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New 4-star rating for Fishguard hotel and restaurant The Abergwaun

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THE ABERGWAUN HOTEL in Fishguard, Pembrokeshire, has just been awarded a 4-star rating by Visit Wales for its restaurant with rooms, the first ever rating for the boutique hotel.

Located in the coastal village of Fishguard – an area of outstanding natural beauty with towering cliffs, hill and valleys – this charming contemporary hotel was refurbished in 2020 after 10 years of standing derelict, by a young local couple Daniel Jones and Lois Thomas. Executive chef Daniel is from north Wales and has worked in kitchens including Pollen Street Social and The Hardwick, Abergavenny. He also competed in Masterchef: The Professionals in 2014 and he reached the semi-finals of the National Chef of the Year awards in 2018. General Manager Lois has a background in hospitality at top restaurants including the Townhouse in Oswestry with Michael Caines, Chapter One in Locksbottom, and Michelin starred restaurant with rooms The White Brook in Monmouth.

Co-owner and Executive Chef Daniel Jones said: “We are immensely proud of the team who have been recognised by Visit Wales for exceptional standards in housekeeping, hospitality and friendliness and dining. This is our first hotel inspection so we are thrilled with the results and we will continue to offer an exceptional experience for our guests.”

The couple took over The Abergwaun in 2020 and have won praise amongst locals and visitors to Pembrokeshire, with almost 99% 5* reviews on TripAdvisor. The hotel features five luxury ensuite rooms, including a dog-friendly room and a two-bedroom apartment, plus an outstanding restaurant with inventive menus and cocktails enjoyed in a welcoming, relaxed environment.

The modern European restaurant JT At the Abergwaun Hotel is steeped in Welsh heritage, supporting local suppliers and offering ingredients like Welsh ribeye steak and Welsh lamb, plus a selection of fine Welsh cheeses. The a la carte menu includes inventive takes on comforting classics, with starters like Crispy lamb taco, whisky treacle BBQ sauce, avocado, cocoa sunflower seed, pepper slaw and mains including Roasted venison haunch, roast carrot and onion, figs dauphinois potatoes, bordelaise sauce. Delicious desserts include the Dark chocolate delice, salt caramel, passion fruit & orange, pembs promise ice cream.

Picturesque Fishguard is known as the gateway to the Pembrokeshire Coast National Park, and here you’ll find the Preseli Hills, rising up to 536m and perfect for walks and viewpoints, plus ancient standing stones and idyllic valleys like Cwm Gwaun where there’s an abundance of wildlife and several bird species. In the heart of the village, there’s an array of independent businesses and galleries, gift and antique shops, a weekly market, plus many cosy cafés, pubs and restaurants. For arts and music lovers, Fishguard is also home to Fishguard International Music Festival that has brought world-class music to the area for 50 years.

A one-night stay costs from £100 for two sharing a double room, including breakfast. To book, visit https://www.jtabergwaunhotel.co.uk/ Call 01348 874 584

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Communities get outdoors thanks to grants from broadband provider Ogi

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COMMUNITY groups across south Wales are embracing the outdoors this autumn, thanks to almost five thousand pounds from Ogi – Wales’s leading alternative broadband provider. As part of the latest funding round of its award-winning grant programme ‘Cefnogi’, around 20 groups will benefit from a cash boost, volunteering opportunities and community workshops.

Among those benefiting are a Head Boy and Girl duo from Alaw Primary School in Tonypandy, a community mud kitchen in Maesteg, and a woodland school in west Wales, with activities set to engage thousands of people between now and the end of the year. Launched in 2022, the programme has already given away more than £40,000, supporting hundreds of local groups across over 60 communities – in areas where Ogi is rolling its next generation full fibre network.

Lead by the Community Liaison team, the initiative also offers staff and contractors the opportunity to volunteer, with more than 2,500 hours already donated to local community groups.

Staff across Ogi have helped clear walking paths with Valeways in the Vale of Glamorgan, provided equipment for emerging grassroots sports teams in Torfaen, Rhondda Cynon Taf and Caerphilly and provided defibrillators and first aid training in Pembrokeshire.

The wide-reaching impact of the scheme has seen hundreds of projects funded or offered volunteering hours since it started last year [2022].

On announcing the latest round, Head of Brand and Engagement, Sarah Vining, said: “It’s so exciting to see the Cefnogi programme go from strength-to-strength. Our brand has become synonymous with the community work we play a part in – and that’s something we’re very proud of.

“Supporting everything from local Scots groups to warm spaces, women in business events, garden clearing and arts festivals, the programme is now well and truly embedded in our culture – and staff are queuing up to get involved. “Many of our staff, contractors and supply chain partners live in these towns and villages, and this initiative, bringing small – but no less vital – cash injections is our way of giving back to those that are providing much needed support locally.”

The programme extends to volunteering opportunities and one-off grants and is open four times a year for the likes of grassroots community groups, small charities and town councils to apply. For more information visit www.ogi.wales/cefnogi.

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Business

Conference speakers urge Welsh Government to listen to tourism industry

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TOURISM leaders have called on Welsh Government ministers to listen to the industry when developing policies that will impact businesses.

The call came from Wales Tourism Alliance (WTA) chairman Suzy Davies and Steve Hughson, chairman of both the Mid Wales Regional Tourism Forum and the Event Wales Industry Advisory Group, when speaking at the Mid Wales Tourism Conference.

The sell-out conference, which attracted 120 delegates as well as exhibitors and sponsors, was held at the Metropole Hotel and Spa, Llandrindod Wells. The event was organised by MWT Cymru, an independent organisation representing around 600 tourism and hospitality businesses across Powys, Ceredigion and Southern Snowdonia.

Mid Wales Tourism Conference 2023. Picture by Phil Blagg Photography. PB220-2023

Mrs Davies said the WTA, which represents around 6,000 businesses in all sectors of tourism industry across Wales, was working with others to restore the industry’s relationship with the Welsh Government.

There had been a breakdown in communications stemming from the introduction of the 182-day rule for self-catering accommodation in Wales. Self-catering accommodation that fails to be occupied for 182 days of the year now risks paying much higher council tax.

The WTA has been talking to the Welsh Government about the impact of the 182-day rule, a tourism tax and statutory registration of tourism accommodation, but Mrs Davies said it had not been listening and businesses had lost faith in the consultation processes.

“The current engagement structures don’t work for either the Welsh Government or the tourism industry,” she added. “The industry must be in the room when the Welsh Government shapes and designs policy and we need to be listened to.”

She said there were signs that the Welsh Government was now beginning to listen to the industry’s collective voice, as a review of the 182-day rule had been promised and the tourism tax had been delayed until 2027.

“There is now a much better understanding of what we have been all saying for the past 18 months,” she added. “We must never find ourselves in this position again which is why we have organised a symposium in Newtown in January and we hope the Welsh Government will attend.”

Mr Hughson also stressed the importance of a united tourism industry working closely with the Welsh Government to influence and shape policies to ensure that they work well when introduced.

“We can get the Welsh Government and Visit Wales to change, so long as we work in partnership in a polite, respectful and evidence-based way,” he said. “It has never been more important that we work together.”

Regional tourism forums across Wales had an important role in making Welsh Government ministers in different policy areas aware of the cumulative effect of their policies on the tourism industry, he added.

MWT Cymru chairman Rowland Rees-Evans thanked both Mrs Davies and Mr Hughson for their work on behalf of tourism businesses during a challenging time for the industry.

He referred to four consultation papers issued by the Welsh Government. “They will undoubtedly have a major impact on the industry when the legislation is implemented,” he said.

“We are already starting to see the effect of 182-day rule on self-catering holidays. As it stands at the moment, next year we will also have full business rates to contend with, among other changes.

“MWT Cymru has always tried to look after its members, business partners and community groups with help and support from our great team who try to get ahead of the curve whenever new legislation, rules and regulations are being put in front of us.”

Despites concerns about new legislation, he said there were positive signs that 2024 could be a better year for tourism businesses. Forward bookings were healthier than the same time last year and there was feeling that people, who did not take a holiday in Mid Wales this year due to the cost of living crisis, would return in 2024.

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Business

Local optician shortlisted for national award

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A PEMBROKE DOCK optician has been shortlisted for an award at the Optometry Wales Awards 2023.

Emily Couling, 25, who works at Specsavers Pembroke Dock, is a finalist for the ‘Pre-registration Optometrist of the Year’ award.

The winner of the award will be announced at the awards ceremony this Saturday, 25 November, at Portland House, Cardiff.

Ms Couling, who has been employed at the Diamond Street store since she was 18, says: ‘I had no idea I’d been nominated for an award, so it was such a nice surprise when the finalists were announced. It’s nice to have my colleagues recognise the care and passion I have for the job and our customers.’

Andrew Williams, Specsavers Pembroke Dock director, who nominated Ms Couling for the award, adds: ‘We are so pleased for Emily – she has been a real asset to our team since she first joined seven years ago.’

‘At Specsavers, we’re very passionate about providing our local community with not only the best eye and ear care, but also the best careers. Emily started with us just before she went to university so to see her close to becoming a fully qualified optometrist is very rewarding. We are all incredibly proud of her, and, regardless of whether she wins the award, we know she’ll have a long and successful career.’

Specsavers Pembroke Dock offers a full range of eye health and hearing services, including OCT scans and children’s sight tests. Find out more at www.specsavers.co.uk/pembrokedock.

As part of Specsavers’ mission to make eye health accessible to all, it also offers a Home Visits service to the housebound, with mobile opticians covering more than 90% of the UK.

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