Are there any "foodie" towns in Wales?

[bran]

My parents are thinking of selling their boat as my df isn't enjoying it as much as he used to and I'm encouraging them to think about buying a holiday house instead. The tentative plan is that we would buy somewhere between us that had 2 or 3 separate properties or a large house that could be divided up so we could all have a bit of privacy.

Originally I was thinking about the West of Ireland (they live in Dublin), but it would be quite a long drive for them and a long journey for us (we are in London) and we would like to be able to go quite often so ds can see more of his grandparents. Then I thought that Wales might be quite good as my dps would find it easy to get to the ferry that goes to Holyhead, but I don't know Wales at all so I'm not sure.

Which brings me to my title question - I would like to be near somewhere quite foodie with restaurants and butchers/grocers/delis, and also near the coast/on a lake, a bit like Kinsale in Southern Ireland. The ideal would be a peaceful property with sea frontage and about 10 acres within 30 mins drive of a foodie town and within 1 hour of Holyhead. Any suggestions from Welsh MNetters?

Have I offended by asking if there are any foodie towns in Wales? Obviously my title should have read "Which are the 'foodie' towns in Wales".

Well there are foodie places everywhere..if you know where to find them!
I live outside Caernarfon and this week alone have been to have dinner in a Michelin starred restaurant,bought huge juicy crabs direct from source at £3 each,and feasted on best local fish and meet.

There are plenty as I say,it's not however all trendy bleached driftwood restaurants offering olive oil form Tasmania and frequented by irritating people with 4WD and loud voices (unless you include Abersoch)

Have had a friend over this evening who lives in Galway.She pops back and forth a lot.

Swansea

Patricks, Gallinis and Barrows in the Mumbles
Fairyhill hotel in the Gower 5 star

Hansons AA seafood restaurant of the year 2004

Morgans hotel Welsh hotel of the year

I'm not particularly interested in irritating people in 4WD , I just don't want to be too far from a few decent places if we don't fancy cooking. Wales appeals to me much more than England because of my impressions that the population density is much lower and therefore places can be extreemly beautiful without becoming over-popular and a bit twee. I fancy recreating the holiday place that my grandfather and his brother had in Kerry when I was a child. We used to spend the day walking and messing about in boats. We'd eat fish that we had caught or mussels that we'd picked or buy crabs from the fishermen. There was a good butcher in the village, we'd stop off in the pub for a couple of drinks before going home to cook the roast, and once or twice a fortnight we'd eat out.

I did a quick search on Prime Location and got \link{http://www.primelocation.com/uk-property-for-sale/search/\these}. I like the look of the one in Clynnog Fawr, but it doesn't mention how much land there is so I imagine it's an acre at most. I really like the one in Gorad Beach, it has the space and the beach frontage, but I'm not sure what it would be like so close to the ferry terminal and an air base.

I'll have a scout around the areas that Welsh Boris has mentioned.

Bum - I'll do links to the individual properties.

\link{http://www.primelocation.com/uk-property-for-sale/details/id/jacr167452/\Looks} nice but no information.

\link{http://www.primelocation.com/uk-property-for-sale/details/id/spcs999000141/\Exactly} the kind of property and land I was thinking of but close to airbase and ferry terminal.

\link{http://www.primelocation.com/uk-property-for-sale/details/id/SAWM116764/\This} is a bit too expensive, and I don't think it actually has sea frontage, just views. The layout of the house is a bit odd too.

If the link brings you to a registration page, click the "register later" button and it should bring you on to the right page.

oh no its no near Holyhead just re read your post

sorry

Why don't you try Anglesey itself? Plenty of beautiful spots, miles of coastline. Not sure about foodie stuff though.
Or the Llyn peninsula?
No offence, Welsh lot, but I have never found much in the way of good restaurants. My family are from Snowdonia and Pete's Eats is the best known eaterie - have what you want but get chips with everything.
I could be totally wrong of course!

come down south rowlers

Never been WB.
No friends or family to descend upon.
Need to though, need to spread the wings a little.
Sorry, should have typed LLeyn, BTW.

Well Bran,that is the kind of life we have here in Wales and very nice it is too.

I'm afraid however that I am strongly against second home owners here in Wales and thus would not encourage anyone to come for many reasons,some of which are outlined in the mission statement of this pressure group that I am a member of.

\link{http://cymuned.net/blogsaesneg/?page-id=24\Cymuned}

Rowlers,if Pete's Eats is the best you can come up with,you haven't been looking very hard.

The Grapes Maentwrog?
Hotel Portmeirion?
Castell Deudraeth?
Plas Bodegroes
Bodysgallen?
Meifod?
The Ship Inn Redwharf Bay?
Tre Ysgawen Hall?

Ahh, that was going to be another question Moondog, about how welcome 2nd home owners are. I'll have a read of your link.

Having talked to a lot of my friends and family, there is a wide spread of opinion on the issue.
I know some who, like moondog, are firmly against, and others who don't see it as a major issue.

Never been to any of those moondog btw and no, haven't tried hard!

Could do with a bit more info on locations ....?
Will google if you can't be arsed.

I'm off to bed now, so I'll read your link more thoroughly later MD. At a glance it seems to be about language issues rather than second home owners per se. Am I trivialising a bit or would they welcome Welsh speaking 2nd home owners but not non-Welsh speaking permanant residents?

I've had some fab food at the Lake Vyrnwy hotel \link{http://www.lakevyrnwy.com/\in Snowdonia}

and I quote.....
The restaurant here at Lake Vyrnwy has held 2 AA rosettes for its cooking for several years. It appears in many guides and has been acknowledged in the AA 2002/3 Restaurant guide for "Best use of local produce", and is headed by David Thompson. Our dress code for the Tower Restaurant is that of smart casual dress, no jeans & trainers.

David has gathered around him a vibrant talented, if young brigade. The main emphasis is to cook creative yet fulsome food, using the, fresh, local produce for which Wales and its Borderlands are renowned.

The hotel has a small in hand farm and produces much of the lamb that is used on the menu. It also has the sporting rights to the estate and in season, much of the game shot finds it's way to the restaurant. Menu's change with the seasons.

Dinner Menu

Organic Pantysgawn goat's cheese and woodland mushroom clafoutis
Conwy mustard ice cream and a rocket and walnut pesto

Confit of wild rabbit and homemade piccalilli
and a frisee salad

Chilled pan seared foie gras and Armagnac jelly
macerated prunes, sauternes poached grapes and toasted pistachio brioche

Cornish crab and pink grapefruit tian
layered with confit vine tomatoes, avocado puree and a sevruga caviar cream

~ * ~

Vyrnwy estate loin of lamb roasted with cumin and orange
Moroccan spiced cous cous, cucumber tzatziki, vine cherry tomatoes and a cardamom jus

Pan seared fillet of wild halibut
cauliflower puree, salsify fritters, bok choi and a tomato and ginger butter sauce

Grilled fillet of seabass
crushed new potatoes, fine beans, quail eggs and a kalamata olive dressing

Honey and star anise glazed Gressingham duck breast
kaffir lime scented jasmine rice, wok fried vegetables and a sweet chilli jam

Isn't it a pity that the recent Great British menu competition didn't showcase Welsh chefs who work in Wales with Welsh produce..but then Gordon Ramsay's TV company made the programme I suppose..

We go to Aberdovey a lot and the coast around there si great for quiet and foody types. Ynishir Hall in Machynellyth has a Michelin star and is fabulous, Mach also has a v good deli. Aberdovey has the Penhelig Arms which does amazing food in both restaurant and pub, plus one of the best wine lists around. I have no idea about property there - I know Aberdovey itself is ££ but perhaps Twywn futher up the coast or towards Barmouth might have the kind of thing you're after.

But Bran, the Cymuned site does talk about 2nd homers, or people moving to Wales for the twee theme-park element. Non Welsh speakers moving into (increasingly rare) Welsh speaking communities are 'diluting' the language, IYSWIM. Also it talks about it being important for Welsh speaking folk to be able to afford to buy a home in their own community, but the prices are being artifically pushed up by 'outside influences' , ie people with 'spare' income buying up little cottages and hiking up prices.

It is an issue that affects many rural communities,but in our case,there is the added aspect of language.
Everyone is welcome Bran,if they integrate (which means learning the language and contributing to community life),something which is night impossible if only an occasional visitor.

Many of Cymuned's members are people who have learnt Welsh as an adult,including thr Chief. Exec. who is a friend of mine.

I am I suppose,lucky enough to be a pretty well off person and ironically enough,the question of us buying a holiday home in France (where my sister lives with her French/Welsh family)has been raised(and I do speak French).

My conscience won't allow it however.

It's a toughie,people are so much more mobile than they used to be. That is not going to change.However I believe it is only fair to level a certain amount of responsibility to one's domicile (however temporary).
For me,spending 40 % 0f each year in Turkey (where dh works) that means learning basic Turkish and acquainting myself with the history,culture and food of the region..

Wilbur yes,Ynyshir Hall is utterly fabulous.
Spent my wedding night there.

I like the area around Crickhowell, Abergavenny (sp?). Lots of lovely and reasonably priced restaurants. Near Brecon Beacons

Hmm, lots to think about then. There's a short answer and a long answer. The short answer is that every community has the right to decide for themselves how they would like their community to be and to express their wishes. So if any town/village doesn't welcome outsiders/part-time residents then it's not the place for us. So back to looking in Ireland then.

The long answer will follow later, with in-depth analysis of different types of rural communities, different types of second-home owners and the use of hard-core economic terminology (I did a degree and I never get to use it).

Look forward to long answer Bran.
It's a toughie isn't it?

OK, here's my long answer about why second homes are not necessarily a bad thing. The background to my thinking is my experience of my family's holiday property (owned by the family for at least 40-50 years) where we got involved with the local community, and my general experience of friends who lived/grew up in rural parts of Ireland. Some of my argument may not still hold as property prices in Ireland are now through the roof, and the UK market is also skewed by the (frankly bizzare) British love of living in cramped, uncomfortable or unsuitable properties who's main attraction is that they are old.

I think that rural communities can be roughly divided into 4 types

1. Attractive/touristy where the main industry is tourism
2. Attractive/touristy where there are enough other sources of income/industry besides tourism that it wouldn't matter if the tourist left
3. Unattractive with no tourism or industry
4. Unattractive with sources of income/industry

Only types 1 and 2 typically attract second-home owners, but I would maintain that type 1 would be quite unwise to campaign against second-home owners. If the main source of income is from tourism then the risk of tourists liking it so much that they want to buy a home there is should be accepted, any campaign against outsiders (whether organised or just a general attitude) is bound to have a negative effect on tourism generally. There are also positives, second-home owners may become permanant residents, they may encourage other tourists to visit, they may promote the best interests of the community in a way that would be difficult for locals (eg if they are rich/influential). They may also tend to buy properties that are not appealing to local residents, eg partially derelict cottages/barns/small industrial buildings and spend a lot of money on renovation using local labour/suppliers.

Obviously type 2 communities should campaign against second-home ownership as they don't need the tourist income and would prefer cheap housing. However, where property is very cheap I have found that people would rather build new houses than renovate old ones as the cost of renovation can be greater than the resale value after renovation. In that case only people with spare cash would renovate as it would be an emotional rather than a financially astute decision.

My parting shot on this is to ask why there is more concern that young people should be able to buy property near their family in rural areas than in the city. (Genuine question as I live in London Docklands which has families who have lived there for generations and who's children can't afford to buy there but they generally aren't complaining about it just accepting it as the price of progress.)

Abergavenny and around is pretty foodiec

Moondog surely you have a second home in Turkey.....