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. Back at our accommodation, we’ll  enjoy a presentation by Helen Hickman of Nellie & Eve , sharing her journey towards offering beautiful, sustainable, hand-dyed yarns.

PEMBROKESHIRE COAST

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 take us through St Davids and its iconic cathedral, pointing out bits of local history and leading us to the best galleries and cafes which populate this little gem.  If the weather permits, we’ll enjoy a stretch of stunning beach at Whitesands Bay before making our way to a woolen mill producing beautiful contemporary and traditional woven fabrics. Shopping is allowed!

DEVIL'S BRIDGE and ABERYSTWYTH

Today, we depart the coastal region and head towards our boutique hotel located near the dramatic Devil’s Bridge Waterfalls. 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 hear the story of how the “Welsh Wool Shop” came to be in Newcastle Emlyn. We will also fit in a stop at the National Wool Museum of Wales. After all that, let's find a cozy lounge to relax for the evening.

ABERYSTWYTH

This morning, we will gather to experience a felted brooch workshop; these brooches have personality, let me tell you. 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 or 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.

HAY-ON-WYE

After our exploration of Devil’s Bridge, we’ll pack up our luggage with our first stop being the ruins of 12th century Florida Strata Cisterian Abbey. After we take in the springtime air, we’ll make our way to Hay-on-Wye, in the heart of Wales, our home base for the next three nights! The quaint town of 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 to enjoy.

WONDERWOOL WALES

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

CARDIFF

We’ll be packing all our goodies from the weekend and make our way through the stunning Brecon Beacon Mountains of Wales towards Cardiff.  When we arrive in Cardiff we will check into our hotel, finalize our packing (might you need a second suitcase for all that wooly goodness you found?) and 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.

Colleen is an experienced fiber wrangler, currently knitting multiple projects, spinning up some hand-blended fibers on her Lendrum DT and has discovered it is difficult, but not impossible, to knit while watching a South Korean show on Netflix (with subtitles). She is endlessly curious about two things: makers’ stories of the lineage and evolution of their craft… and where to find truly awesome pie. She loves to drive a convertible, swim in natural waters and hula hoops. Colleen lives in Santa Fe, NM and can't get enough of the grande vistas including that endless azul sky.