A Vale of lies
Nearly 200 years ago one of the founding fathers of what would become the annual celebration of Welsh culture – the Eisteddfod – passed away. His name is not widely known but his tall tales are legendary. Intrigued, travel author Phoebe Smith went in search of the truth in the Vale of Glamorgan…
The standing stone rose out of the ground resolutely, shrouded in a thick yellow coat of lichen as if it had been there longer than the town in which it stood. I was in Cowbridge, a historic market town in the Vale of Glamorgan, 13 miles west of Cardiff, at a spot the country owes much of the preservation of its culture to. This was home to the Gorsedd of the Bards, aka guardians of Welsh language and culture, established in 1792, which was memorialised by the placing of this huge rock at the first meeting of the group in 1795… or was it? You see, this story is one that came from the lips of a local man called Edward Williams – more commonly known as Iolo Morganwg – who is famed in these parts as a stonemason, a romantic poet, a passionate Welshman, and… a complete fabricator of the truth.
Always one to let the truth lead the way to a good story, I decided to follow in his footsteps on the Iolo Morganwg Heritage Trail, a 4.5-mile circular meander around the town and some of his old haunts.
I began, as he usually did, in a pub (which would also serve as my accommodation) – an old cobblestone hostelry called The Bear. Dating back to the 12th century, it was a changing post for horses running mail between Swansea and the Welsh capital.
Fast forward to the 18th century and it became renowned as a hangout for poets and creatives who, fuelled by beer (and a touch of the opiate laudanum), would recite verses and legends before getting into the odd brawl.
Since then it’s had something of a transformation. Now a boutique hotel and restaurant serving fine food, it would be barely recognisable to Iolo and his brethren. Yet it has still managed to maintain its comely nooks