Category: Voices of Wales

Wales has more experts in the field than just 10 million sheep… Here at Undiscovered Wales, we bring you regular interviews with locals who have a unique story to tell: from artisan coffee roasters to bog-snorkelling world champions and wilderness survival experts. Experience the country through the eyes of its most fascinating, enterprising and talented people.

Voices of Wales

Pembrokeshire through an illustrator’s eyes: Jackie Morris puts us in the picture

Goldfinches in mid-flight, a proud oak bent in the breeze, the unfurling of a fern, an owl gliding on a moonlit night, the slippery grace of an otter under water – Jackie Morris’ illustrations are the ultimate journey into the natural world through the simple act of turning a page. The British artist and writer lives in a cottage in Pembrokeshire on Wales’ wild west … Continue reading Pembrokeshire through an illustrator’s eyes: Jackie Morris puts us in the picture

Kerry Walker
Voices of Wales

Stargazing in the Cambrian Mountains at summer solstice with Dafydd Wyn Morgan

The Cambrian Mountains are home to some of the UK’s darkest night skies, with very little light pollution making for perfect stargazing conditions. We talk to Dafydd Wyn Morgan, project manager for Dyfodol Cambrian Futures, about the Cambrian Mountains Astro Trail that has recently put this remote, wild corner of Wales firmly on the celestial map. Taking in nine locations that have been awarded Milky … Continue reading Stargazing in the Cambrian Mountains at summer solstice with Dafydd Wyn Morgan

Kerry Walker
Voices of Wales

Talking gin with James Wright of Aber Falls Distillery

Put everything else on ice: it’s time to chill the tonic and make the ultimate lockdown G&T for World Gin Day on 13th June. To give you a head start, we talk to James Wright, managing director at Aber Falls Distillery in Snowdonia, about Welsh gin and how to best drink it.  What’s the secret to the perfect G&T, James?  Nothing tastes as delicious as … Continue reading Talking gin with James Wright of Aber Falls Distillery

Kerry Walker
Voices of Wales

Up high, close and personal with Mark Bond, treehouse eco-stay entrepreneur

Eco-retreat creator Mark Bond built (with his business partner) the UK’s first rentable treehouses, the living-room treehouse experience, out in a wild, woodsy Mid Wales valley. We catch up with him up in the canopy to chat about what makes his arboreal accommodation special, about the Dyfi Valley’s long-standing reputation as a centre of eco-activity and about his plans to revolutionise the Wales hospitality scene … Continue reading Up high, close and personal with Mark Bond, treehouse eco-stay entrepreneur

lwaterson
Voices of Wales

Meet Barry Island’s BBQ stars: Sam and Shauna of Hang Fire

The stars of the BBCOne series Sam & Shauna’s Big Cook-Out, Samantha Evans & Shauna Guinn spent their life savings on a six-month pilgrimage to the Southern United States to learn the art and science of slow and low American BBQ (and meet Dolly Parton!). Back in Wales, following  immediate success at kitchen takeovers and street food events, they went on to scoop a string … Continue reading Meet Barry Island’s BBQ stars: Sam and Shauna of Hang Fire

Kerry Walker
Voices of Wales

Meeting a modern-day pilgrim: insights from Iain Tweedale, pilgrimage guide

Pembrokeshire hiking holiday experts Journeying go a lot deeper than pretty day walks: a holiday with them is a spiritual journey retracing the footsteps of the early Celtic saints and the historic sites associated with them. We talk to trip leader Iain Tweedale on the current popularity of pilgrimage, St David, Pembrokeshire’s strange and special beauty and life on monastic Caldey Island. Journeying concentrates on … Continue reading Meeting a modern-day pilgrim: insights from Iain Tweedale, pilgrimage guide

lwaterson
Voices of Wales

Foraging in the Brecon Beacons with Adele Nozedar

What better way to encounter the upliftlingly beautiful landscapes of the Brecon Beacons than with Adele Nozedar? A food writer, foraging pro and author of The Hedgerow Handbook (among other titles), she lives within view of the highest peaks in the Brecon. Her foraging courses and botanical gin workshops reap the bounty of each season. Here she tells Undiscovered Wales how to do just that. … Continue reading Foraging in the Brecon Beacons with Adele Nozedar

Kerry Walker
Voices of Wales

We speak to broadcaster and wilderness survival expert Andrew Thomas Price

Andrew Thomas Price is a broadcaster, wilderness survival instructor at Dryad Bushcraft and nemophilist (that’s a lover of woods and forests to you and me). Presenter of ITV Wales Coast and Country, he calls the Gower Peninsula home.  Where in Wales would you most like to pitch a tent? I love the rugged landscape of the western Brecon Beacons. I could never get bored of … Continue reading We speak to broadcaster and wilderness survival expert Andrew Thomas Price

Kerry Walker
Bog Snorkelling champ Neil Rutter
Voices of Wales

Meeting Bog Snorkelling World Champion Neil Rutter

In 2019, Neil Rutter scooped the bog snorkelling world championship award for the third year in a row. Here he explains why he is never happier than when speeding his way through a peat bog in Llanwrtyd Wells, which has garnered a name for itself as a hotbed of wacky sports, of which snorkelling through a murky stretch of oozing bog is but one… Bog … Continue reading Meeting Bog Snorkelling World Champion Neil Rutter

Kerry Walker
Voices of Wales

Pembrokeshire through the eyes of artist Adrian John

Adrian John is an artist based in Milford Haven. His rich portfolio of work ranges from minutely detailed landscapes to photograph-inspired portraits. With a passion for natural light, contours and shadow, he captures Wales from its most evocative angles – from the industry of the Valleys to the open coastscapes of Pembrokeshire. How do you reflect the spirit of Wales in your painting? I was … Continue reading Pembrokeshire through the eyes of artist Adrian John

Kerry Walker