Revelling in the soaraway beauty of the Beacons
PASSPORT queues and Brexit threats have done nothing to endear Europe to the British holidaymaker in recent weeks.
But this has to be good news for our home tourism industry.
I’d almost forgotten just how gorgeous our country is, until I headed off to wonderful Wales for a few days away.
Surely landscapes don’t come more glorious than the Brecon Beacons? Covering more than 520 square miles, the national park features sandstone peaks, moorland, green valleys, waterfalls and gorges dressed in ferns. It’s paradise for lovers of the great outdoors.
HF Holidays runs a programme of activity breaks based at its property in the market town of Brecon, right on the doorstep of the national park. Accommodation is at Nythfa House, built in 1867 and a private house for many years before becoming a hotel. It has 28 rooms, nice gardens with a putting green and croquet lawn, a bar, restaurant, ballroom and indoor pool. There’s an on-site beauty and holistic therapy salon, The Retreat, too – perfect after a long hike across the hills.
Like all of HF Holidays’ country houses, Nythfa is tailored for walkers, with a boot
NATURAL STARS:
An unflappable Brecon sheep and, top, a soaring red kite and drying room. But there’s more to this place than just hiking – themed breaks encompass Pilates, t’ai chi, singing, dancing, music, sketching and painting.
Photographers, too, are well catered for, with adorable beauty spots, including the waterfalls near Ystradfellte, and stunning vistas from Pen y Fan, the park’s highest peak. Snapping away, I found the sheep terribly obliging, staring into the lens or continuing their grassmunching no matter what.
There’s a thriving population of red kites hereabouts as well. They didn’t stop whizzing about for a nanosecond – forget about trying to get a picture. But it was a pleasure to photograph the wild flowers, from pink foxgloves to vibrant red poppies.
After lunch at The Felin Fach Griffin inn on the A470 just outside Brecon, we took a stroll around the busy little town. Brecon also has a number of nick-nack shops, where our haul included a brace of picture frames. I intend to display the best of my photographic efforts when I get home…