CARDIGAN

We start our journey to the Pembrokeshire Coast with a stop at the National Wales Botanical Gardens to stretch our legs and take in the fresh Welsh air amongst the gardens and greenhouses and multiple cafes offering refreshments. Then we’ll journey to Cardigan, drop our bags and take our first walk to Mwnt Beach, rated one of the finest in Europe. We might get lucky spotting dolphins, gulls (of course) and other seabirds while on our walk to “the little white chapel” - a medieval sailor’s chapel of ease...  

Mileage: 3 miles

Elevation gain: 700’

NEW QUAY

Again, to the coast we will go, to enjoy a morning walk with time to explore the seaside town of New Quay. After lunch in town, we return to Cardigan and meet with our friends Sally Davies and Jonny King.  Sally started Garthenor Organic to promote organic handspun yarn and when Jonny joined her, they rapidly grew the business beyond handspun and really made a name for themselves beyond the Welsh wool markets. They are now building the first organic woolen mill for yarn production in Wales! Our dinner tonight will be oh-so-unique: pizza in a tipi!

Mileage: 5.5 + miles

Elevation gain:  900’

PRESELI MOUNTAINS

Today, we’ll treat you to a walk along the spine of the Preseli Mountains. Should the weather gods be kind, we might see views west as far as Ireland, and north to Snowdonia and we might be able to spot Red Kites soaring above the fields below. Among the historical treasures abound on this trek are a Bronze Age burial cairn and the rocky tor of Carn Bica which overlooks a ring of stones in the shape of an eye.  This ring of stones is one of many places recorded by antiquity as the grave of King Arthur. After the trek, we’ll stop to explore Castell Henllys, the reconstruction of an Iron Age fort. For many years it was believed that the bluestones in the inner circle at Stonehenge were quarried here. 

After this grand walk, we might just find ourselves at a nearby pub for some refreshments to toast our day’s explorations.

Mileage: 7-9+ miles

Elevation gain: 1250’

ST. DAVIDS

The tiny town of St. Davids provides the setting for a tour of the majestic St. Davids Cathedral, an important stop for a medieval pilgrim back in the day. After the tour and with springtime in the air, we will enjoy a walk around St. David’s Head from Whitesands Bay. There’s sure to be a profusion of wildflowers along the rugged coast, cliff edge, fields and hills of this region. At the end of the day we’ll find ourselves at our glamping accommodations; our luggage will have been transferred and the warm welcome from the staff includes tea and cake as we settle into our new dwellings for the remainder of the week. 

Mileage: 7-9 miles

Elevation gain: 1500’

ABERAERON

Today our coastal experience includes strolling amongst the shops and cafes and colorful Georgian and Victorian homes overlooking the harbor of Aberaeron. We continue from town to walk and visit Llanerchaeron, an elegant Georgian villa and its organic gardens, part of the National Trust, with a unique project to help maintain habitat for a rare butterfly found on the coast of Wales.

Mileage: 5  miles

Elevation gain: 500’

WOOLEN  MILLS

As we enjoy a visit to the National Wool Museum of Wales, we will tour their dye garden and learn a bit about natural dyeing. We have a few other woolen mills we can add in on this undemanding walking day.

We will find a path to stroll along the River Teifi in the afternoon. We’ll have dinner out before heading back to glamp.

Mileage:  miles

Elevation gain:

SKOMER ISLAND

Now, for our nature-filled grande finale; we’ll savor a short boat ride that takes us to a very special marine island just off the coast where we survey nesting puffins and other sea creatures. There are basic services on the island and we’ll have a packed lunch to help us circumnavigate this remarkable island. When we return to our lodging, we’ll enjoy a group dinner, possibly a bonfire, or even a sauna as we share stories from the week. 

Mileage: 4 miles

Elevation gain: 630’

CARDIFF 

We’ll stretch our legs and get a walk in the beautiful Brecon Beacons National Park mountain range on our drive back to Cardiff and have a good time at our final farewell dinner in the city center.

Homeward Bound

Homeward we go, energized from our adventures. A fond Hwyl Fawr goodbye to all. 

Colleen Troy joins RTT as Domestic Tour Development and Fiber Ambassador as well as Bookkeeper. She’s knitting multiple projects right now, spinning hand-blended fibers on her Lendrum DT, and has found it difficult but not impossible to knit and watch a South Korean show on Netflix with subtitles at the same time. She is curious about makers' stories of the lineage and evolution of their craft and where to find truly awesome pie.  Her professional background in outdoor tour guiding and small business ownership makes a great match with RTT. Colleen loves to drive a convertible, swim in natural waters and hula hoops. Does she talk to her plants? That’s what her friends want to know.

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.