Boutique hotels
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Fronlas
- Style
- Eco-friendly Edwardian elegance
- Setting
- Green and gold Brecon Beacons
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The New White Lion
- Style
- Impeccable low-key glamour
- Setting
- Little town of Llandovery
Brecon Beacons Overview
United Kingdom
- Countryside
- Mountains, moors and market towns
- Country life
- Roam, if you want to
In these peaceful and unspoilt uplands, blessed with spellbinding natural beauty and watermarked with Celtic legends, the mind, the body and the spirit can all be revived and renewed.
On the borders of the Brecon Beacons National Park, sweet villages and bustling towns beckon: bursting with bookish riches, Hay on Wye’s annual literature festival is hailed as ‘the Woodstock of the mind’. The body can indulge in delicious, locally reared lamb and beef; take to the hills for some invigorating cycling, caving or hiking; and recuperate in cosy country pubs. Somehow, the landscape urges you to climb higher, delve deeper and walk further. And, when you finally reach that distant waterfall, mountain-encircled lake or windswept ridge, and gaze out across the heart-stopping view, you will find that the Brecon Beacons will make the spirits soar, too.
Beautifully Brecon Beacons
Amazingly, it’s possible to pan for gold in the Brecon Beacons. The Dolaucothi Gold Mines (www.nationaltrust.org.uk) in the beautiful Cothi Valley have been mined since the Roman era; commercial mining was abandoned in the 1930s, but there’s still ‘gold in tham thar hills’. You can tour the underground workings and, more importantly, have a go at panning for a nugget or two. Don’t start an imaginary stockpile of bullion just yet, though; you’ve more chance of seeing ‘Ned’ – the ghost of a mine worker – than a bright yellow flash in the pan. You can, however, buy Welsh gold jewellery on site.
Local knowledge
- Taxis
- You’ll need to ring ahead and book a taxi; try 1-4-U Taxis in Llandovery on +44 (0)1550 720217.
- Tipping culture
- About 10–15 per cent is appreciated in restaurants; some include a discretionary 12.5 per cent service charge on the bill, so be careful not to overdo it.
- Packing tips
- The Welsh are fiercely proud of their language – a dictionary, while not essential, will get visitors a long way. It might even help you to pronounce place names correctly, although we can’t promise that.
- Recommended reads
- Katherine John’s espionage thriller By Any Name; 14th-century tale The Mabinogion, which includes the legend of the Physicians of Myddfai; Lloyd Jones’ extraordinary Mr Vogel, blending fictional travelogue with historical fact.
- Regional specialities
- Braised black beef in ale, Brecon venison and organically farmed lamb all make delicious dishes – the lamb is particularly appetising in cawl cennin, a warming broth with vegetables. Try Y-Fenni cheese from Abergavenny, made with mustard seeds and ale; it’s the perfect base for Welsh rarebit. Penderyn malt whisky is further proof (if any were needed) of the Celtic gift for distilling (www.welsh-whisky.co.uk).
- Currency
- Pound sterling.
- Time zone
- GMT.
- Dialling codes
- Country code for the UK: +44. Llandovery: 01550; Brecon: 01874; Abergavenny: 01873.
- Do go/don't go
- The centre of the National Park can get fairly crowded in summer, especially along the route to the highest peak, Pen y Fan; the west of the park is much quieter all year round.
Don't go home without...
… going down into the Big Pit. It’s not exactly romantic, but descending 300 feet underground at the National Mining Museum at Blaenafon near Abergavenny provides a fascinating insight into the bedrock (quite literally) of Welsh culture (+44 (0)1495 790311; www.museumwales.ac.uk/en/bigpit). Children must be over one metre tall, to comply with safety regulations.
