The Wet Weather Plan

Now I am sure you know how green Wales normally is? Well it means we do have quite a few wet days. Fear not there are actually some good activities to choose from without getting wet. Mind you could just stay inside and relax but just in case here are a few suggestions.

Brecknock Museum & Art Gallery

Brecknock Museum was started in 1928 in a building leased and then bought by the Brecknock Society. It continued to be run by the Society until 1951 when management was transferred to the then Breconshire County Council. With the creation of the county of Powys in 1974, the Museum was relocated in the former Shire Hall (Grade 2* listed) in the heart of Brecon.

The building was incorporated into the new larger Y Gaer which now also houses the library.

I like to describe this museum as not containing lots of little things with labels. There are big displays easily seen in an hour or two. In addition it includes the old sunken court room that lay hidden under a false floor for years. You can sit in the Judge’s chair or the dock and even visit the cells underneath.

A free attraction right in the centre of Brecon

The Royal Welsh Museum

There is a big military tradition in Brecon which continues to this day. Soldiers of the Royal Welsh took part in the 1879 Anglo-Zulu War. Did you see the film Zulu that recorded this battle? There is a model of the Mission Station inside together with many of the medals awarded to those soldiers.

The Regimental Museum houses a fine collection of military artefacts telling the story of the local regiment which has participated in many of the great military events in our history. The museum building dates from 1805 and was originally used as an armoury for the Brecon militia.

Brecon Cathedral

Brecon Cathedral is a magnificent building. It has many interesting item like the Cresset Stone. A ‘cresset stone’ was a flat stone with cup-shaped hollows, each being used to hold a quantity of tallow and a wick, which were burned to produce light. Although there are some thirteen cresset stones remaining in various parts of England, the Brecon cresset stone is the only one so far known in Wales, and is the finest yet discovered.

Brecon Cathedral started life in 1093 as the Benedictine Priory of St John the Evangelist, built by the Normans on the site of an earlier Celtic church. At the dissolution of the monasteries in 1537 it became Brecon’s Parish Church. It became a Cathedral only in 1923, on the establishment of the Diocese of Swansea and Brecon.

Penderyn Distillery

Penderyn Distillery is the only Whisky distillery in Wales. They also make Merlyn that is like Baileys and Vodka. The tour is a great way to spend a damp afternoon. Afterwards you could visit the shop for some souvenirs to take home.

Aberyscir Coach House – Brecon Beacons Guide