Four Fantastic Days Visiting Wales and Herefordshire

“The use of traveling is to regulate imagination by reality, and instead of thinking how things may be, to see them as they are.” – Samuel Johnson

 With four days left blank in the itinerary of our half term holiday I decided to explore our family roots and I began investigating the idea of visiting Herefordshire. My mother, a gifted lady in family research, had told me the story of some of our convict ancestors who came from this area. The family were millers and had mining interests in the Forest of Dean and Hereford before things went sour and my ancestor was transported to New South Wales for committing fraud. Also I have also been to Wales before and hoped to get to visit again. So when hunting for somewhere to stay I was happy to find a wonderful place just over the boarder into Wales, but still close enough to Hereford and Leominster to visit.

 

To break the journey, and have time to visit the Forest of Dean, we stayed one night in Tintern, in the beautiful Wye Valley in Monmouthshire. While Rob was driving into town I had my head down looking at a guide book when Rob made the cheeky comment "so I wonder if it will be hard to find the Abbey then". Looking up my jaw dropped at the sight that met my eyes.

We pulled straight into the car park and had one of those fantastic visits, combining awe at the ability of gothic architects to create such a thing of beauty over seven hundred years ago;

sadness, at the fact that the Cistercian Abbey fell into ruin following Henry VIII's reign and the dissolution of the monasteries (not him again);

and lots of fun and adventures getting lost, playing hide and seek, splashing in huge puddles in the cloisters, and laughing at the plumbing (kids love toilet humour). The kids even decided it was a good place to practice their gymnastic abilities, the big kids that is.

 We stayed at a lovely B&B, The Old Rectory, which I would highly recommend. The room we had, a family room, was more like a suite of rooms, at a very moderate price. The lovely Canadian owners not only provided friendly conversation and great recommendations for dinner but also an extensive breakfast menu that was the best we have had in the UK.

If we had more time I would come back for a few days to Tintern and use it as a base to explore the gorgeous Wye Valley. This little corner of world is incredibly beautiful and judging by the fact that there were only a handful of other people at the Abbey, perhaps it is a little overlooked. And if we were to return it would definitely be to the Old Rectory, with its stunning views of the Wye River.

After our delicious breakfast we drove over to the Forest of Dean to have a look at a few towns our ancestors lived in. The most beautiful of which was Welsh Bicknor, which sits at the top of a hill looking out over the Wye Valley.

We never found the chapel we were looking for, but the views over the valley of Symonds Yat and out to Goodrich Castle were breathtaking. We wondered how barren Australia must have seemed to our convict ancestors after this little corner of paradise. 

In the afternoon we made our way to our next B&B, in the Radnor Valley . The drive from Herefordshire to Mid Wales took us through Brecon and Crickhowell, both lovely towns. We came this way, though it took longer as there was rumour that it might snow at Breacon this day and as we drove through sure enough on a mountain near by we saw a dusting of snow but still no luck for the kids so far. We also took a wander through Hay on Wye, a town made famous for its large of second hand book shops. I am glad that I have seen this town before on a lovely sunny summer day, as on a cold grey rainy afternoon it was far less memorable.

Near Brecon, Wales

Hindwell Farm was to be our home for the next three nights and the kids are still asking when we can go back. It's another fantastic place to stay either in a group or as a couple, but with a young family it was perfect. There was a lovely self contained apartment on the top floor but that was already booked for the first two nights we were there. This did not bother us as we had two lovely rooms on the second floor with views over the lake and its swans, and we also got to enjoy a lovely breakfast each morning.

Hindwell Farm has history dating back as far as Neolithic times. Here there once stood a Neolithic enclosure, made from some 1400 six metre high oak trees, and in its time it was a major ceremonial location in Wales.

A Roman bath house is believed to lay beneath the lake with evidence of a fort sitting adjacent to the water. More recently in the early eighteen hundreds, poet William Wordsworth holidayed in the very room where Rob and I slept, and was much taken with the views of the lake.

George's crazy chicken who thinks she's a sheep

Hindwell is now a working sheep farm, and owners Jess and John work very hard. It was terrific for the kids to see the reality of life on the farm thanks to our hosts and their son George. Jess got little sleep while we were there as we arrived in the middle of lambing and she was most of the night helping the sheep that get into difficulties and teaching the orphan lambs how to feed from the milk machine. And then of course she's up early to make breakfast for her guests.

We were so very pleased to be invited on a once in a lifetime outing with John and it was a day to remember always. There is a twice weekly event that really holds this rural community together and that is riding to a scented trail. Prior to the banning of fox hunting this group of local farmers, not a group of privileged aristocrats, but hardworking local men and women, would hunt foxes on each others properties. This has been replaced by the goal of riding to the end of a scented trail. However from our observations the goal seemed to be to enjoy spending time on horseback with a group of likeminded people.



The day started with the group gathering at a local pub, where the master of the hounds had arrived with his gorgeous hounds. He was able to tell us the name of each and every one of his charges, a large group of Welsh and English Fox Hounds, whose ancestry could be traced back around two hundred years. 



Once all the riders and the hounds were ready a red coated "huntsman" blew his horn and the riders and the hounds set off down the street, an amazing sight. We spectators went into the pub for a warming drink before heading off in four wheels drives, quad bikes and on foot to catch a glimpse of the riders.

 As we were driving across some common land looking out over Builth Wells we caught up with the men laying the scent for the riders. They encouraged John's son George, who was out with us for the drive, to take up the job of laying the scent to keep the tradition alive into the next generation.

Dragging the scent

The views were saw that day were amazing, the visual splendour of the riders, horses and hounds set before stunning landscapes for miles around our vantage point.

 We couldn't stay all day as we appreciated the amount of work that John had waiting for him at home with lambing. So while we were not there to see the horses catch the scent it was still a marvellous expedition. If you asked me before this day whether I would consider watching riders out on a hunt I would have thought the idea appalling but what we saw today, an adaptation of an ancient tradition which holds this community together, my opinion has completely reversed.

While we all would have enjoyed our time if we simply stay all day at Hindwell, it was the perfect base for visiting nearby towns. Many people come for the excellent walks on Offa's Dyke but with a weather quite cool and blustery we settled instead for a nice drive along Herefords black and white village trail, starting in nearby Kington, heading through Pembridge, Monkland and into Leominster.

Leominster, another place my forbearers frequented, was a lovely spot for afternoon tea and we even managed to look around an antique shop. A lovely treat for me, accompanied by a chorus of "yes Julian that is lovely, please don't touch it".

On Sunday, our last whole day for exploring, we visited Croft Castle and had our traditional Sunday Roast in the National Trust tearooms. The kids loved completing the Jack Frost winter trail, in search of clues that would solve the mystery to help spring return again.



 And of course the was dressing up to be done, which always makes Emma's day. She is serious in her desire to live in a castle and has decided if she can't be a princess she will get a job as a maid, as long as it doesn't require any serious cleaning work.

 While the gardens were damp and muddy we went in search of a lovely thousand year old oak tree and it was worth braving the elements to visit this old beauty.

The next morning we packed up for our trip home and said goodbye to Jess. Some people you meet on the road give you good advice, some feed you well, some give you the bum steer and you end up lost. But then there are people that you meet that you know you would be good mates with if they lived around the corner from home. It's these people you hope to meet again and you take them away with you in our hearts. Thanks Jess, John and George for showing us a different way of life, one you are justifiably proud of, and we hope to see you in Australia one day.

Our journey home could have been shorter, but what fun would that be. So we decided on a route that would take us through the beautiful towns of Hereford, Ross on Wye and through to Bourton on the Water in the Cotswolds. 

 I had never been to the Cotswolds before, and knowing how highly it rates on most peoples favourite list I was very excited. While we had time only to properly visit Bourton on the Water and drive through the Slaughters we agreed it was stunningly beautiful.

 The caveat I would add to that would be however that we have seen villages, both on this February half term break in Cornwall, Devon, Herefordshire and Wales, as well as at "home" in the New Forest that have equal appeal with perhaps less people and tourist hype.

And there you have it, after a month I have managed to finally wrap up this 1140 mile odyssey. We managed to pick Chicken Pox on the road somewhere that Emma had two weeks back into the school term and Julian has come down with now, another two weeks later. While it has slowed us down a little perhaps a break is just what we needed. Especially as the April holidays are drawing ever nearer and surprise surprise we have some big plans.