Countynews
Hosting top bike races will make county the ‘cycling capital of Wales’
Hostong the 2014 British cycling National Road Championships will make Monmouthshire the ‘cycling capital of Wales’. Bill Owen, organiser of the Abergavenny
Festival of Cycling, welcomed the news that the county has won the bid to host the prestigious event for the second time. He said: “This is an amazing achievement and it
is down to the backing of Monmouthshire council and their vision for cycling in south-east Wales that we were able to bid for this in the fi rst place.” The council was one of 12 authorities to bid for
the event which will take place in June. The National Time Trial Championships take
place on June 26 and the National Road Race Championships follow on June 29 ahead of the Tour de France. It is likely to attract the likes of Mark Cavendish and Tour de France winners Sir Bradley Wiggins and Chris Froome. The council’s deputy leader, Councillor
Bob Greenland, said: “Monmouthshire council recognises the economic benefi ts that major events can bring to our county. The high profi le that British Cycling has brought to the sport since the great successes of last year’s Olympics is plain to see.” Jonny Clay, of British Cycling, said: “This
will be the second time in fi ve years that the championship has visited Wales with the event held in Abergavenny in 2009.” “Abergavenny also hosted a very successful
British Cycling Premier Calendar road race this year and has a strong pedigree in cycling led by Grand Prix of Wales organiser, Bill Owen, who will organise the championships for Monmouthshire.” map. Us older cyclists and the many cycling
clubs will be able to watch the best in the world compete in Abergavenny.” This is the second major cycling announcement
Monmouthshire council has made recently with news that a purpose-built cycle track is to be built in Gilwern and open next summer, if planning permission is granted.
Cookery School
shortlisted for top award The Culinary Cottage, near Abergavenny, has been shortlisted as a fi nalist in the Best Welsh category of the 2013 British Cookery School Awards, which is headline sponsored by Kenwood. The awards honour cookery schools which go above
and beyond to deliver a top notch cookery school experience. Culinary Cottage is up against stiff competition from
other schools across the country. Entrants to the Best Welsh category had to
demonstrate why their school is the best at its particular area of expertise and how they differentiate themselves from competitors.
Family follow their dreams
A Monmouthshire family, who decided to follow their dream and set up an eco-friendly campsite in the heart of the Wye Valley, are expanding their business on the back of a record year. Amanda and Peter Copp set up Hidden Valley
Yurts to provide luxury, sustainable camping for holiday makers looking to do something a little different for their annual getaway. The husband and wife team are coming to the
end of another successful season, which has seen them fully-booked throughout the summer and shortlisted for both the National Tourism Awards for Wales and the Monmouthshire Business Awards. Hidden Valley Yurts comprises six authentic Mongolian yurts, imported from Mongolia,
situated in 80 acres of outstanding natural beauty in rural Monmouthshire. Now, with support from Business Wales, the
Welsh Government’s business support provider, they are planning to expand their offering further by linking up with businesses across Wales to create new holiday packages, and are hoping to increase their annual turnover by 10 per cent in 2014.
Amanda, who worked as a housing offi cer
before deciding to follow her dream of owning her own campsite, said: “Running Hidden Valley Yurts is very much a lifestyle choice - we offer a luxury, eco-friendly camping experience where children are free to be children, and people can escape the hustle and bustle of everyday life.”
Quarry proves ideal location for dare-devil fund raisers
TIDENHAM quarry was thronging with daredevil people recently when the venue staged its inaugural triathlon, abseil and zip slide event with a rock concert on the side. The National Diving & Activity Centre at the
former quarry, near Chepstow, which is fi lled with a 250 ft wide pool of water is used for sub aqua activities. It proved to be the ideal location for outdoor types to let off steam and help raise cash for St David’s Hospice Care at the same time. A total of 110 men and women took part in
the two level swim, cycle and run Wye Not Tri triathlon event. The novice triathlon event involved a 300 metre
swim, 10 km bike ride and 2.5km run while the sprint triathlon involved a 750km swim, 20km bike ride and 5km run. The winner the sprint triathlon was Gethin Parham, in a time of 1hr, 29 mins and 14 seconds while the winner of the novice event was John Marsh, in a time of 1hr, 6 mins and 20 seconds. A total of 73 people abseiled 200 ft down the
sheer rock face of the quarry and zip slided 800 ft from side to side of the striking cavernous, water fi lled feature. Local band Twysted River provided a very well attended concert to round off the day. Kris Brooke of St David’s Hospice Care said: “This is most probably the most activity the quarry
has
seen for very many years. Coordinating all the events was a bit of a head-scratcher but it all went off very well. A great deal of hard work and effort put in by a whole load of people, before and during both taking part and organising, resulted in a tidy sum of money being raised for the hospice at home charity.
“We really can’t thank The National Diving &
Activity Centre at Tidenham quarry enough for putting on these fantastic events and we now look forward to having many more events at this unique venue in the months and years to come.”
Follow us on Twitter: @mclmagazine 11
Page 1 |
Page 2 |
Page 3 |
Page 4 |
Page 5 |
Page 6 |
Page 7 |
Page 8 |
Page 9 |
Page 10 |
Page 11 |
Page 12 |
Page 13 |
Page 14 |
Page 15 |
Page 16 |
Page 17 |
Page 18 |
Page 19 |
Page 20 |
Page 21 |
Page 22 |
Page 23 |
Page 24 |
Page 25 |
Page 26 |
Page 27 |
Page 28 |
Page 29 |
Page 30 |
Page 31 |
Page 32 |
Page 33 |
Page 34 |
Page 35 |
Page 36 |
Page 37 |
Page 38 |
Page 39 |
Page 40 |
Page 41 |
Page 42 |
Page 43 |
Page 44 |
Page 45 |
Page 46 |
Page 47 |
Page 48 |
Page 49 |
Page 50 |
Page 51 |
Page 52 |
Page 53 |
Page 54 |
Page 55 |
Page 56 |
Page 57 |
Page 58 |
Page 59 |
Page 60 |
Page 61 |
Page 62 |
Page 63 |
Page 64 |
Page 65 |
Page 66 |
Page 67 |
Page 68 |
Page 69 |
Page 70 |
Page 71 |
Page 72 |
Page 73 |
Page 74 |
Page 75 |
Page 76 |
Page 77 |
Page 78 |
Page 79 |
Page 80 |
Page 81 |
Page 82 |
Page 83 |
Page 84 |
Page 85 |
Page 86 |
Page 87 |
Page 88