FROM ROME TO THE INDUSTRIAL REVOLUTION...

Today we will hop quickly back into England to explore the ancient border city of Chester. Poised just a stone’s throw across the River Dee from Wales, Chester has a long history as a strategic military base and gateway to the hills and mountains of North Wales. 

We will start our day with a stroll through the historic streets in the company of local guide, Isabel, who will lead us on a walking tour of this city's ancient lanes and alleyways. As we explore Roman remains and the remarkable city walls, Isabel will inspire us with stories of women over the ages who have called this city their home.

After lunch in Chester we will hop on our coach for a short journey back across the border into Wales to marvel at the world famous Pontcysyllte aqueduct. Would anyone like to try pronouncing that?! We will enjoy a breath-taking journey across the aqueduct in a traditional narrow boat whilst enjoying a taste of afternoon tea in the sky.

Then it's back down to earth and a short drive back to our lodgings near Chester for another peaceful night.

WOOL, MORE WOOL, & A SMATTERING OF WELSH

This morning we will leave our hotel and begin our journey into mid-Wales. 

First stop, a visit to a small independent yarn store in the small border town of Oswestry, where we will meet with owner Becky, who will tell us about the sourcing of local fleeces for her own Shropshire Ply range of yarns.

After a stop for lunch on the way we will then head to Newtown for a tour of the local British Wool Board grading depot, before we step back in time with a visit to the local Textile Museum and their restored woolen mill.

We will then make the short journey to our historic lodgings for the night, in the former home of two sisters, both prominent philanthropists and benefactors of the arts in Wales in the early 20th Century.

In preparation for our onward journey into the Welsh speaking heartlands of Northwest Wales we will finish our day with a short introductory Welsh session with Elen, a local teacher of Cymraig (Welsh).

A JOURNEY INTO SNOWDONIA...& AN INNOVATIVE USE FOR WOOL!

Today we will set off on a scenic drive northwards, away from the rolling hills of mid-Wales towards the rugged mountains further north. Our destination is Portmeirion, a unique,  Italianate-style village on the coast of Northwest Wales, but first we will make a stop at Yr Ysgwrn, a historic restored farmhouse set against the backdrop of the Eryri (Snowdonia) National Park. The farmhouse was the former home of  renowned Welsh poet, Hedd Wyn, and we will have the opportunity to learn a little about Welsh cultural traditions, in particular about the Eisteddfod, an annual celebration of Welsh language, music and the arts. 

In the afternoon we will make a visit to an innovative local business making woolen duvets from the fleeces of local Lleyn sheep.  We will then drive a short distance to our comfortable waterfront lodgings, our home for the next two nights.

Image: Eryri National Park Authority

THE ITALIAN RIVERIA...IN WALES?!

Today we will take time to relax and explore the surreal delights of Portmeirion, a quirky Italianate-style village famed for its pottery, as well as being the backdrop for the 1960s British TV drama, The Prisoner.

After a short morning tour, you will find plenty of cafes, paths and gardens to tempt you. Time for knitting anyone?

Image: © Hawlfraint y Goron / © Crown copyright (2025) Cymru Wales

THE LLYN PENINSULA

Today we will leave our comfortable coastal lodgings to spend a day exploring the nearby Llyn peninsula, renowned for its rugged landscape of sandy coves, castles and ancient hill forts. We will make a visit to a local sheep farm and learn a little about what it is like to farm this remote coastal landscape.

At the end of the day we will head inland to our secluded lodgings where we can relax and soak in the stunning mountain views up to distant Snowdon mountain (Yr Wyddfa). If you fancy a cold dip, the retreat has its own lake waiting to invite you in! We will stay in these peaceful lodgings for the next three nights.

Image: © Hawlfraint y Goron / © Crown copyright (2025) Cymru Wales

WOOLLY WORKSHOPS & SOME TIME TO RELAX

We won’t be leaving our lodgings today, but instead we will enjoy a day of woolly learning. We have two contrasting workshops in store for you in the company of Kath Andrews, a Welsh knitwear designer, and Tania Oakshott, of Wekiwool, a local hand spinner. Kath will get us started on a little knitting project that we are planning for you, using Welsh yarns from a local yarn initiative, Cambrian Wool, whilst Tania will teach us all about yarn preparation for hand spinning, and in particular for producing highly-textured art yarns using locally-sourced fleeces. 

We will end the day with a talk from Mark Jones of the nearby Cefn Llan fibre flock. 

Caernarfon Castle and a visit to Snowdonia National Park

After a restful night we will drag ourselves away from our mountain home to visit the nearby town of Caernarfon, with its iconic castle. We will take time to explore the castle and its surroundings before boarding our coach once more for a drive into the heart of the Snowdonia (Eryri) mountains. We will all pray to the weather gods for a day of fine views, but if mist and rain should fall, know that you are experiencing these mountains as locals do most days of the year! On our drive we will be sure to see many Welsh mountain sheep grazing the rocky pastures, and we may just find time to stop by a cute little yarn store to satisfy any cravings.

A WEAVER, A YARN STORE & A DAY TO EXPLORE CONWY

Today we will leave our peaceful lodgings and head up towards the North Wales coast. We will start the day with a visit to the studio of a talented young local weaver, where we will learn about her family’s farming heritage in the remote Dyffryn valley, and how the farming landscape has  inspired her work.

We will then head along the coast to spend the rest of the day in the walled market town of Conwy. We will make a visit to Plas Mawr, a fine example of a restored Elizabethan townhouse, and then you will have the rest of the day at your leisure to explore the historic streets of this coastal community dominated by its fine castle. Oh, and I nearly forgot to mention...there is also a rather nice yarn store in town where you will be assured a warm welcome (and maybe a mug of tea and some yarnie chat as you pull out your knitting!).

At the end of the day we will head a few miles up into the Conwy valley to our country lodgings for the next two nights.

Image © Hawlfraint y Goron / © Crown copyright (2025) Cymru Wales

The Conwy Valley: a working woollen mill and a world famous garden

We won’t be travelling far today, but rest assured, there is plenty to see in the beautiful Conwy valley. 

In the morning we will head a few miles up the river to pay a visit to the Trefriw Woollen Mill, the last remaining working woollen mill in North Wales. The mill has been continuously operating as a family business since the mid 19th century, and they still produce their own traditionally designed Welsh blankets on lovingly maintained machinery. If we are lucky they will have the looms operating for us today as we tour the historic weaving sheds. 

After spending some time browsing their sumptuous array of blankets in the mill shop, we hop back on our coach for a short drive across the river Conwy to nearby Bodnant Gardens, a world-famous historic garden and arboretum, now managed by the National Trust. We will spend a leisurely afternoon exploring the gardens before enjoying an early supper at a nearby restaurant.

A SHEPHERDESS & HER FLOCK

Today we will leave behind the mountains of North Wales, but not before we pay a visit to a true inspiration in Welsh farming circles. Erin McNaught took over the running of her family sheep farm at the tender age of eighteen, already a champion young sheepdog handler, and she is now keen to share a little of her experience with visitors to her family farm. We will enjoy a demonstration from one of her twelve working sheepdogs, the true ‘stars’ of the farm, before stepping into her sheep shed to learn a little more about the management of her flock. We will be turning up at the peak of lambing time, so we must be prepared that plans may take an unexpected turn. But with any luck we may get to see some of the newest members of her flock. 

After our morning visit with Erin we will make our way back to Chester, where we will arrive in time to explore this charming city one more time. You will have plenty of time to pack up your yarns and your memories before we all head out for a final farewell meal together.

HWYL FAWR - FAREWELL

Today you will bid farewell to Wales and make your own way to your chosen departure airport at a time to suit.

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.

Semele's background is in Classics and Modern Greek. She has lived and worked in both Greece and Italy, and has travelled extensively in both countries (exploring the knitting opportunities as she goes!). Her love of warm weather means that she is usually trying to knit a shawl or jumper to try to replicate the Mediterranean summer in the Welsh countryside, where she is currently based. When she isn't knitting, she is probably reading, swimming, or attempting to track down the perfect coffee and cake. 

She has a professional interest in textile history and women's writing – as well as a passion for them – and to this end regularly writes for travel, well-being and crafting magazines, including The Knitter, Italia!, and Breathe. She is currently writing a novel.