Builth Wells, Wales - Day 2

Saturday, June 14

Another sunny day so we headed off to visit the market town of Brecon, about 30 minutes drive away through the most beautiful countryside. First up was the Brecon Cathedral, one of only two cathedrals in this county and also the only walled Cathedral Close in Wales. It was a very impressive cathedral and has been a site of Christian worship for over 1,000 years. The Harvard Chapel has been set up as the Regimental Chapel of the South Wales Borderers, which was formed in 1689 as an infantry unit. Probably it's most famous battle was Rorke's Drift during the Zulu war in 1879 when soldiers from the 24th Regiment won 7 VC's, and another 2 of its soldiers were awarded posthumous VC's for defending the Queen's Colours (flag) in an earlier battle with the Zulus. It was quite moving reading about the bravery of these men, and the movie Zulu made in 1979 was based on these battles.

Brecon Cathedral

Queen's and Regimental Colours in the Harvard Chapel

While exploring the town we came across the Market Hall which was hosting a Farmer's Market, complete with Town Crier to attract people into the market. It worked and in we went to try some of the local produce which was delicious, especially the local cheeses.

Noelle and new friend

During our walk through town we came across a pub called the Sarah Siddons - she was born in Brecon and was a famous actress from the late 1700s to the early 1800s. Even though there is a famous portrait of her painted by Gainsborough we had to chuckle at the pub's advertising board "Sarah Siddons (once known as The Shoulder of Mutton)!

The Sarah Siddons pub

We continued our walk around Brecon and came to the start of the canal that runs along the River Usk. The Monmouthshire and Brecon Canal extends for 35 miles through the Brecon Beacons National Park but we only looked at its origin in Brecon, so we have more to explore for another day when we plan to do a walk in the National Park. Since the canal has been restored it is very popular for canal boat holidays.

The Monmouthshire and Brecon canal

We returned to Smithfield Farm B&B to enjoy sitting in the late afternoon sun and looking out over the fields where the hay that was "rowed" last night had all been baled today. The views from our room are stunning and being on a working farm adds to the rural atmosphere in this beautiful part of the world.

 

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