The inaugural Cambrian Mountains Food, Drink and Craft Fair has been hailed a great success as visitors from across the UK discovered more than just the Elan Valley reservoirs last weekend.
Located beneath the towering Caban Coch dam wall and safely tucked away in the Elan Valley Visitor Centre, 12 members of the Cambrian Mountains Local Produce Network set up a mouth-watering selection of their locally made and inspired produce.
With nearly 250 visitors through the door, and with a real buzz around the occasion, encouragingly many are now asking when the next event will be.
Nearly all the producers had created brand new Cambrian Mountains-branded produce to celebrate the fact that, owing to its super-low light pollution, the Cambrian Mountains has some of darkest night skies in Europe.
Children who attended were treated to cosmically inspired chocolate creations, whilst the tea, coffee and Dark Skies rum proved a real hit with the adults too. The jams and honeys were popular as were the handmade craft and beauty products.
With the visitor centre being in the designated Elan Valley International Dark Park, there couldn’t have been a better place to hold this inaugural event.
“We were over the moon to be able to work with Dŵr Cymru/ Welsh Water on this first ever Cambrian Mountains local produce event and we hope it can be the first of many,” said Dafydd Wyn Morgan, of the Cambrian Mountains Initiative.
Jen Newman, from Dŵr Cymru/Welsh Water, said: “We are very proud of the Elan Valley’s Dark Skies status and teaming up with the Cambrian Mountains Initiative to host a food, drink and craft fair has been a great opportunity.
Honey producer Tracy Williams from Harper & Bee, who enjoyed busy trade, said: “It was lovely to meet everybody. I made some wonderful new friends and it was good to see people out and about again. A big success I would say. Look forward to the future events.”
The Cambrian Mountains Initiative’s work is an RDP-funded project named Dyfodol Cambrian Futures and is part-funded by the European Agricultural Fund for Rural Development and Ceredigion, Powys and Carmarthenshire County Councils.
The project also receives support from the Cefn Croes Windfarm Community Trust, Brechfa Forest West Wind Farm Community Fund, Aberystwyth University and the Elan Valley Trust.
