Wales
Cenarth and the Teifi
Salmon leap a waterfall by a medieval mill while fishermen still work from coracles.
On a river in west Wales, salmon still throw themselves at a waterfall each autumn beside a mill that has stood there since the thirteenth century, and men still fish from coracles, round one-person boats older than the Romans. Cenarth is a handful of streets where three counties meet on the Teifi, with the falls at its centre.
The Teifi runs 73 miles from the Cambrian Mountains to Cardigan, and Cenarth is where it puts on its show: a staircase of small falls and pools that salmon and wild trout must climb, best watched in autumn from the bridge or the Old Mill, which came into Edward I's hands when he became lord of the manor. Coracles are the other reason to come. Woven from willow or ash and covered in canvas, they have been used in Wales for two thousand years, and licensed fishers on the Teifi still net between two of them as they drift; the National Coracle Centre at the falls tells the story and lends a Teifi-style coracle to try on the river. A picnic area sits just below the falls, with otters and kingfishers to watch for and Caws Cenarth's cheese from the farm shop up the road. The valley rewards a second day: Cilgerran Castle's two great round towers over the gorge downstream, and Newcastle Emlyn upstream with its Friday market, a castle blown apart in 1645, and the legend of Gwiber Emlyn, the last dragon in Wales, guarding its gate.
Solo
An autumn afternoon on the bridge with the salmon running, then the coracle centre and a turn in a borrowed coracle if the river allows.
Couple
Cheese and a picnic below the falls, the six-mile walk from Cilgerran Castle to the sea along the Teifi, and supper in Newcastle Emlyn.
Family
A waterfall in the middle of a village, salmon to spot in autumn, a round boat to sit in and a dragon story at the castle gate up the road.
- Cenarth Falls is a series of small waterfalls and pools on the Teifi and a well-known salmon leap, and there has been a mill here since the thirteenth century, when Edward I held the manor.
- In autumn salmon can be seen leaping the falls beside the Old Mill, on a river rich in salmon and wild trout.
- Coracles, one-person boats of woven wood used in Wales since before the Romans, are still licensed for fishing on the Teifi, and the National Coracle Centre at the falls lends a Teifi-style coracle to try on the river.
- Downstream, Cilgerran Castle's two round towers loom over the Teifi gorge, and upstream Newcastle Emlyn keeps a Friday market, a castle blown up in 1645 and a dragon legend at its gate.
Cheese from the Caws Cenarth farm shop, eaten at the riverside picnic area just below the falls while you watch for otters and kingfishers.
Fish and chips in Cenarth or Newcastle Emlyn, where the river's salmon and trout have fed local fishers for centuries; the Basque-inspired deli Petit Biarritz in Newcastle Emlyn packs a finer picnic.
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