Machynlleth and Hereford

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The ferry ride from Dublin to Holyhead, Wales was quite nice. The sun had just risen, and it was a calm and clear day. Wales is beautiful in a subtly different way than other parts of the UK I’ve seen - still very green, but more forested, and fall colors have definitely set in. It feels a little magical too with the presence of castles everywhere.

In the evening, I arrive in the town of Machynlleth, a few hours train ride to the south of Holyhead. Machynlleth is great! It looks like a storybook scene - small picturesque town in a river valley surrounded by verdant, rolling farmland and lush forests. The main street is lined with old stone houses and bustling shops, and there’s even a clock tower at one end! The main reason I went there was to check out the Centre for Alternative Technology (CAT), Europe’s leading “eco-centre” promoting, developing, and teaching alternative technologies, which is located a few miles from town. As it turned out, the area is also a mountain biking mecca, and the hostel I had booked is a bunkhouse built by mountain bikers for mountain bikers - complete with bike storage, a bike wash, and a drying room inside for muddy, wet clothes - very cool.

As I expected, the CAT is very cool. You reach the cliff-top centre via a water-powered tram. The grounds include an info centre (Britain’s ‘greenest’), a fabulous vegetarian restaurant, and seven acres of interactive exhibits on everything from green building to renewable energy to organic gardening. It poured rain all day, but they handed out umbrellas thankfully because most of the displays are outdoors. I spent the whole day wandering around, perusing the bookstore, and asking questions at the info centre about some of the courses and volunteer opportunities they have. It was a great day.

Fortunately, it stopped raining overnight, and I hired a mountain bike from the local shop the next morning. I’d seen a local trail map, but the guy at the shop pointed me in the direction of the “best” local ride, a nine-mile loop of fire roads and predominantly purpose-built single track. I didn’t take my camera because I didn’t want to ruin it in all the mud and bumps, but I was able to find a few good photos on-line. It was as fun and challenging as just about any trail I’ve ridden with racing fast sections, technical rocky sections, and nail-biting steep sections. Locals call the town Mach (pronounced ‘Mack’) for short, and the name of this trail is appropriately, “Cli-machx.” It was very satisfying 😊

The next day I boarded a train to Hereford, England, near the Welsh border, where I had arranged my next farm stay. This farm was on a smaller plot of land (~3/4 acre) and produces various fruits, vegetables, and herbs. The owner, Elaine Brook, runs courses on ecological living at the farm and so has various rooms and outbuildings spread around the property for lodging up to 35 people. One of the buildings is an "eco-cotage" built with straw-bale insulation, solar panels, and all environmentally friendly materials. I had originally come to the farm hoping to do some straw-bale work, but it turned out the project she had was more substantial than I had time for. But the work I ended up doing was still pretty fun - lots of tree work - pruning, trimming, apple-picking, bon-fire burning (it felt very much like fall!) - and again it was cool seeing all the alternative technologies in use.

I had many interesting conversations with Elaine about sustainability - things we can all do better, why our current economy just isn't set up to support the growth of organic farms, and the importance of loving and really feeling connected to the way you live. One of the myths she tries to dispell in her courses is that eco-living is 'uncomfortable' and that you have to be grungy, wear sandals, grow dreadlocks, etc. etc. to live sustainably, an innacurate idea that our culture has created. It can be quite comfortable depending on how much alternative technology you want to employ (showering with solar powered hot water is somehow more invigorating!), and it is so nice to try to return to a way of living that is much more in touch with the reality of the world around us.

The farm is located up one side of a beautiful valley surrounded by other farmland. Elaine asked for six hours of work a day (typical for WWOOF) which was fine because I enjoyed it and there actually wasn't a lot to do outside the farm, other than enjoy the views and countryside. It was clear she needed help on a lot of projects too. Once again, a week was a nice amount of time to feel relaxed and settled, but still learn some new skills and concepts, get to know Elaine a bit, and fill up on some more fabulous, organic, home-cooked meals.

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Photos

One of the Outbuildings
I slept here a few of the nights.