Learn to let your destiny take over on a boat trip through the Brecon Beacons National Park in South Wales.
Nina Ruggiero is senior editorial director of Travel + Leisure and co-founder of Be A Travel Writer, an online course for aspiring travel journalists. She is a New Yorker living in Los Angeles with a special interest in beach destinations, outdoor adventures, unique hotels, pet-friendly travel with her golden retriever @travelswithcali and all things Italian.
“Slow down!” my partner Alex shouted from the sidewalk near the canal I was racing along. His warm Welsh accent and deliberate tone barely masked the panic in his voice.
In response, I immediately pushed the wrong lever forward, sending our 45-foot boat at full speed into the metal canopy of the drawbridge that Alex had just opened. Fortunately, the ship’s full speed was about four miles per hour. However, there was a loud crash of metal on metal, stopping a small group of bystanders. There’s nothing better than Americans driving around the UK
“Really… slowly,” Alex repeated. Next to me, Kali, my golden retriever, looked at the shore as if she was about to abandon ship.
We hired this boat from Country Craft Narrowboats in the village of Llangynyddr during our three day canal trip through the Brecon Beacons National Park in South Wales. Alex grew up about 30 miles away and often fished and vacationed in the area with his family. Our boat, Country Girl, had a king size bed with checkered bedding, a full kitchen, living and dining area, bathroom with shower, and a deck large enough for two camp chairs. You can sit on it and drink your morning. coffee while the ducks play. Rowing next to us.
Our 20 mile return journey follows the Monmouthshire and Brecon Canal from Llankindir to the town of Brecon and back. We sail through countryside, sheep pastures and the red sandstone peaks of the Brecon Beacons, from which the park takes its name. We followed the canalside pub map and anchored for the night so that after dinner we could easily return to the boat to play cards or just sleep in the comfort of our houseboat.
Our days pass in blissful solitude. We spent hours enjoying the sights and sounds of the park, sometimes stopping for a walk or picnic.
After a rainy and windy day spent outside canal locks and mudflats, there is no place that better embodies a cwtch (Welsh for “hug, hug” or small safe space) than a warm pub. We stopped often – with wet hair, dirty clothes and wet dogs – and were greeted with open arms. Shortly after stopping at the Royal Oak Hotel in the village of Penchley we received a call informing us that our boat had become detached and was floating in the middle of the canal. Alex ran out into the rain to pick her up; Sitting by the fire with a glass of Breacon gin – a Welsh spirit distilled from national park water – can help calm your nerves.
Of course we celebrated our trip to Brecon with a takeaway gin from Hop In Beer & Gin House, served with rosemary sprigs, grapefruit slices and black pepper. Later that evening we stopped at the Three Horseshoes gastropub on the top of the hill in Grosffordd and dined on leek stew, pork belly and Cornish monkfish in a wooden beach hut among the fish in the back garden.
Apart from chatting with a couple of volunteer keepers who kindly helped me operate the locks the rest of the way while Alex held the helm (we learned from our mistakes), our days were spent in blissful solitude. We spent hours enjoying the sights and sounds of the park, sometimes stopping for a walk or picnic. When it rains, as it does every day, we comically go into survival mode, grab our waterproof gear, shout directions, our voices lost in the wind, and band together to casually steer our boats to safety.
The contrast between the calm and the adrenaline gave me a deeper understanding of the tenderness with which Alex always spoke of his childhood trips to the Brecon Beacons. His deep-rooted positivity and enthusiasm for everyday life, which was so foreign to me when I first met him, suddenly made sense: unless the Welsh learned to dance in the rain, they wouldn’t have much time to dance. at all.
Country Craft Narrowboats offers six barges with all the comforts of home. Available from March to October.
You can sip a traditional ale in this 16th-century inn’s cozy bar, or enjoy the pub’s fine seafood dishes, including fish pie with saffron puree and grilled cod loin with pea and mint puree.
Just off the Taff Trail, after a walk or bike ride, you can enjoy a traditional Sunday roast or hearty steak and ale pie, lamb shank or chilli con carne, served with a selection of local Pack casks and gin for energy.
Enjoy classic home-cooked dishes including ham and eggs, fish and chips and chicken curry in this family-run pub’s seaside beer garden when the sun is shining, or by the indoor fireplace on rainy days.
Seasonal gastropub favorites like venison loin with radishes and crispy cabbage; pork belly with green apple and shallots; and Garden Beach Shack serves charred leeks with nori seaweed emulsion so diners can enjoy mountaintop views no matter the weather.
Opened in 2020, the Hop In serves craft beers from Progressive Brewery and gins from around the world, as well as snacks made with ingredients from local suppliers, including traditional lamb with Welsh cheddar; white mussels in wine, garlic and duck leg confit; Green onion and ginger croquettes.
To explore Wales in more detail, contact T+L A-List consultant Nicola Butler, who is planning a trip around the country, including hidden gems like the Pembrokeshire coast. Email: nicola@noteworthy.co.uk.
A version of this story first appeared in the December 2022/January 2023 issue of Travel + Leisure magazine under the title “Riverside Stories.”
Post time: Jun-07-2024