Walk 10 of the Valeways Walking Festival programme. Join our family friendly community walk - promises to be good fun and offers good company, as well as some healthy exercise. Along the way we’ll have some foraging tips from Rich Wright, then poetry at The Bush Inn St Hilary.
Walk Details: 10am – to approx 3.30. Options to shorten the route by returning to Cowbridge via the Roman Road, top of Primrose Hill. Free of charge.
Meet at Old Hall Gardens by the pond. See Iolo’s shop – the first Fair Trade shop of its time where he sold radical books and fair trade coffee. Out through the town behind the comprehensive school and onto the boardwalks, then pass a Site of Special Scientific Interest on the way to Aberthin, up to Stalling Down – to see the breathtaking views where he held his first Gorsedd meeting. Past The Clump – site of public hangings, down into picturesque St Hilary for refreshments - including a fry up of crispy fried nettles – at the Bush Inn. Return via pretty Llanblethian, ending at The Bear – Iolo’s drinking hole - which was the meeting place for Stonemasons, which Iolo was by trade, and also the Freemasons, and share some of the satirical poetry he wrote about his drinking companions!
Rich has been foraging for 12 years now, leading numerous walks and preparing a vast array of recipes and wines to help revive our use of the rich, but little used abundance around us.
‘During the walk I hope to share with you some of the simple foods available in our hedgerows, to offer some tasters, showing off their culinary value, and to touch on some of the folklore surrounding these plants that used to be such a strong part of our lives.’
Rich Wright has been co-managing and designing Coed Hills Forest Garden since it’s creation in 2009, providing education and exploring the possibilities of native wild foods, herbal medicines and low impact techniques as resources for a more resilient future.
Find out more about the colourful life of our local poet on this collaborative walk put together by Creative Rural Communities, Transition Cowbridge and HubCowbridge.
Sorry no dogs 
If you are interested in volunteering or finding out more about the Coed Forest Garden project or future courses please contact us at coedforestgarden@gmail.com or visit our website http://coedforestgarden.co.uk/”