aberystwyth, Y Ffarmers has a well deserved reputation for quality food and friendly service. A great place for a drink, lunch or dinner, this cosy pub serves well-kept beer as well as local, seasonal produce.

Daily menus vary according to what’s available and what chef Rhodri Edwards fancies cooking!

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Discover true Welsh tradition, culture and contemporary luxury in this seafront Edwardian guesthouse stylishly reborn for the 21st century. The hotel’s 8 superb ensuite rooms include Welsh handcrafted furniture, specially commissioned oil canvases, peerless facilities and spectacular seaviews. Gwesty’s restaurant provides a feast of seasonal, local produce in imaginative contemporary dishes for lunch and dinner.

Delicious Cambrian Mountains Lamb the Ryder Cup and Wimbledon. HRH The Prince of Wales also recently hosted a reception in Clarence House to introduce Cambrian Mountains Lamb to top London chefs.

The CM brand is a mark of superior quality and our farmers adhere to strict brand principles to ensure best practice, sustainable land management for habitats and eco-systems with some of the lowest carbon emissions in the UK! Cambrian Mountains Welsh Lamb also carries the coveted Protected Geographical Indication (PGI) logo, a trusted mark of authenticity and provenance.

Not least it is proudly served on local menus by our Cambrian Mountains Tourism Ambassadors! Why not take home some delicious Cambrian Mountains lamb as a food gift or to enjoy at home from your freezer.

ld traditions die hard in the Cambrian Mountains where farmers and shepherds often still use horses to access the steep terrain and vast wetland bogs on the hill tops. They practise the "Hafod a Hendre" farming system of long summer grazing on the hills with sheep brought down to lowland pastures for winter and lambing.

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Through his Farmers Marketing Initiative, HRH The Prince of Wales is seeking to prevent the decline of hill farming. The uplands need animals to maintain them and in turn this provides nutritious, sustainable food as well as maintaining valuable habitats and eco-systems.

Cambrian Mountains (CM) lamb is produced by a group of 21 farmers in Mid-Wales whose native breed, mountain lambs graze freely on the hills of varied grasses and herbs. This results in a smaller, slightly lighter lamb (16kg) of exceptionally succulent flavour and meat quality. They supply CM lamb for the Co-operative supermarket’s Truly Irresistible range. It also features on the TV shopping channel QVC and is available from selected butchers in the region.

Seasonally available from June to the end of January, Cambrian Mountains lamb has featured on menus at high profile events such as

More to discover and much to do!

There are hundreds of things to see and do in the Cambrian Mountains region. Local Tourism Information Centres in Mid Wales and the following websites provide a wealth of information:

Check out the myriad of events on offer – from Man v Horse and Bog Snorkelling in Llanwrtyd Wells to Llandovery’s annual Sheep Festival.

www.visitmidwales.co.uk www.tourism.ceredigion.gov.uk www.tourism.powys.gov.uk www.visitcarmarthenshire.co.uk www.llanidloes.com

The region’s two universities at Lampeter and Aberystwyth also offer fascinating summer courses, events and exhibitions - as does the National Library of Wales in Aberystwyth.

At the end of July, Builth Wells hosts The Royal Welsh Agricultural Show.

Be a wild drover!

Follow the textile trail N ot surprisingly given all those sheep, wool was historically the most important and widespread of Wales's industries! The beautiful Teifi valley was once a thriving woollen centre producing shirts,shawls, blankets and bedcovers and socks.

Today you can experience some of this rich past at the wonderful National Wool Museum near Drefach Felindre. An exciting place to visit it features one of the few remaining mill workshops selling genuine Welsh woollen fabrics. (www.museumwales.ac.uk/en/wool) It has a spellbinding story to tell plus a café offering delicious local fare and Welsh crafts.

In Aberystwyth, Ceredigion Museum has vibrant displays and exhibitions about the history and culture of the region. The museum also has a large collection of fabrics including quilts, blankets, rag rugs and clothes, including Welsh costumes. (www. pilgrim.ceredigion.gov.uk.)

Meanwhile in Lampeter visit one of our Cambrian Mountains Ambassadors for the truly world-class exhibitions of Welsh and specialist quilts in the intriguing Welsh Quilt Centre gallery and shop.

During the 17th and 18th centuries the quilted bedcovers were nearly all of heavy worsted material or woollen fabric. When decorative quilts appeared from the late 18th century onwards, they were the province of the wealthy. These intricate quilts (mainly patchworks) also incorporated expensive imported fabrics including silk. Cambrian Mountains Tourism Ambassador Jen Jones has a well earned reputation of international standing for her outstanding collections amassed over many years.

Wherever you are staying in and around the Cambrian Mountains region, be sure to explore the stunning scenery - whether on foot, bike or by car.

Many old drovers routes traverse the mountains where today they offer peaceful scenery with rare red kites gliding gracefully in the skies. Historically the drovers were sheep and cattle brokers who drove livestock eastwards to markets.

One exhilarating mountain route is the B4343 from Tregaron over to Abergwesyn and Llanwrtyd Wells (or vice versa). If you have time, take a detour and visit the beautiful Soar y Mynydd chapel (below) on the way. Simple and isolated, the chapel is a spiritual haven of peace and tranquillity.

Jen’s major exhibition for 2012 is ‘A Quilted Bridge: The Amish - Welsh Connection’ that includes amazing examples from the American Museum in Bath (www.welshquilts.com) Be sure to stop off in the Quilt Centre’s deli-café with its delicious teas and coffee, teas, cakes and daily specials.

Homemade ready-meals to take away also available.

Another truly dramatic old drovers’ road is the B4518/Route 81 from Rhayader over to Cwmystwyth which takes in the Elan Valley with its dramatic lakes and dams as well as the Elan Valley Trust Visitor Centre and trail.

TRH The Prince of Wales and The Duchess of Cornwall during their recent visit to the Quilt Centre

Definitely ‘must sees’, these two routes are remote and romantic perfect for picnics, landscape photography, painting or just plain reverie. Time it right and plan lunch or dinner at a Cambrian Mountain Ambassador venue en route!

The charm of Llanerchaeron Owned by the National Trust, Cambrian Mountains Ambassador and visitor attraction Llanerchaeron (between Lampeter and Aberaeron) is a unique 18th-century Welsh small rural estate.

It includes a country house, walled gardens and home farm and is a rare example of a self-sufficient 18thcentury Welsh minor gentry estate that has survived virtually unaltered.

walks. The Home Farm complex has an impressive range of traditional outbuildings and is a working organic farm with Welsh Black cattle, Llanwenog sheep and rare Welsh pigs.

Estate produce and delicious home made refreshments are available in Llanerchaeron’s tea rooms www.nationaltrust.org.uk

The villa, designed in the 1790s, is the early work of architect John Nash. It is open for viewing and has its own service courtyard with dairy, laundry, brewery and salting house, plus delightful walled kitchen gardens (with all its produce for sale when in season!)

Cambrian Mountains Wooden Products are made by Caia Crafts, a community enterprise producing high quality, hand-crafted wooden items. Caia Crafts provides sustainable, financially selfsupporting work for unemployed people and those with poor health or physical and learning disabilities The venture promotes environmental responsibility and plays a small part in the flourishing wood crafts industry in Wales.

All products are manufactured from timber from accredited sustainable sources within the Cambrian Mountains region. Much of the wood would otherwise have been sent to landfill. Product order forms available from www.cambrianmountains.co.uk

The pleasure grounds,ornamental lake and parkland provide gentle, peaceful

Water, water everywhere…

he Cambrian Mountains themselves are a huge central rock or ‘massif’. It was formed during the ice ages by vast glaciers then top-sliced by melting ice which created giant gorges, natural lakes and rivers, leaving a wilderness or ‘green desert’ atop the inner core.

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Seven major rivers find their source in the Cambrian Mountains - the mighty Severn and Wye, as well as the Ystywyth, Rheidol, Wyre, Teifi, Dyfi.

Elsewhere man-made dams and lakes such as those at Elan Valley (above), Nant y Moch and Clywedog have been created to supply water and electricity.

The region’s pure waters have historically given rise to holy wells and church sites, as well as Victorian spa (‘wells’) towns such as Builth, Llandrindod, Llangammarch, Llanwrtyd Wells.

A more recent phenomenon has been the success of locally bottled waters such as Tyˆ Nant and Llanllyr.

MCM439 02/2012 Design: www.fbagroup.co.uk Printed on recycled paper Images: ©Crown Copyright (2012) Visit Wales, Janet Baxter and Charles Sainsbury-Plaice.

Wood you believe it!