MAM is live: The Welsh Marches have entered the group chat
Published about 1 month ago • 10 min read
WELCOME DARLINGS! The Marches have entered the group chat, and they’ve arrived loudly. The very first MAM is here, packed with castle gigs, Welsh wine, lake swims, brilliant pastries and enough good plans to keep you busy until next Thursday. I’ll see you here every week, so forward this to the friend who’s always asking, “Why didn’t anyone tell me about that?”
Sarah Seaton - Editor/Head MAM
Proof that Ludlow can, in fact, stay up past 9pm.
LUDLOW TURNS IT UP
For a few glorious weeks, Ludlow Castle has become one of the most spectacular live music venues in the country. Eight huge headline shows, cracking support acts, thousands of people pouring through the gates and a medieval fortress casually providing the backdrop. Snow Patrol, Paul Weller, The Human League, Tom Grennan, The Streets, Rick Astley, Richard Ashcroft and Scissor Sisters. Ludlow has gone very big indeed.
I bagged a last-minute ticket to Tom Grennan thanks to my gorgeous neighbour. I wouldn’t have called myself a devoted fan when I walked in, but he was brilliant: huge voice, bags of warmth and the sort of uplifting energy that leaves thousands of people grinning on the walk home.
Importantly, Ludlow was thoroughly alive. Restaurant tables were booked, the streets were buzzing and younger crowds spilled through the town on the warm Sunday evening. Each concert has summoned its own tribe, complete with dedicated haircuts and excellent outfits. I have greatly enjoyed the people-watching.
That is what Live at Ludlow Castle does so well. The music happens within the walls, then the energy pours into the rest of town. Cafés, pubs, restaurants and shops fill up, people linger, and Ludlow becomes part of the whole occasion.
Tonight is The Streets, and I cannot wait. This was the show for me, ready to drag me straight back to my youth. Has it come to this? Yes. Except I’ll be inside the castle, blinded by the lights and letting the bass rattle through the medieval stonework.
Tickets are still available for Rick Astley on Friday 24 July and Scissor Sisters on Sunday 26 July. Even if they're not your usual musical choice, I'd really recommend going for the vibes. You can buy tickets HERE.
Don't forget: Number 9 is open for sweet treats until 11.30pm every concert night, while the new spot at Pronto is serving until 10pm on gig days for some seriously good gelato if you want to hang outside the castle walls sans ticket. I recommend the cherry Coke float.
Come for the castle gig and make a proper Ludlow time of it.
Welsh wine, warm sun and the exact right amount of mischief.
Welsh Wine, New Roots
Fancy spending an afternoon wandering through a Welsh vineyard, drinking natural wine and pretending you’ve slipped off somewhere far more continental?
Whinyard Rocks is throwing open its big barn doors on Saturday 1 August and Saturday 5 September, from midday until 6pm. The Vineyard Open Days are free (yes you heard me right), relaxed and designed for a proper nose around. You can explore the vines, follow a self-guided tour, join a tasting with Susan or James and pick up something good from one of the local street-food vendors there.
The vineyard sits high above New Radnor, with breathtaking views across the Radnor Valley. On a warm day, Susan says it feels as though you’re on holiday. I am very willing to test this theory with a glass in hand.
Whinyard Rocks began when Susan and James swapped their London jobs for James’s fourth-generation family sheep farm. Neither of them had worked in wine before. In 2017, they gathered some friends, planted the vineyard themselves and took what Susan describes as a leap of faith.
The altitude was a little higher than ideal. The weather was Welsh. The grapes, thankfully, did not take this personally.
This year they’ll harvest their sixth vintage, with eight different wines expected to be available by the end of 2026. Their natural Welsh wine is made using a regenerative approach, giving real thought to the soil, wildlife and future of the farm rather than treating the vineyard as a pretty backdrop.
That is what I love most about this story. A younger generation has returned to family land and found a bold new use for it, keeping its history intact while giving the farm somewhere fresh to go. Progress, continuity and good wine. An excellent combination.
There are more plans quietly taking root. Susan and James have started a cut-flower patch beside the vines, which they hope will eventually become a pick-your-own garden for guests and visitors. Mention that MAM sent you and they’ll happily show you around the new growing area for a MAM readers only treat.
Three cabins overlooking the vineyard are also being built, ready to welcome guests in spring 2027. They’ll join Highbrook Cottage, their secluded place to stay on the farm, for anyone who decides one afternoon among the vines simply isn’t enough.
Go for the open day, stay for the views, meet the people behind the bottles and ask to see the flowers. Just remember who sent you.
There are some events that sound lovely and then there are some that make you wonder why anyone ever settled for another night scrolling on the sofa. Proms in the Petals is a full 50-piece orchestra playing music from film, stage and screen in the middle of Shropshire Petal Fields.
The fields are created by Shropshire Festivals with Shropshire Petals, a fourth-generation family farm that grows British flowers for natural petal confetti and dried arrangements. So this is not a hired backdrop with a few blooms shoved in for Instagram. These are working flower fields, grown with care, open for a short summer window when the colour is doing its ridiculous, heart-melting thing.
Expect sweeping soundtracks, musical theatre, a bar, street food, picnic blankets, possibly a tear during something cinematic and that very specific local smugness that comes from thinking: we live near this. It’s romantic without being cheesy, family-friendly without being entirely about children, and gorgeous enough to make even the most practical person start using words like “enchanting”.
What: A 50-piece orchestra, conducted by Bedwyn Phillips, performing music from film, stage and screen, with street food and a bar onsite. You can bring a picnic, but not alcohol.
Epic Coffee sits beside Epic Bikes, bringing some much needed energy (and caffeine) to Tower Street, in a town whose streets were laid out by Norman planners 900 years ago. I bet they would have liked an iced oat caramel lattes after a long day of work too.
Run by Bristol arrivals Molly and Rachel, the café shares an address and two-wheeled energy with Epic Cycles next door. Molly is a former WorldTour cyclist and Guinness World Record holder, which makes my ascent of Corve Street in 28-degree heat look pathetic.
I recovered in the pretty courtyard with a caramel latte. Don’t come at me for my choices coffee elites. Inside, the café keeps unfolding: upstairs, downstairs, local art, baby-changing facilities and room for wheelchairs and buggies.
The menu champions being Appleteme, Heartsease and Peter Cooks. Meanwhile, Bertie - a wire-haired dachshund from Planta Bay opposite, arrives thrice daily for biscuits, waddling in and wooing customers like Ludlow royalty.
Go for the coffee, stay for the courtyard, and keep an eye out for Bertie doing his biscuit round. Soon to come: events, collabs and toasted sarnies. Sounds perfect. Here's their insta for more info.
TALGARTH MILL, SERVED TWO WAYS
POBL: WORTH THE PASTRY PILGRIMAGE
There are bakeries closer to my house. I still regularly travel an hour to Pobl. Alex and Kathy make naturally leavened bread, slow-fermented bakes and patisserie from scratch at Talgarth Mill, using local fruit and the mill’s own flour where possible. Arrive early enough and the croissants and baguettes may still be warm, although remaining calm in front of the pastry counter is unlikely.
My favourite is the custard brioche (with rhubarb when its in season). My son goes straight for the chocolate pain au chocolat and demolishes it in a gloriously feral way.
Pobl shares the mill with Trigg’s, so you can add a pastry to your breakfast and eat it there, or load up a paper bag for later. I recommend both approaches to maximise happiness.
You’ll find Pobl at the mill from Wednesday to Saturday, usually until 1pm or sell-out. They also pitch up at Hay-on-Wye’s Thursday market, should your pastry emergency require a meander amidst the beautiful book town.Add your content here...
TRIGG’S: LOCAL PLATES, BIG AMBITIONS
I went to Trigg’s for the full breakfast and left extremely pleased with my life choices. Emma and Billy source within 30 miles wherever possible, filling the menu with seasonal produce and plenty of reasons to abandon any plans involving simply a quick coffee.
They’ve now been shortlisted for a Good Food Award, with public voting open to help turn that nomination into a win. A hearty breakfast, light lunch, riverside table and kid-friendly menu make it an easy summer-holiday stop.
Trigg’s is also giving us reasons to return after dark. On Friday 31 July, the café is hosting an evening of small plates, with fried chicken and kimchi, hake tacos, roast cauliflower with brown butter, and dark chocolate crémeux among the temptations. Tables run from 5.30pm, the bar will be open, and booking is essential.
Breakfast by day, ambitious plates by night, and Pobl pastries within reach. The mill is clearly having a very good time.
To book a table: Email: triggscafe@gmail.com Or call during opening hours on: 01874 618 861
OLD STONES, NEW IMPRESSIONS IN SHREWSBURY
Shrewsbury has always been good at showing off. Timber-framed buildings, crooked streets, flowers spilling through The Quarry and the River Severn curling around the town like it planned the whole thing.
Now the Shrewsbury Arts Trail has added art to the mix, filling galleries, churches, shops and unexpected corners until 31 August. This year’s theme is Impressions, centred on a painting by Wynford Dewhurst, known as “Manchester’s Monet”, at Shrewsbury Museum and Art Gallery. Ian Rayer-Smith has created a huge contemporary response, while work by local and regional artists spreads through The Parade and venues across town.
My picks include medieval music and enactors at St Mary’s, Artshack’s takeover of the Bear Steps galleries, linocut workshops, the Made in Shropshire Artisan Market and the wonderfully intriguing Town in a Tin at the Market Hall.
Pick up the map, wander inside the loop and accept that your quick trip to Shrewsbury has become a full day out.
Rum, reggae and some highly confident dance moves in Shrewsbury.
Ready to shine like a star in The Quarry? Rum & Reggae lands in Shrewsbury this weekend, Saturday 25 July, with Aswad, General Levy, Musical Youth, Xodus and Strictly UB40. Expect big tunes, rum punch and even bigger dance moves.
It’s an all-ages day out, with discounted tickets for under-18s and free entry for children under five, so the whole family can get involved.
Come for the reggae, stay for the atmosphere, and bring whichever daaarnce moves you can. Confidence will carry the rest.
Heading into Shrewsbury? Leave room in the itinerary for a pint.
Lucky Shot has just opened on Castle Street, from the people behind Dough & Oil and Bobby’s Tacos. I already trust this lot to feed me well and keep a room lively, so their move into modern pub territory feels like a very safe bet.
Expect proper pub energy with good drinks, food, cask ale and space to sit outside when Shrewsbury remembers it is summer. It is open from noon until 11pm, with food served until 8pm, so it works equally well for a post-gallery lunch, an afternoon pause or the point where your wholesome cultural day takes a cheerfully less wholesome turn.
MEET YOU AT THE LAKE
I adore open-water swimming. In summer, you’ll often find me grinning from ear to ear in my cozzie. During the colder months, the grin becomes slightly more deranged and is usually followed by an undignified scramble for my dry robe.
Cold-water swimming is apparently meant to do all sorts of worthy things for you. I can personally verify that it makes me feel gloriously alive. The community may be the best bit: swimmers cheering each other in "it's fine once you're in", sharing flasks of hot coffee on the bank and discussing water temperature with astonishing seriousness.
I’ve loved seeing proper local swimming venues build that community around safe, organised sessions, then add yoga, saunas, street food and all kinds of lakeside gorgeousness. Here are my favourites across the Marches & More:
Orchard Holiday Park, near Tenbury Wells, runs lifeguarded swims in its spring-fed lake, with sauna-and-swim evenings on 7 August and 4 September. NOWCA membership required but it's only £20 for the year and gives you access to lots of other swim spots too. Book your Tenbury swim HERE.
At Escape to the Lake near Malvern, you can float through a Sound and Gong Bath on 26 July or 23 August, then regroup around the fire pit for hot drinks and cake. Choose your swim time + book HERE.
Watersedge near Pershore Worcestershire goes all in. Its Sunset Sessions mix swimming with yoga, aerial sound baths, community saunas and street food. There’s also a 24-hour relay on 22 and 23 August, with teams, camping and a wonderfully wholesome festival atmosphere. Peruse WatersEdge events + book HERE.
Among ancient woodland on May Hill, Barefoot & Bower has Forest Sauna and Swim sessions on 1 and 15 August. Its lakes are not lifeguarded and swimmers must bring a companion or someone to watch from the bank.
There are plenty of wilder places to dip, but I’m deliberately sticking to managed venues here. Before swimming anywhere without lifeguard cover, read the RLSS Water Safety Code, check the local risks and never go alone. The lake will still be there after you’ve done your homework.
THE NICE PILE
The Most Wuthering Heights Day Ever, Hay Castle, Sunday 26 July Wear red, gather on the castle lawn at noon and perform Kate Bush’s Wuthering Heights with fellow dramatic souls. Free, gloriously odd and extremely MAM.
Monstock, Monmouth, Saturday 25 July A free pop-up music festival running across venues along Monnow Street from noon until 8pm. Follow the sound, wander between bands and chuck some money in the charity hats. More details here.
Borderlines & Tandoori G at Hive Mind Meadery, Caldicot, Saturday 25 July - Free Live music, Indian street food and locally made mead from 5.30pm. Free entry, with a fairly convincing argument for exploring the southern end of the Marches. Free tickets HERE
The Three Musketeers at Yatton Court, Aymestrey, Friday 31 July Sword fights, scheming cardinals and open-air theatre in the Herefordshire countryside. Bring a picnic, something to sit on and your best “all for one” energy. Book here.
BBQ at Lyde Court The last Lyde Court BBQ is coming up on 1 August, with the outdoor fire kitchen doing its thing in the courtyard of a 17th-century barn just outside Hereford. Burgers, piri piri chicken, local drinks, summer evening. Hard to argue with. Book Here
Brecon Pride, Saturday 25 July A free and joyful celebration of love, diversity and equality at King George V Playing Field, starting at 11am.
