This Saturday July 28th friends of the river Richard King and fforest are hosting ffestival Unnos – an evening of Welsh Music and ale on the banks of the River Teifi in Cardigan, one of the most westerly towns in the British Isles on the glorious west Wales coast.
The line up draws on both the area’s rich musical heritage and its history of exceptional brewing: Euros Childs, Georgia Ruth and Richard James will be complemented by the finest of indigenous Welsh beers. The evening is hosted by BBC Wales’ Bethan Elfyn who will also be DJIng a selection of Welsh language psych 7″s.
ffestival Unnos takes place on Cardigan’s historic quayside courtyard. As well as featuring a giant tipi (practical whatever the weather throws at the weekend!), there’s a pub – ‘tafarn smwglin’ – based on the unlicensed houses that thrived in Cardigan’s heyday as a port in the 19th century. Back then, the town had over 50 licensed premises as well as a considerable number of what were locally called ‘smwglins’: secret, hidden, unlicensed and notorious places where beer was brewed and sold and trade in smuggled wines, spirits and contraband carried on. Dubious trade still persists in the town today, but now it’s more the trade of stories of the size of the fish, the glory of the try and the day it didn’t rain.
Tafarn Smwglin sits in its own courtyard on the Teifi wharfside at Cambrian Quay on the ground floor of an eighteenth century building, once sail-lofts and chandlery and who-knows-what. The tipi attracts a great mix of locals and tourists and, being in an enclosed private courtyard, is a family friendly environment.
Caught by the River has organized a pair of tickets for our readers – just answer the following question:
Q: What is the Welsh name for Cardigan? (email answers to info@coldatnight.co.uk)
If you’re headed down to the West Coast for your holidays, this is the perfect way to immerse yourself in Pembrokeshire’s beguiling and mysterious atmosphere.