Cwmbiga Farm Penfforddlas
Powys
High
quality,
eco friendly, accommodation on a farm set in its own
beautiful valley in Mid-Wales.
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Cwmbiga |
Sustainable Tourism - Powys
After the success of Peter's "Renewable Energy: a Gentle Introducton" presentations in 2011, he has been awarded a contract by Powys County Council to lead a series of events for businesses in Powys. More details here. Peter has also been chosen to present two, day long, courses on renewable energy technologies for the Brecon Beacons National Park Authority in March.
Twitcher Heaven
A "great grey shrike" was photographed by Mark Wilson adjacent to Cwmbiga last week [January 2012]. A rare visitor to the UK (perhaps 30 birds in total) we have now seen it for ourselves, hunting on our lower fields. Very exciting. Mark's photo can be seen on the Montgomery Bird Blog.
Susan and I also saw a black grouse in nearby Staylittle last week and a snipe on our land just after New Year. And tv presenter and wildlife artist Dee Doody saw a goshawk near the farmhouse a few days ago,in January 2012.
Sustainable Tourism Workshop
We were pleased to host a sustainable tourism workshop organised by the Tourism Partnership Mid Wales and Medrwn in early November. Just the type of event we like to hold here at Cwmbiga. Peter welcomed guests with tea and home made cake, including Susan's yummy bara brith.
Our Green Advice is Published
The Welsh Government has published some generic advice written by Peter on renewable energy technologies: "the 5 R's".
The Wales Climate Centre also published a guide to the 'renewable heat initiative' written by Peter.
Montgomeryshire Wildlife Trust
As part of the area covered by the MWT's Pumlumon Project, Cwmbiga features in the trust's latest newsletter. You can also find out more about the project in a beautifully illustrated article in the Natural World magazine.
The trust are in the process of advising us how we can further promote bio diversity on our land.
Green Tourism
Business Scheme - Gold Star!Cwmbiga was awarded a Gold Star at a presentation held at the Royal Thames Yacht Club in Knightsbridge on June 9.
Gold Stars were awarded to Great Britain's top 10 green tourism businesses. Cwmbiga was the the only business in Wales to win a Gold Star.
The ten winners were chosen by a panel of experts from the 1,500 green tourism companies assessed for their innovation, cost savings and green ambassadorship during 2010. The awards, dubbed the "Green Oscars" were the culimination of the inaugural Green Tourism Week.
The picture shows us receiving the award from the environmental campaigner, Tony Juniper.
Renewable Energy: a Gentle Introduction
On 18 May Peter delivered this course, for which he wrote the material, to 40 business people at an event arrranged by the Brecon Beacons National Park Authority. The feedback indicated that the content and presentation went down very well: "the course on renewable energy was one of the best run for local businesses", "Peter did a wonderful job with his presentation" and "really informative and inspiring. What more can I say?"
WeddingOn 7th May, we got married in the lovely town hall in Llanidloes!
After a reception at Cwmbiga, a ceilidh at the local village hall and a breakfast for 40 friends the following morning, we set off for a few days at a Landmark Trust property in Scotland: Cull na Shee on the Saddell Estate, Kintyre.
As you can see, the cottage is in a beautiful
spot and right on the coast.Rather than have gifts at the wedding, we invited guests to make donations to Practical Action and the Prince's Trust. As a result, in addition to having a wonderful time at the wedding and afterwards, we raised well over £1,000 for our favourite charities.
Bed and Breakfast
We are now able to offer guests B&B accommodation in the farmhouse.
Green Tourism Business Scheme - Gold Award
After a comprehensive audit of all aspects of the business, the Green Tourism Business Scheme has given us its Gold Award in recognition of our attempts to reduce the impact of the business on the environment. The GTBS is the only national sustainable tourism certification scheme for the UK and we will join a select group of only 12 Gold Award winners in Wales.
The award featured in the local press and in an article written by our electricity suppliers, Good Energy.
Cambrian Mountains Initiative
Prince Charles is the patron and founder of the Cambrian Mountains Initiative.
As leaders in the field of sustainable tourism, we have been appointed Tourism Ambassadors for the Initiative and have already met the Prince twice in our new role. We attended a reception hosted by Prince Charles at his home in Wales. We subsequently had a private meeting with him and the other Ambassadors to discuss how best to do our bit to promote the beauty of the Cambrian Mountains and to stimulate the local economy by using the food and crafts produced within the area.
Dick Strawbridge
Dick Strawbridge and his son James ["Its Not Easy Being Green" and other tv shows] were very interested in what we are doing at Cwmbiga. We met them at the Greener Homes Show in Builth Wells and had a lengthy chat.
Sarn Sabrina
We provided Susan's bara brith, tea and coffee to the 100 or so walkers who undertook the Sarn Sabrina walk on 29 May. Cwmbiga is at the midpoint of the 25 mile circuit. Sarn Sabrina continues to grow in popularity very year. An article on last year's walk can be found here.
Winter 2009-10
This was the farmhouse and the cottages (and Afon Biga) in January 2010. Beautiful but cold.
The guests who
stayed with us over the New Year had a lovely time
sledging down one of our fields. Fortunately, as the cottages are super-insulated and centrally heated, they were as warm as toast when the returned from the day's activities.
New Years Eve
Susan cooked a
delicious three course meal for all 16 guests on New
Year's Eve. It was served in the oak framed
conservatory. Over 2010, we hope to entertain a lot
more guests in this lovely new addition to the farmhouse.
. Other News
A walk near to Cwmbiga that ends with a "100 mile view" featured in "The Times"
Your Horse Adventures now use Cwmbiga as an overnight stop on their Ride Across Wales. We recently accommodated a group of 7 riders and horses led by Karen and Medina from Brandy House Farm.
We were awarded both the "Cyclists Welcome" and "Walkers Welcome" designators by Visit Wales in 2008. For more information about what this means, please visit our Cyclists / Walkers page.
We were very pleased to host a meeting run by Tourism Partnership Mid Wales and a two day meeting run by Coed Lleol and the Small Woods Association: for which we provided the presenters and delegates with meeting and breakout rooms, lovely food and overnight accommodation. Earlier in the year, we also hosted a training day run by Wood Fuel Powys on behalf of Powys County Council - "An Introduction to Modern Wood Fuel Technologies". The Welsh Assembly Government also ran a conference for 30 delegates at Cwmbiga in February. For both events we provided lunch, serving traditional Welsh dishes and locally sourced ingredients.
Two triathletes have also discovered Cwmbiga is a great
place to use as a base for sporting activities: "We loved
our stay at Cwmbiga. It provided the perfect setting
for cycling, running and relaxing! We can't wait to
return." Robin and Megan, Birmingham Running and
Triathlon Club.Four riders from Italy, France & Sweden competing in the World Enduro Championships in the Hafren Forest, together with their Italian mechanics, also used Cwmbiga as a base last July. Their sponsor wrote to us after the event to say, "Very nice place and excellent facilities, well received. We would for sure book again."