This is Wales: A place to lay your head

In today’s This is Wales post I want to tell you about the two lovely county pubs with rooms that we stayed at whilst we were away on our recent press trip with Food and Drink Wales. What better day to share this than on St David’s day?

As you probably know already if you follow me on Instagram or Twitter, we recently spent three days travelling around Monmouthshire and the Brecon Beacons on what can only be described as an epic food-fuelled road trip. We met some excellent Welsh food and drink producers. We ate some delicious food and experienced a warm welcome everywhere we went.

The Bell at Skenfrith 

After a long day of eating and drinking (it’s a hard life), arriving at The Bell, its windows lit up against a dank dark sky, was a welcome relief. Time to take our boots off, relax and enjoy a great meal before bed time. Perched on the river Morrow, this 17th century coaching in is now an award winning restaurant and hotel. They have 11 bedrooms in total.

We were greeted initially by a very cuddly Freddy, one of the resident cats there. He clearly lives the good life, as does his pal Sophie, another black cat. Fortunately, shortly after, Maria arrived, a very friendly and helpful human, to check us in!

All the rooms are named after fishing flies, in honour of the hotel’s location. We stayed in Little Marryat, a gorgeous, rustic styled room full of antique furniture and with a view of the medieval bridge and river.

After settling into our room, we headed downstairs for drinks and dinner. The space has a warm, welcoming atmosphere with dogs welcome in the Dog and Boot Bar and the cats milling around the restaurant hoping for titbits. There was an open fire roaring on one side and a fantastic wine list which is curated by the owner Richard, and has won lots of awards. We opted for a bottle of White Castle Pinot Noir which is made very locally and is just delicious, and all the more so, because we’d just visited their vineyard earlier in the day!

After a wonderful meal, we headed upstairs to bed. The hotel’s location guarantees a peaceful night’s sleep, no street lights, no traffic noise, just the countryside and dark skies above. We both slept like a dream.

Although in my opinion, a good fry up is hard to beat, knowing that we had another action packed day of eating and drinking ahead of us, we opted for a light breakfast at The Bell. I had dippy egg and soldiers and I have to say, I thoroughly enjoyed them!

It’s worth noting, if you’re going to stay at The Bell, that they have some fantastic walking maps available, designed in partnership with a local artist. Sadly, we only had time for a quick stroll but next time (and we will return) we’ll definitely be taking advantage of those. Skenfrith has a Norman Castle to explore and there is plenty of gorgeous countryside to explore before heading back to the hotel for a hearty lunch and of course, a glass or two of wine in the bar.

The team at The Bell are clearly passionate about what they do and we loved the little touches around the place, from the decoration to the fresh milk for your morning tea and Noble Isle toiletries. I’d love to see it in the summer so that we can take full advantage of the gorgeous gardens and countryside location.

Rooms at The Bell at Skenfrith start at £150 a night. We stayed in Little Maryatt, priced at £175 a night. Find them here: The Bell at Skenfrith, Skenfrith, Monmouthshire, NP7 8UH

The Bear Hotel in Crickhowell

After a second packed day exploring the food and drink of Wales, we spent the night at The Bear Hotel. The Bear has been the centre of life in Crickhowell for over 500 years. It has a fantastic history which you can feel in the beams, walls and crooked stairs. It was once a Welsh overnight stop for the horse drawn coach journey from London to Ireland, welcoming passengers in with warm beds, ale and food.

These days, it does much the same, popular with walkers and people exploring the area but also with the locals. We arrived on a Saturday night. It was full of energy, alive with people eating, drinking and having a great time. The staff were all incredibly friendly, warm and welcoming (even when covered in my wine, see this post for more on that!).

Our room was quite different from the one at The Bell. Gothic and dramatic with chandeliers and dark beams. Not as luxurious but just as interesting. We also had a jacuzzi bath which was a lot of fun!

Having visited Penderyn Whisky distillery in the day and then enjoying a bottle of wine with dinner, we were pretty ravenous and very slightly hungover at breakfast time. Funnily enough, we both went for a fish based option and LOTS of toast and coffee.

I had smoked haddock and poached egg which was completely delicious but not overly photogenic. Dave had smoked salmon and scrambled eggs on a muffin, a favourite of mine. I have to say, the eggs were perfect! A far cry from the usual over dry, rubbery yellow globs you get on hotel breakfasts. The smoked salmon was delicious too, although we already knew it would be because it was from Black Mountains Smokery literally 2 minutes up the road and a place we’d visited the day before.

We loved the history of The Bear Hotel, it was alive with the past – and all of it happy. People socialising, eating and drinking in the very centre of Crickhowell. Just like The Bell, we’d be happy to return and explore more of the area. The Brecon Beacons offer everything from fishing to history and mountain climbing. Crickhowell itself too, is a lovely village with delis, shops, cafés and restaurants. It’s also home to the Green Man Festival. For a place with a population of around 3,000, it has a lot to offer!

Rooms at The Bear Hotel start at £90 for a single room. Ours, a unique feature room is priced at £190. You’ll find the hotel here: The Bear Hotel, Crickhowell, Powys, NP8 1BW

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This is part three of a four part series exploring the food and drink of Wales. Keep your eyes peeled for part four focusing on pure indulgence coming soon!

Missed the first few? Read them here:

Welsh food & drink producers

Welsh pub dining 

I was invited by Food and Drink wales to spend three days in Monmouthshire and the Brecon Beacons. This was an unpaid press trip but I was asked to blog about our experiences.