Wales is often overlooked when people think of traveling in the United Kingdom. They think “England! Scotland! Cornwall!” But here’s what we know that those folks don’t: Wales is brimming with spectacular scenery, poignant history, and a unique, longstanding craft and wool tradition. It’s a gem of a destination for fiber enthusiasts. Welsh weaving has been extant since prehistoric times. In medieval days, the region produced its own particular type of hard-wearing cloth, similar to tweed, called frieze. Knitting, spinning, felting and embroidery have also had their place in the production of wearables and wares. Due to this diversity, the region’s pre-eminent fiber festival, Wonderwool Wales, showcases a memorable variety of materials, methods and makers. 

Join us as we explore this wool event plus travel through sheep-dotted hills, wild moorland, rugged coastline, glimpse hidden waterfalls and enjoy stellar hospitality! We’ll visit with those working to keep Welsh wool traditions alive alongside new, sustainable methods for keeping sheep, processing wool and handcrafting. 

To Register 

A Registration Form and a non-refundable $1000 deposit are required to join the trip. Once you submit your online registration and deposit payment is received, your spot on the tour is secure. 

See our Terms & Conditions HERE.

Have questions? Please contact us at info@rowantreetravel.com

This trip needs at least 14 participants in order to proceed (i.e. the trip is "guaranteed"). We strongly advise you to wait to purchase your flights until the trip is guaranteed by us to go forward. Unless otherwise stated, our regular Terms and Conditions apply to this trip and for any cancellations (click here to see our Terms and Conditions).

Tour Activity Level
We would describe this trip as a Woolly Wander.

Mobility Comfort Level = Mobility Level 2+
Few ground floor rooms, steep steps leading to and from St David’s Cathedral and Devil’s Bridge.

Review our Tour Activity and Mobility Comfort Levels here.

Travel Insurance 

Rowan Tree Travel highly recommends purchasing travel insurance. You may purchase through our preferred partner Arch RoamRight by clicking here or through your own provider.

Arranging Your Flights 

In order to gather easily for the tour, we provide an arrival and departure "window" at a major transportation hub - typically an international airport at your destination country. Flights scheduled outside the provided windows may result in additional transportation costs and missed tour activities. For this reason, we greatly appreciate your cooperation in booking travel that accommodates our specifications. Please do not purchase airfare until the tour is guaranteed by RTTF to go forward.


Please Note the Following 

Rowan Tree Travel reserves the right to alter any part of this itinerary in order to address weather conditions, unforeseen circumstances or to improve the participant experience.

CARDIFF

Welcome to Wales!  Today we will greet you at our hotel in the city Centre of Cardiff, have our introductory meeting, then take you out for dinner nearby. We’ll tuck you in early so that the following morning you will feel fresh and ready  to take a tour of one-of-a-kind Cardiff Castle. Afterwards, we will have tea and a presentation by Jane Bissett, she's in charge of the Vale of Glamorgan Sock project, explaining the organization's efforts at preserving the Welsh heritage of sock making. With visions of knitting socks in our head, we’ll grab our luggage and our WIPs for a bus ride into the heart of Wales and the quaint town of Hay-on-Wye; our home base for the next three nights. Hay-On-Wye is one of our favorite spots and is known as The Book Town for the plethora of used book shops lining its streets and tucked higgledy-piggledy down alleyways. Books not your thing? There are wonderful boutiques, cafes, gift shops and vintage shops as well, or there is a lovely riverside walk.

WONDERWOOL WALES FESTIVAL

Can you feel the buzz in the air… it’s the event you’ve been waiting for: Wonderwool Wales! After a hearty Welsh breakfast, we’ll drive to the Royal Welsh Showground in Builth Wells to take part in this premier wool festival all weekend. We have come to know a number of the specialty vendors at this festival along with the larger businesses that showcase the stellar variety of Welsh wool products. Your ticket gets you into the event both days. The festival boasts excellent food trucks to help maintain your shopping energy. Sunday afternoon, we’ll gather in the lounge for an interactive and fun hour to learn a few tips on the Welsh language, perhaps a song as well, while we enjoy traditional Welsh cakes.

Our motto for the weekend: go forth and conquer fiber! 

ABERYSTWYTH

Today we will depart Hay-on-Wye for our boutique hotel located near the dramatic Devil’s Bridge Waterfalls, which we’ll have time to explore before we begin Part 1 of our workshop choices: Tapestry Weaving or Art Embroidered Wet Felting. Our boutique lodging keeps us cozy with plenty of room to gather for evening knit sessions.

ABERYSTWYTH

This morning we will wrap up Part 2 of our workshops. After an enjoyable lunch we will hop on a one-hour steam train ride on the Vale of Rheidol Steam Railway through a picturesque valley with plenty of time to explore Aberystwyth in the afternoon. Walk along the seaside promenade and grab some fish and chips for lunch. While there you can choose to visit the Ceredigion Museum, browse the shops, or head to the end of the promenade to ride the Funicular to the top of the cliff for spectacular views.  There is a little cafe up top as well. We'll gather for our bus ride back up the valley to our hotel.

PEMBROKESHIRE COAST

We will continue to explore the special fiber places of Wales. Today, we’ll meet shepherdess Sue Ullrich at Pure Welsh Wool and her mixed flock of wonderful wool breeds before traveling on to the National Wool Museum. We then arrive at our home for the next 3 nights on the expansive and picturesque Pembrokeshire Coast. 

Our accommodation has quiet views of both Cardigan Bay and the River Teifi; a short walk brings us to a gem of a beach, Poppit Sands. We can enjoy outdoor knitting sessions along the waterfront if the weather allows. 

PEMBROKESHIRE COAST

We will continue our treasure hunt for all things Welsh-wool with a visit at Garthenor Organic company to learn about their mission for sustainable wool.The hard-working family behind Garthenor have been instrumental in Organic Wool standards to produce spectacular organic yarns. 

St Davids is the smallest city in Britain with a population of 1,600 - you may ask why it is considered a city at all!  After all, you can walk around the center in 10 minutes!  But the key to city-hood in the UK is having a Cathedral, and St Davids Cathedral has been a place of pilgrimage for 800 years. Today we will be joined by local Blue Badge Guide, Marion Davies, who will guide us through St Davids and its iconic cathedral, pointing out bits of local history and guiding us to the best galleries and cafes which populate this little gem.  

CARDIFF

On our bus ride back to Cardiff we will stretch our legs at the National Botanic Garden of Wales where spring will be in full bloom. Our plan comes full circle today as we find one more castle to explore, Kidwelly Castle, a Norman castle overlooking the River Gwendraeth.  There we will learn all about Princess Gwenllian, a Welsh princess who stood up to the Normans invading her land.  When we arrive in Cardiff we will check into our hotel, finalize our packing for departure tomorrow, and then meet for our final dinner together.

HOMEWARD BOUND

You will journey from Cardiff City Centre where you can catch a dragon taxi ride to the Cardiff airport or a train ride to Heathrow.  A fond Hwyl Fawr goodbye to all.  

Liz lives with her family on a smallholding in the Cambrian mountains in Wales.  A keen knitter since childhood, she remembers watching her mother spin yarn from the family sheep, and she now keeps her own small flock of Shetland sheep to indulge her passion for all things woolly. Liz is also a keen hill walker, and loves to escape to her beloved mountains, seeking inspiration amongst the colours and textures of the wild upland landscape of mid-Wales. A linguist and Latin America specialist by training, Liz previously spent many years studying and travelling in southern Chile, where she was bewitched by the alchemy that rural women could perform with some roughly-spun wool and a few leaves in a dye pot over a wood fire. It was here that Liz learnt to weave, and now settled back home in Wales, she teaches weaving, whilst also running wildwoven, a woolly fair trade business, providing opportunities for rural women in Chile to supply highly-textured, hand spun yarns to discerning weavers and fibre artists.

 Audrey lives in Hancock, NH -- a small, quintessential New England town -- with her family.  In addition to a wild and wacky multi-generational household of people and pets, Audrey manages her small farm, Meka Farm, which includes raising a small flock of sheep for fiber and meat as well as pigs and various types of poultry.  Audrey is excited to be part of the Rowan Tree Travel team and  combining her loves for travel and handwork with her backgrounds in non-profit work and teaching.  Her Ukrainian-born grandmother taught her how to knit when she was about seven-years old and Audrey continues to knit and create for friends and family while also encouraging her teen son to knit.  You can keep up with Audrey and her knitting, sheep and farm adventures on Instagram: @mekafarm or at www.mekafarm.com