EAT UP
The Brecons’ three best food experiences
FELIN FACH GRIFFIN With log fires in the inglenook, low beams, flagstone floors and Chesterfields worn smooth by decades of shuffling bums, this pub between the Brecons and the Black Mountains is the country dream. Garden-grown and locally sourced ingredients are elevated to gastro heights in simple-but-punchy dishes like smoked duck with feta and pickled garden berries.
felinfachgriffin.co.uk
DAY ONE SKIRRID TO CRICKHOWELL
MORNING There are higher peaks in Wales, but few have the pop-up effect of the 1,594ſt Skirrid on the eastern fringes of the Black Mountains. Sweeping above a fretwork of hedgerowed fields, the Skirrid takes its Welsh name, Ysgyryd Fawr (‘great shattered mountain’) from the massive landslide that shook its northwestern flank during the last Ice Age. Rambling up through
broadleaf woods carpeted with ferns and wildflowers, the path emerges onto a wind-beaten ridge. When the Welsh weather behaves itself, the views from the trig point are unbeatable, reaching west to the conical Sugar Loaf and the Brecon Beacons, east to the borderlands and south to the Severn Estuary. Ospreys, buzzards and red kites oſten glide on stiff breezes above the exposed outcrop. And if history grabs you more than birdlife, look out for the ruins of a medieval chapel and the mound-and-ditch ramparts of an Iron Age hill fort near the summit.
AFTERNOON Aſter a bracing hike, The Skirrid Mountain Inn beckons for lunch. With 900 years of history, it claims to be Wales’ oldest and most haunted boozer. It sure looks the part, with sagging, woodsmoke-blackened beams and an inglenook fireplace where Shakespeare supposedly once enjoyed a pint and came up with the impish character of Puck for his play A Midsummer Night’s Dream. The hangman’s noose above the stairwell nods to the pub’s darker past as a courthouse. Road trips are two-a-penny in
Wales, but few can rival the one through the remote, steep-sided Vale of Ewyas, which unfurls just north of the inn. The halfway point is Llanthony, where the ruins of an Augustinian priory are so wildly romantic that they inspired Turner to commit the scene to canvas in 1794. Further north, a single-track lane ribbons through windswept moorland and up the 1,800ſt Gospel Pass, Wales’ highest road. Near the top, astonishing views of Hay Bluff to the east and Twmpa open up.
EVENING As the late-aſternoon light slants over the hills, head south on the A479, where the views of the Black Mountains — including the highest peak, 2,660ſt Waun Fach — prove distractingly lovely. Your base for the evening is Crickhowell, a picturesque Georgian market town that straddles the River Usk. The 18th-century stone bridge here is well worth admiring for its mismatched arches (12 upstream, 13 downstream). Crickhowell’s showpiece is
The Bear Hotel, a 600-year- old former coaching inn that was once an overnight stop for travellers heading from London to West Wales. Now a delightfully old-school gastro pub and hotel, it brims with low oak beams, log fires and cosy nooks. In summer, the hanging baskets are something else. If it’s warm, grab a pre-dinner drink in the rear courtyard. The menu plays up seasonality and traceability in dishes like Black Mountain smoked salmon with crostini and lemon oil, and braised lamb shank with spring-onion mash.
WELSH VENISON CENTRE Watch deer, sheep and cattle graze as you dig into a local- and season-driven lunch at this terrific farm shop and café between Crickhowell and Brecon. Outdoor fires and blankets keep you warm while you enjoy rural views over Black Mountain Roast Coffee, homemade cake, and farm-to-fork snacks like gourmet venison burger topped with Welsh cheddar, bacon and fried onions.
beaconsfarmshop.co.uk
THE WALNUT TREE Shaun Hill heads up this Michelin-starred restaurant in the rolling borderlands. ‘Shaking the pans’ for 50 years plus, Shaun’s menu is a love affair between Wales and France, with occasional whispers of India and North Africa. The vibe is unpretentious, the price surprisingly modest (3-course lunch £32), and the flavours simple and bright in dishes like squab pigeon with petits pois.
thewalnuttreeinn.com
LEFT: A hiker surveys the view from Black Hill (also known as Cat’s Back) in the Black Mountains, the easternmost of the Brecon Beacons’ hills RIGHT: Usk Bridge and The Bridge End Inn, Crickhowell, with Table Mountain in the background
Jul/Aug 2020 39
IMAGES: GETTY; ALAMY
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 |
Page 89 |
Page 90 |
Page 91 |
Page 92 |
Page 93 |
Page 94 |
Page 95 |
Page 96 |
Page 97 |
Page 98 |
Page 99 |
Page 100 |
Page 101 |
Page 102 |
Page 103 |
Page 104 |
Page 105 |
Page 106 |
Page 107 |
Page 108 |
Page 109 |
Page 110 |
Page 111 |
Page 112 |
Page 113 |
Page 114 |
Page 115 |
Page 116 |
Page 117 |
Page 118 |
Page 119 |
Page 120 |
Page 121 |
Page 122 |
Page 123 |
Page 124 |
Page 125 |
Page 126 |
Page 127 |
Page 128 |
Page 129 |
Page 130 |
Page 131 |
Page 132 |
Page 133 |
Page 134 |
Page 135 |
Page 136 |
Page 137 |
Page 138 |
Page 139 |
Page 140 |
Page 141 |
Page 142 |
Page 143 |
Page 144 |
Page 145 |
Page 146 |
Page 147 |
Page 148 |
Page 149
