insideKENT Magazine Issue 24 - March 2014 | Page 119

When you think of Wales you imagine beautiful countryside, the valleys, a big passion for rugby
and more recently a surge in top restaurants and chefs coming out of the land of the red dragon.
So we packed our case, filled the spacious boot of the powerful Lexus RX 450h (see our review
on page 136) and drove in luxury across the county and over the Severn River Crossing to start
our four-day Welsh adventure.

After a lovely couple of days staying in Mid Wales,
we headed west on a windy hour and a half drive
through mountainous terrain, along rivers and
quaint villages towards the west coast area of
Borth to stay at the luxurious Ynyshir Hall.
We turned off the main road which is also
signposted for the RSPB Ynys-hir Nature
Reserve, home of BBC’s Springwatch. Parts of
the Ynyshir Hall date back to the 15th century
but the first recorded owner was David Lloyd,
who lived here in the 17th century. His son, John
Lloyd, had the nearby Eglwysfach church built.
Ynyshir Hall was later acquired and refurbished
by Queen Victoria. She loved the abundance of
birds on the estate and was responsible for
planting many of the trees in the gardens.
Work on the gardens continued in 1928, when
Ynyshir Hall was sold to William Hubert Mappin
of jewellers, Mappin and Webb. On his death in
1966, 1,000 acres of the estate were sold to the
RSPB, to establish the bird reserve.
A warm welcome was on hand by the
management team of Andrew and Beth who
have recently relocated from the hustle and bustle
of London to work with owners Rob and Joan
Reen. Rob is a well-known artist and his original
artwork is featured throughout the hotel, and the
rooms are named after famous artists, adding
to the uniqueness of the hotel.

Our room had wonderful views of the gardens
and mountains beyond from the French doors
situated in the living area of the studio. We
decided to go wander around the grounds and
towards the RSPB Nature Reserve for some
more fresh Welsh air and beautiful views of the
area.
As the evening set in we headed back to the
main house for a glass of Champagne in the bar
area and a look over the 7-course taster menu
which was constructed by head chef Gareth
Ward who joined from the two Michelin starred
restaurant Sat Bains in Nottingham. The main
emphasis of Gareth’s cooking is about taste and
exciting flavours using only the best of Welsh
produce.
Ynyshir Hall is blessed with an abundance of
wonderful fresh local ingredients. Seafood comes
from Cardigan Bay, with lobsters, crabs and
shrimp landed nearby at Aberystwyth and Borth.

deconstructed and the cream element nitrogen
frozen. I’m sure it won’t be long before Gareth
and his team bring their own Michelin star to
Ynyshir Hall.
The next day after we checked out we went on
a scenic drive along the coast to Broth and
Aberystwyth, stopping at various points – one
of them being Y’Talbot in Tregaron, an old pub
dating back to at least the 17th century where
we ordered fish cakes with lime, coriander and
chilli mayonnaise for starters and the chef’s Pie
of the Day which was beef, served with handcut chips and veg. After warming up around the
open fire it was time to end our adventure and
head back home.

Ynyshir Hall
www.ynyshirhall.co.uk

@ynyshirhall

After starting with some warm bread our ‘Not
French Onion Soup’ arrived – the start of an
amazing taster menu. Each course was pair