Totally customisable 
Local guide 
Hotel pickup & dropoff Wales is famous for the quality, variety and freshness of its food and drink – the rich harvest of land and sea. In 2019, we want you to join us on a journey of discovery to experience this rich fare. You will be able to visit farms, distilleries, vineyards and even a salt cote. As with all Celticos tours, we’ll ensure you get a great all-around experience by travelling around our beautiful region with its mountains and lakes, craggy coasts and mighty castles.
One of the outstanding features in contemporary Welsh food and drink is the commitment to innovation. This is reflected in the readiness to explore techniques, production methods and recipes to create a rich and varied experience for visitors to taste.
Please Note.
The day or multi day food & drink tours are only available in North West Wales, visiting the places featured and are only available during the spring and summer months.
Gareth Wyn Jones at Tyn Llwyfan Farm in the hills above Llanfairfechan in Snowdonia.
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Gareth features regularly on mainstream television including the BBC’s Countryfile, also a best-selling author and on social media, he is known as the 'tweeting farmer' |
"I am very proud to be a Welsh hill farmer, and even more proud to be able to share my experiences of this challenging but rewarding way of life. In Wales, we strive to produce food of the highest quality and we’re pleased to welcome visitors who want to find out how, where and why this is so important to us. You’ll get a great opportunity to see and taste what our farmers, growers, chefs and bakers work so hard to provide."
Gareth Wyn Jones
We can include visits to
- Anglesey Sea Salt - Halen Mon
- Gwinllan Conwy Vineyard
- Pant Du Vineyard & Orchard
- Purple Moose Brewery
- Conwy Mussels
- Bodnant Food Centre
- The Mushroom Garden
- Y Cwt Caws / Welsh Cheese
- Aber Falls Distillery
- Eating places showcasing local produce
- Farming in Snowdonia & Anglesey
Some of the main sights
Anglesey Sea Salt Halen Mon
Sea salt was made on the island of Anglesey up until the late eighteenth century when it was halted after makers were fined for adulterating the sea brine with Cheshire rock salt. Today, we have resurrected this age-old craft by combining traditional hand harvesting with brand new technology to produce the crunchy white flakes of Halen Môn. Unlike our predecessors, however, we don’t add anything.
Using pure charcoal-filtered seawater drawn from the Menai Strait around Anglesey, before the water even reaches our Salt Cote, it has already passed through two natural filters: a mussel bed and a sandbank.
Conwy Mussels
For 200 years we have believed in a simple, traditional way of mussel gathering. Our mussel men still hand-rake wild mussels from small wooden boats – a practice passed down through three generations.
The Conwy mussel industry has been around for a long time. In fact, not so many years ago over 90 fishermen worked on the Conwy River, fishing for mussels. Despite increased competition from dredged and rope grown mussels and changes to purification regulations, the way we fish for mussels remains unchanged.
Unlike modern dredging, which can damage the fish, our way of mussel gathering is completely natural, ensuring our mussels are bigger, tastier and often fresher than their farmed competitors. Using a twenty-foot pitch pine rake, we dig until our boats are full. The freshly gathered mussels are washed on arrival at our process plant on the Quay front where they are purified for 48 hours to remove any bacteria or germs. One more wash in cold, fresh water before only the very best mussels are handpicked, weighed and bagged, ready to be eaten.
Aber Falls Distillery
Aber Falls Whisky Distillery is one of only four in Wales, and the first in North Wales since the early 1900s.
Located within a stone’s throw of Rhaeadr Fawr, the famous Aber Falls waterfall, our whisky is distilled, bottled and matured in our distillery, using specially crafted Welsh ingredients from the surrounding area.
With whisky available from 2020, we also have a premium range of small batch, handcrafted gins and liqueurs.
Our Visitor Centre is open for tours of the distillery and your chance to experience the skill and passion that goes into Aber Falls spirits.
Aber Falls is committed to quality and a premium taste, and we want to be recognised and respected for the calibre of our product and what it stands for.
Our team is extremely knowledgeable and passionate about whisky, and we all work with the same goal in mind – to create the best whiskies and spirits using the finest ingredients sourced from Wales.
Pant Du
Pant Du Vineyard and Orchard is situated on the stunning slopes of the Nantlle Valley, Snowdonia, North Wales.
The vineyard and orchard has been planted on the south facing glacial slopes of the valley, at the foothills of Snowdon.
Pant Du is a family run business with a café and shop on site. Spectacular views of the magnificent Snowdonia mountain range can be seen to the North East, and panoramic views of the sea to the West, Pant Du is an idyllic location to enjoy the spectacular natural beauty Snowdonia has to offer.
Since producing the first bottle of wine in 2010 the company has established a reputable name for themselves in producing award-winning wines, and high-quality cider and apple juice.
The company’s latest venture is premium still and sparkling bottled water. The project arose back in January 2013 following the discovery of spring water under the land at Pant Du.
Yr Ardd Fadarch / The Mushroom Garden
We are a family run business that specialises in growing mushrooms and producing some exciting and initiative mushroom products.
10 years ago, Cynan decided to investigate further into a world that had always interested him - the fungi kingdom - starting with the wild mushrooms of Snowdonia and soon turned his attention to cultivating exotic mushrooms in Wales. Cynan has become one of Wales' leading fungi experts and regularly holds courses on fungi as well as wild mushroom foraging trails in Snowdonia.
Our mushrooms are all grown in controlled units, but this does not mean that they do not thrive on the clean pure air of Snowdonia, and our "typical Welsh weather" - rain and mist - makes our Garden the perfect place to grow mushrooms, even the blocks that the shiitakes are grown on are made from 95% Welsh Oak.... these truly are Welsh through & through!
Cynan runs The Mushroom Garden with his wife, June and two children, Megan and Rhys. We are not a factory or a large scale farm, and do not use any chemicals in our processes; we are committed to run an environmentally friendly local business that does not compromise on quality.
Y Cwt Caws
For supremely good goats’ milk cheese, there is no need to look to France: thanks to Y Cwt Caws, Wales is producing some truly exceptional goats’ cheeses of its own.
A respected, family-run artisan cheesemaking business based on the family farm at Cors yr Odyn, Dulas, Anglesey, Y Cwt Caws has carved out a niche in recent years with its distinctly fresh, clean-tasting cheeses. All of them are produced entirely by hand, using traditional methods and milk from their mixed herd of Saanans, Toggenburgs and Alpine goats. ‘Ffetys’, a salad style cheese, won gold at the True Taste of Wales 2008/09 awards, while their Môn Wen Camembert won two gold stars in the Great Taste Awards. Other products include a hard cheese and versatile soft cheese balls.
Learn more about the cheese making in this video
Gwinllan Conwy Vineyard
First planted in 2012, the vineyard has grown each year to over 3 acres with 3000 vines. These special hybrid grape varieties are chosen specifically to work well with the soil and climatic conditions in North Wales. These varieties impart a unique fresh and delicate style to the wines.
Gwinllan Conwy was founded by wine enthusiasts Colin and Charlotte Bennett. They work together with Vineyard Manager Sarah Stewart, also assisted by their girls Tillie and Hattie at harvest time. Gwinllan Conwy invite you to join them for a unique vineyard experience, in a beautiful part of North Wales.
Bodnant Food Centre
Wales’ growing reputation as a nation of passionate producers and fanatical foodies is nowhere more apparent than at the Bodnant Welsh Food Centre.
Set in the heart of the Conwy Valley and surrounded by the stunning scenery of Snowdonia, Bodnant’s multi-award-winning Welsh Food Centre provides a memorable visit, whether it’s for a few hours, a day or even longer stay in the adjoining farmhouse.
Purple Moose
Y Bragdy Mws Piws / The Purple Moose Brewery is a '40-Barrel' micro-brewery based in the historic harbour town of Porthmadog, North Wales, close to the mountains of Snowdonia.
Brewing commenced on 14th June 2005 with a one-off special pale ale at 3.5% called "No.1".
Purple Moose Brewery is a member of the Association of Welsh Independent Brewers, set up in 2007 to promote the beers and brewers of Wales.
Farming in Snowdonia & Anglesey
As part of the tour we also create an opportunity for our guests to experience how and where our farmers produce the quality products on offer. We can show you the hill farms of Snowdonia such as Gareth Wyn Jones' Tyn Llwyfan, and the National Trust's Hafod y Llan in the shadow of the mountain itself. The hill farming way of life is all about livestock - producing the quality Welsh lamb and raising the iconic Welsh Black beef cattle.
Yet, only a few miles away from the mountains of Snowdonia, we find the island of Anglesey - Ynys Môn in Welsh. This is a very green and fertile landscape of gentle hills and rolling fields. When you visit Môn Mam Cymru it soon becomes apparent why this translates as Anglesey the Mother of Wales – a veritable breadbasket to feed the whole country.
Tyn Llwyfan farm visits
Bookings can be made subject to availability for a comprehensive tour – please contact us for details
Tour information
Can we choose which places to visit?
Yes, we can create the tour to your wishes
Can I include this tour as part of a sightseeing tour?
Yes! All of our tours are fully customisable and can be included in a multi-day sightseeing tour. Our food and drink focussed tours usually last one or two days, but you can easily combine these with a more general tour or even another special interest tour. We also have enough castles, gardens, wildlife and scenery to fill many a day!
Included
Your knowledgeable local guide • Pick up and drop off to your hotel
Not included
There may be optional comprehensive tours or special events such as wine tasting which may incur a charge.
To help you enjoy the day
Please wear sensible footwear for some light walking and bring a rain jacket (just in case!) As we tour, we will make suggestions for eating places that our guests have enjoyed visiting
Start your journey.
Get in touch ↓
Our clients love this tour!
We reached out to Celticos for help in creating a custom day tour of the Conwy Valley with an extra stop in mind at the Gwinllan Conwy Vineyard.
