Cewch weld y bywyd da yng Ngŵyl Tyddynwyr a’r Gerddi
A busy scene in the Floral Hall at the Smallholder and Garden Festival
That dream of an idyllic place in the country with a few chickens and pigs, a couple of beehives, perhaps some sheep and goats or even a llama or two, could become a reality for you following a visit to this year’s Royal Welsh Smallholder and Garden Festival.
There is no place like the Festival for encouraging those with a passion for ‘The Good Life’ to take the crucial step. The event is geared for the smallholder – and the gardener – and everything you want to know about how to make a start on a small country living can be found there, including experts to answer all your questions. There is even a property road show where you can find just the place to buy or rent to become a smallholder.
The Festival, now one of the most popular attractions in Wales, takes place this year on the Royal Welsh showground at Llanelwedd, Builth Wells, on Saturday and Sunday, May 15 and 16. It is expected to attract over 25,000 visitors and preparations are already well under way. Several new features will appear this time among them an exciting scurry driving competition and a blacksmithing and farriery competition, part of a programme of demonstrations organised by the Welsh Farriers and Blacksmiths Association.
A new Spring Poultry Show is also being introduced at the Festival in partnership with the Poultry Club of Wales. The Director, Dr Fred Slater, predicts that this will be the best Festival since the event was introduced at Llanelwedd. “It will be entertaining and educational and a breath of country air for visitors,” he said.
The Festival’s Green Horizons (Eco) Exhibition has been the focus of keen public interest since it was introduced in 2006. Smallholders and gardeners who work with livestock and the soil have been among those at the forefront of awareness of environmental change and have taken a lead in looking at the latest means for alleviating pressures on the environment. Householders have also found the exhibition a source of useful and practical ideas for making their homes greener by cutting down on the consumption of gas, oil and electricity through the use of solar energy, better insulation and a wide range of other concepts that pay for themselves in the short to medium term.
The Eco Exhibition is being further developed this year and there will be information stands and demonstrations plus activities for children.
As well as scurry driving the main ring attractions will include dog agility displays, a falconry demonstration, a parade of vintage machinery and the ever-popular sheepdog demonstrations given by Meirion Owen and his Quack Pack. There is also a premier open dog show.
Livestock are an important feature of the Festival and sheep, pigs and goats, including Pygmy, Dairy, and Angoras will be prominent again this year and there will also be promotional stands for various breeds of cattle and sheep, llamas and alpacas.
The Festival stages a huge range of miscellaneous attractions and displays from beekeeping and rope-making to shearing and ferret racing, and many organisations relating to animals and the countryside such as the Rare Breeds Survival Trust and the Hill Pony Improvement Society of Wales, will have a presence on the showground.
The growth of Farmers Markets through which the products of the countryside are sold direct to consumers has been one of the most successful developments in agricultural marketing in recent years. Farmers Markets in Wales will be located in the Royal Welsh Food Hall with a vast range of food and drink on offer. A visit to the Food Hall must not be missed.
The Festival caters particularly well for children with special entertainments on the Village Green and, for adults, a folk dance festival featuring groups from around Britain and Eire will take place in the showground’s Montgomery Pavilion.
Trade stands form a big part of the Festival many of them catering for the needs of smallholders and gardeners and selling equipment, animal husbandry products, vegetable seeds, plants, flowers and trees. The Floral Hall with its competitive trade stands, miscellaneous information centres, woodland craft displays and Gardeners Question Time, will be located in Floral Hall 1.
Enthusiasts will find an extensive display of vintage machinery on the showground. There will be an auction of vintage memorabilia and poultry and farm equipment will also be auctioned on the Sunday of the event.
Daily admission to the Festival costs £10 for adults and £5 for children. Family one-day tickets for two adults and up to four children (5-16 years) cost £25 and weekend caravanning and camping is available at £35 per pitch.
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