Tag: Mid Wales

Sleep Mid Wales

Claerddu Bothy: far-removed (and free) accommodation on the Mid Wales moors

Most people, in our experience, don’t know what a bothy is. Of those that do, most think these life-saving wilderness shelters are only located in Scotland. Of those that know there are actually eight or so in Wales, only a handful harbour a desire to stay at one and of those, not many ever do. Suffice it to say, then, that Claerddu Bothy, becalmed on … Continue reading Claerddu Bothy: far-removed (and free) accommodation on the Mid Wales moors

lwaterson
Explore Mid Wales

Drygarn Fawr: a trip to the gaping gap on the map (and three ways to reach the summit)

Distance: Routes vary in length between 3 and 10 miles. On a hike in a totally different part of Wales at a totally different time last year, Undiscovered Wales met, on the trail, what you could only describe as a true veteran of the hills. A hardened, rain-lashed, wind-grizzled walker who imparted a knowing look whichever part of Snowdonia, the Brecon Beacons or Mid Wales … Continue reading Drygarn Fawr: a trip to the gaping gap on the map (and three ways to reach the summit)

lwaterson
Sleep Mid Wales

The Red Kite Estate: futuristic, first-of-their-kind getaways in the wilderness

Wilderness is one of those words bandied about too lightly these days: in Europe we do not in truth have very much of it. On a continent-wide scale, aside from Scandinavia’s northern fringes and parts of northern Scotland, one of the areas most deserving of the term is the tract of Mid Wales where the Red Kite Estate lies. The largest expanse of continuous moorland … Continue reading The Red Kite Estate: futuristic, first-of-their-kind getaways in the wilderness

lwaterson
Explore Mid Wales

Traeth Bach: the cut-off cove that eludes almost everyone

No one could term the beach destinations of Llangrannog, bustling one-time hangout of Dylan Thomas, and Penbryn, home to one of Wales’ best beach cafes, off-the-beaten-track. Both are pretty popular when the sun comes out. But there is a sandy bay in-between attracting about three visitors to every 300 Llangrannog and Penbryn pull in, and is so Pirates-of-the-Caribbean-picturesque it makes even its beautiful neighbours seem … Continue reading Traeth Bach: the cut-off cove that eludes almost everyone

lwaterson
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
Explore Mid Wales

Gentle wilderness along Abergwesyn Common

It can be a wild, stark place, Mid Wales: sometimes too much so for day-trippers who prefer Snowdonia’s more Instagram-able blockbuster beauty. At Undiscovered Wales we love the wildness and the starkness. But sometimes, we crave a lazy, languid day out too: the pootling drive out to a jaw-dropping beauty spot to picnic, cool off in a river and dreamily look at the view. Abergwesyn … Continue reading Gentle wilderness along Abergwesyn Common

lwaterson
Great Welsh Food-offs

The great Welsh cheese-off: seven of the nation’s finest undiscovered cheeses face off in a taste-off, but which will be a cut above?

Despite all those cows and sheep scattered across the green hillsides, when it comes to naming famous Welsh cheeses most will get stumped right after Caerphilly. This National Cheese Day, we have hand-picked three of the many multi-award winning cheese producers across the country, each of which have hand-picked between one and three of their most iconic cheeses – we have (extensively!) tasted each, compared … Continue reading The great Welsh cheese-off: seven of the nation’s finest undiscovered cheeses face off in a taste-off, but which will be a cut above?

lwaterson
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
Explore Mid Wales

In search of the cave of Twm Siôn Cati, the Welsh Robin Hood

Walk length: 4km. In almost all countries, it seems, there is a Robin Hood figure, usually treading that hazy space between fact and fiction in history: someone who takes from the rich, gives to the poor and then gets heroised in popular culture. In Wales, it is Twm Siôn Cati: a canny 16th-century Mid Wales outlaw about whom reams of stories have been written but … Continue reading In search of the cave of Twm Siôn Cati, the Welsh Robin Hood

lwaterson
Explore Mid Wales

Scaling Mid Wales’ highest summit, Pen Pumlumon Fawr

Walk length: 8km. All around us is yellow – rise upon rise of unpeopled yellowness, save for a tiny oasis of green, our start point, far below and insignificant on the horizon. Sun beats down out of an absolute blue sky. We turn and head on into the wilderness, heads bent into the driving wind…not a snippet from one of our trips to the Sahara, … Continue reading Scaling Mid Wales’ highest summit, Pen Pumlumon Fawr

lwaterson