Bikes, pits and zips

A cheeky tipple at the Penderyn Distillery calls. Or golf at Raglan, walks up Sugarloaf, fishing in the Usk Valley or a little home pampering with Hannah Campbell. Kids can hire bikes from Drover Cycles and tackle Wales’ highest tarmac road, go underground at the Big Pit Museum or go wild for the swings and zips at Raglan Farm Park.

Country kids

You’ve tennis and games on site but if you fancy a change of scenery both are available at Abergavenny Leisure Centre, plus fitness classes as well. Or hire bikes from Drover Cycles in Hay-on-Wye and head up into the hills over Gospel Pass on Wales’ highest tarmac road.

Climb indoors, ride horses or take the treetop challenge at Llangorse Multi-Activity Centre. Walk through the delightful village of Ewyas Harold with new llama friends. Visit Kenchester Water Gardens to see landscaped pools and tropical fish. Or go 300 feet underground to see what life was like for coalface workers at the Big Pit Museum.

Head to Usk to see the Museum of Rural Life, complete with 5000-plus artefacts, from small hand tools and household items to large agricultural machinery and vintage tractors. Or try Raglan Farm Park for seven soft-play areas, zip wires, swings, slides, roundabouts, trampolines, ‘ride-on’ tractors and go-karts.

Catch the latest flicks at Baker Street Cinema in Abergavenny or Monmouth Savoy. Younger kids will love the climbing walls and balance beams at Little Blue Elephant in Ewyas Harold. Older children will enjoy The Waterworks Museum, bringing the story of drinking water to life. And everyone will love a ride on the Broomy Hill Railway.

For the grown upsFor the grown upsFor the grown upsFor the grown ups

For the grown ups

Kick things off with a cheeky tipple at the Penderyn Distillery, the home of Welsh whisky, producing award-winning single malt whiskies and spirits in the foothills of the Brecon Beacons. Or learn how apples were milled and pressed and how the resulting juice was fermented at the Hereford Museum of Cider.

Blast some pretend pigeons at Hereford Laser Clay and refuel in the tuckshop. Walk the country estate at Raglan or tame the nine-hole golf course. Or try stiffer treks up Sugarloaf Mountain and around the Usk Valley. Fish or canoe the River Wye. Or walk with llamas at Old King Street Farm.

Sail Wales’ second-largest body of water at Llangorse lake. Take a paddleboarding challenge with Adastra Adventures. Or treat yourself to a little ladies’ home pampering with Hannah Campbell. Choose from spray tans, facials, Swedish massage, waxing, gel and varnish manicures and pedicures, makeup, and eyelash and eyebrow treatments.

Delve deep into history with trips out to Hereford Cathedral, Grossmont Castle (walkable), Raglan Castle, Croft Castle or Skenfrith Castle. Potter Hereford Old Town and Cathedral Square, wander Monmouth’s boutiques or Hay-on-Wye’s bookshops. Come in September for Abergavenny Food Festival or August for Brecon Jazz Festival.

Black Mountain Farmhouse - kate & tom's Large Holiday Homes