Enjoying Summer Food Outdoors

The best thing about good weather and Gliffaes is being able to sit outside in truly wonderful surroundings and enjoy a long and leisurely lunch in the company of good friends. Simple pleasures indeed but I think we fail to under estimate the importance of the simple things in life. With so much rush and hassle everyday, two hours sitting in the warm shade of a tree next to an old friend with a bottle of wine and a plate of cheese is a simple way to bring us all back down to earth.

This weekend it was lovely to host a birthday lunch for Nicola Hill and 20 of her friends and family and as the weather was so fine we set up her lunch table under the shade of the cedar tree on the west lawn. Poached salmon, hollandaise, some lovely fresh salads, cold Welsh beef and some fine Welsh cheese all helped down with some thoughtfuly  chosen wine. We served a light red Morgon, straight from the cellar, and some chilled white Burgundy both of which seemed to slip down quite nicely.

Although not quite so easy to serve 40-50 for dinner outside on Saturday evening, almost everyone had a drinks on the terrace before dinner and with the French doors wide open the scent from the wisteria filling the dining room it was as good as being outside. The menu had a light, early summer feel to it with such things as:

Chilled Pea and Mint soup
Pan Fried Fillet of Mackerel with sweet Pickled Vegetable Salad
Medallions of Cornish Lobster, Pickled Bream, Potted Spiced Crab & Almonds, Potato Salad

Sunday lunch time and no matter what the temperature everyone still loves roast beef and served out on the terrace in the shade of a big parasol makes for a splendid way to write off Sunday afternoon. With more sunny weather forecast I am sure lots more will be taking advantage of our position above the river for some 'al fresco' dining.

Festivals, Events and Family Days Out this Summer

June, July and August are when most of the countries big outdoor events take place and the Brecon Beacons and surrounding area has many established events and a couple of new ones have come on to the scene this year or last year. I have listed the events with a link to their own websites along with the time taken from Gliffaes to get to them.

Crickhowell Art Trail - May Bank Holiday weekend
Over the three days of the Bank Holiday Weekend many artists in the Black Mountains are opening up their studios to the public for us to come and see and buy their works. This is not just paintings. Art trail maps are available from most tourism outlets in the area or at the visitor information centre in Crickhowell. One could have a lovely day's drive or cycle around these studios as so many are well off the beaten path.

Hay Litrary Festival - 27th May - 6th June (30 minutes from Gliffaes)
The annual book beano in Hay-on-Wye. But it is now so much more than books; farm visits, nature walks, guided tours around ancient monuments, film screenings, concerts and comedy not to mention plenty of events for children on half term. If you can't find one item on their programme that interests you,  must be very, very dull.

How the Light Gets In - The philosophy and music festival at Hay - 28th May - 6th June.
Now in its second year and sited away from the main festival in the Globe Theatre at Hay and in the Globe Fields across the river. The blur describes this year's event as, "....it is only fitting that this year's festival theme is 'Being Human'. What it is to be alive? What is essential to our humanity and what is peripheral? What is truly important?" So if you want to get your head around some of these concepts have a look at their website and book a ticket to an event or two.

International Horse Trials at Glanusk Park - 1st - 4th July (1 mile form Gliffaes, in fact you could walk there.)
A brand new event on the International eventing circuit and a brand new and challenging course for horse and rider alike in the spectacular Glanusk Park. For those in the horse world this is event is replacing the one that used to be held at Chepstow. Fo those not in the horsey world this is great day out for all the family with a shopping village, displays and much more.

International Polo - 17th July at Glanusk Park (1 mile)
After last year's inaugural success this one day of polo and events, including a visit from the Red Devils freefall team, is back bigger and better than last year. England v Wales is the feature match and the idea is to load up your car with a picnic and some friends and spend the day under an oak tree soaking up Pimms and polo.

The Royal Welsh Show - 19th - 22nd July,  Builth Wells (normally about 40 minutes but on show day's allow an hour)
Wales' premier Agricultural Show, and now that the Royal Show has ceased it could well be the UK's major agricultural show, so much going on and its certainly not just for farmers.

The Brecon Jazz Festival - 6th, 7th & 8th August - Brecon (20 minutes)
This enduring festival has had its ups and owns recently but seems to be rising above with new backing. A very impressive line up of jazz greats and rising stars from all over the globe this year.


The Green Man Festival - 21st-23rd August at Glanusk Park
If the names of these bands and musicians ring any bells with you then you will know what this Festival is all about; 'Neon Indians', 'Bear in Heaven', 'Darwin Deez' and the 'Smoke Fairies'.  They don't mean much to me but if you fancy sleeping in a bed rather than in a tent Gliffaes is the closeset hotel to the festival.

Fly Fishing for Beginners at Gliffaes

Fishing is this country's biggest participation sport and this weekend Gliffaes swelled the sports ranks by another 9 new recruits. Over the last three days we have hosted our tenth, 'Fly Fishing for Beginners' course. Gliffaes is the perfect venue to learn to fish, although not an easy one, we don't stock the river so new recruits have to get used to stalking wild brown trout, which are wild in every sense of the word. This is very much akin to learning to swim in the deep end of the pool. The course is run by Bill Price from Builth Wells who is a qualified Advanced Professional Game Angling Instructor (APGAI for short) and Bill brings a lifetime of experience of fishing and guiding on the Usk and Wye to the course. He is very well assisted by his son Tristan.

Starting on Friday morning with an introduction to the sport; the trout and its habitat and equipment needed to get started. The students then moved out onto the lawns to begin learning the techniques of fly casting, something that looks easy but certainly requires careful instruction and plenty of practice. Saturday morning and the students moved from the lawn down to the river and spent the morning getting used to casting and wading in a fast flowing river. By lunch time skills and confidence were higher and students set off in pursuit of the quarry which could be seen rising tantalisingly up and down the river.

It was not until Sunday morning that someone finally hooked a real live trout as opposed to a tree behind them or a stone in the river, young Ben Scott just 12 from Crickhowell, caught his first wild brownie and I think he still has the huge grin on his face today. Buoyed up by this early success everyone carried on valiantly for most of the day but sadly nobody else was able to catch a fish. Almost everyone left Gliffaes with a huge determination to continue proved by the fact that Bill was able to sell six of his rods at the end of the weekend. Although not everyone left with a fresh Usk trout they did leave with a huge appreciation for how absorbing and relaxing being on the river is with the river, birds, fly life and fish all around them. Not forgetting the huge amount they had learnt over the three days.

(I hope to be running another course next May but need to find another instructor as Bill can't help next year. If you would like to be kept informed of any future fishing courses please get in touch with me or drop me an email.)

National Garden Scheme & Timber Operations at Gliffaes

There has been a fair bit going on in the garden this week. Last Sunday we opened the gardens as part of the National Garden Scheme which helps raise money for various charities but in particular the Macmillian Cancer Care Trust. This meant a flurry of activities; straitening the edges of the lawns and paths, strimming, mowing and sweeping and brushing around the buildings. We opened for three hours on Sunday afternoon and collected just under £350 for the charity from about 100 visitors.  Spring in the gardens at Gliffaes is wonderful;  cherries , magnolias, berberis, bluebells under the trees, lilacs and rhododendrons are all out at the moment.This picture of cherry trees in blossom was kindly sent to me by Ray Grenfell of Crickhowell.

Having two fire places and a wood burning stove in the hotel we certainly get through a lot of timber, this past winter especially, we are still having the odd fire in the evening and it's May! We need to have the space to season timber for at least 8-12 months before we can burn it, which means we need to have at 12 months supply at any one time, more if possible, There is nothing worse trying to burn wet wood which just sizziles and hisses. As we burn about 15 tons a year we need a lot of dry storage space and this week we have extended our wood shed and we can now store about 85 cubic meters of wood. Nick and I did the work ourselves and used a smallish oak tree from the grounds to make the two uprights needed. We now have to fill all that space with split timber. Anyone keen for a bit of axe work?

I have had my eye on a large oak tree that fell down during a storm about 12 months ago but on a very steep bank, with no chance of us getting any of the timber out. I had a word with the forester on the Glanusk Estate who said it wouldn't be a problem for him with his large winch on his tractor. He was here at 8.30 this morning and its now midday and the job is done. Just look at all that timber that has to be cut up then split. I feel weak just looking at it. I am thinking of running a work / stay swop in February next year for anyone keen on working in the woods doing some thining, burning and wood splitting etc. Your food and accommodation would be free in exchange for your labour and for every two days you work the third day you could have off and would be free as well. Any takers please get in touch?

Guest Report on a Fishing Break at Gliffaes

This piece and the photographs has been supplied by Jonathan & Peter Steeds.


To celebrate our fiftieth birthdays my twin brother Peter and I thought we would treat ourselves to the three day fishing package offered at Gliffaes - what a treat it was!

Although we have done a fair bit of still water trout fishing over the years, we are both pretty new to river fishing so arranged to meet up with hotel ghillie Jim Devoy on day one who took us over to the adjacent Llandetty water and very expertly showed us the ropes. I was delighted with a fish of about a pound after the first ten minutes even though this turned out to be the only fish of the day other than a couple of salmon parr. Of course Jim managed to catch a trout just to show how it should be done.

On the second day we were back at Llandetty and in the cold and blowy weather we struggled a bit and although Peter got stuck into the salmon parr again we couldn't’t interest the trout. Jim’s 50 years of experience of fishing this water rewarded him with three trout to about a pound and on a hard day showed what a master he is.

On the third day we parted company with Jim and went on to the top beat of the hotel water starting with a couple of idyllic hours in brilliant sunshine before breakfast. By the end of day we had six trout between us on a mix of nymphs and dries including a cracking one and a half pounder and another salmon parr. We were both drenched from the late afternoon downpour but could not have been happier. Back to the hotel for a celebratory drink in its cosy bar followed by yet another delicious dinner before rounding off the evening with an embarrassingly slow couple of frames of snooker.

The renowned Gliffaes hospitality is evident in everything – the wonderful atmosphere, the friendly staff, the great food and drink and the marvellous attention to detail shown by the whole team led by delightful owners James and Susie Suter. Add an exquisite stretch of the Usk to all that and we couldn't have dreamt up a better place to celebrate our half centuries. If you could design your own perfect fishing hotel you would struggle to come up with one as complete and as lovely as Gliffaes. We’ll be back before we’re much older!
Jonathan Steeds.