Penderyn Distillery Story

It was a long time since whisky was distilled in Wales when a small group of friends met in a local pub and decided to do just that! This was was the biginning of Penderyn Distillery and it’s single malt from the local supply of fresh spring water.

They owned a unique copper single-pot still designed by Dr David Faraday a relative of the famous 19th century inventor Michael Faraday.

The production grew and there are now three stills employed producing the whisky that is exported all over the world.

Finally on St David’s Day 2004 the first Penderyn whisky was launched in the presence of Prince Charles.

The Whisky

The majority of the malted barley sirit is stored in casks and aged in the cellars. The remainder is used to produce associated products. There is also Merlyn Cream Liqueur, Gin and Vodka.

Penderyn Distillery Tour

You are able to go on a very enjoyable tour of the facility ending in the tasting room. The guides are both knowledgeable and humorous. Even for the non drinker it is a vacinating tour.

The shop has much to choose from and the ideal place to take something home to remind you of your time in the Brecon Beacons.

 This tour could be combined with a walk to the waterfalls or maybe lunch in The Red Lion.

Aberyscir Coach House – Brecon Beacons Guide

Dolaucothi Gold Mine

The Dolaucothi Gold Mine are famous for the rose coloured Welsh gold used in royal wedding rings. There is evidence of Bronze age mining followed by Romans, Victorians and Edwardians. 10 tons of shale and 1 ton of quartz produces 1 ounce of gold. Not commercially viable even if it’s value is three times that of other gold.

You can visit this National Trust site in Pumsaint Carmarthenshire. You can go on three different tours, depending on the season, both above and below ground. They last approximately one hour. Our guide Sam was entertaining and informative, a really interesting visit.

The mine yard sits in a wooded undulated area mainly shaped by the excavations. These were both open cat by the Romans and underground tunnels mainly by the Victorians.

Roman beginnings

The Romans began the first extensive mining of Dolaucothi between 70AD and 80 AD. They created large open-cast workings and digging several adits (tunnels) to extract the gold.

Most of this was achieved using nothing more than picks and hammers in what must have been very hard labour. Some of the original pick-marks, which are almost 2,000 years old, can still be seen during the Roman Tour.

There was an aquaduct system to bring the water from the rivers to scour away the top soil and wash the crushed rock.

Why they came or indeed heard of the gold mine remains a mystery except that the precious metal was one of the reasons for their invasion.

The Victorian and Edwardian Era

The most active period of mining at Dolaucothi in the Victorian/Edwardian Age occurred around the turn of the 20th century, at the same time as the opening of the first South African gold mines and the famous Klondike Gold Rush.

 

The main problem remained the small proportion of gold making the operation very expensive. The most sussessful was a Cornish mining engineer, James Mitchell, who had experienced the South African gold rush first hand. He made a profit in his first year and was convinced to keep going until 1909 when dwindling returns again made the mine unviable.

The final attempt to find a new vein resulted in Mitchell striking the remains of the Roman workings and flooding the rest of the mine. This brought to an end the commercial mining. It did however open up the end of the Roman mine and this is the way you exit your tour. You exit on the same hand carved steps that were built 2000 years ago.

Aberyscir Coach House – Brecon Beacons Guide