Where to stay and Where to eat - A guide to organic farms, authentic food and quality accommodation in Mid and South West Wales
This Guide brings together organic producers who offer
a wide range of on-farm accommodation, farmers and growers who sell from the farm gate and farmers' markets, and organic farms where visitors are welcome to watch food processing or enjoy a walk along a farm trail. All the farms in the guide are licensed organic and the accommodation is registered with the tourist boards. The hotels, restaurants and cafes pride themselves on their use of local, fresh, authentic and often organic produce.The counties which make up the Mid and South West Wales area covered by this Guide offer a rich and varied landscape, where many producers have adopted organic farming or specialist production.
Ceredigion's coastline offers many beautiful bays, natural harbours and fishing for lobster, crab and other seafood. The mid-Wales county of Powys brings together three ancient counties of Montgomeryshire, Radnorshire and Brecknock offering thousands of acres of summer upland grazing. Travelling this area in 1862, George Borrow remarked on his first leg of Welsh mutton "rich yet delicate, replete with juices derived from the aromatic herbs of the noble Berwyns". The uplands and mountains of the Snowdonia National Park are challenging for farmers, but sheep and Welsh Black cattle thrive in the summer months.
Visitors to the south western tip of Wales will find many opportunities to enjoy good food during their stay - Pembrokeshire and Carmarthenshire and Gower are a natural larder when it comes to the variety, quality and taste of their produce. With its mild climate and fertile soil the county yields a wide range of produce from fresh vegetables and soft fruit to top quality beef and lamb and award winning dairy products, and many of the organic farmers in the area sell produce direct to the public, either via farmers' markets or from the farm gate. The Pembrokeshire Coast National Park takes in the entire coastal strip and fresh locally caught seafood features on many menus of all the best restaurants.
The tourist season provides real opportunities for those producers who have seasonal and specialist produce to offer. Visitors have access to a wide range of organic and speciality meats, cheeses, vegetables and other produce. The local councils makes it easy for visitors to source local food, with an emphasis on local farmers markets, food fairs and events such as the Pembrokeshire Fish week held in June, and a local produce mark can help identify establishments that serve or sell local produce, or products made within the county. Not only does locally produced food and drink play a key role in the economic development of the area, but it helps to establish the connection between the farmer and the visitor.Many of the entries in this Guide have been winners in the True Taste Awards, supported by the Welsh Assembly Government who acknowledge the important role that food has to play in the Welsh economy.
All the organic producers are licensed with one of the organic certification bodies. However, Organic Centre Wales cannot be held responsible for any claims made as to the quality of the produce or services offered. Correct at time of publication, it is not an exhaustive list of outlets.
