Everyone’s talking about the unprecedented success of the Wales team in Euro2016 – but how much do you know about the Welsh football squad?
Put your Welsh football knowledge to the test with our fun quiz!
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Regular visitors of the Slate House website will be aware of the Welsh slate products we hand craft and sell from our website and shop in Neath. However, you may not be aware that from our workshop in Crynant, we actually stock hundreds of gift shops, all over the UK with our Welsh slate products, soy candles and natural soaps.
Most recently, Cadw, the Welsh government’s historic environment service has become one of our stockists, which means that Slate House products are now available in the gift shops of various historic landmarks around Wales, including Caerphilly Castle and Castell Coch. In celebration of this, we went along to both sites to find out a little bit more about them. In this, our first Cadw blog, we take you through our experience of Castell Coch…
The fairytale castle
Firstly, anyone who has driven the A470 between Cardiff and Pontypridd will be well aware of Castell Coch (or in English, Red Castle). It rises up and out from the mountainside, its red stone exterior almost glistening as you drive past it on the road below. I remember when I was younger, my friends and I would call it the “fairytale castle” and gaze up at it in wonder every time we passed it on our way to and from Cardiff on various family outings and shopping trips.
Indeed, it would be fair to say that the majority of children in South Wales have done the same. There’s something about the castle which really captures the imagination and even now, I can truthfully say that as I approached the castle drawbridge, I was excited to see what Castell Coch had in store for me.
Eccentricities and dreams
Although it rests on ancient foundations (the first castle on the site was built around 1001) in reality Castell Coch is relatively modern. In very simple terms, it is the product of an incredibly wealthy man and his exceptionally talented and eccentric sidekick.
John Patrick Crichton-Stuart, the 3rd marquess of Bute, was a man with a lifelong interest in architecture and with the accumulated wealth of his father at his disposal, he wanted to create a rural retreat to complement the opulence of his main residence, Cardiff Castle. To fulfil his dream, he enlisted the help of William Burgess.
As the Cadw audio guide seamlessly takes you around this magnificent piece of Burgess’ imagination, you realise that the meeting of minds between these men created something quite spectacular! As you enter the grand banqueting room, you can’t help but be taken aback by the sheer detail which surrounds you. On every single wall surface, there is something different and intriguing to gaze at – and the audio guide talks you through the meanings of each image and sculpture.
When it comes to aspects of the décor, a personal favourite of mine just has to be the drawing room ceiling – which is lavishly adorned with a multitude of stars and butterflies. It is only when you listen to the guide however, that the symbolism in this room truly comes to life. It really is something very special.
As I climb and descend the numerous spiral staircases, I am the little girl again who gazed up at the castle some years ago – playfully (and secretly!) imagining I am the marquess’ wife, Gwendolen, tentatively stepping down, modestly raising my Victorian dress above my ankle, so as not to trip on my way to luncheon!
Calm and tranquillity
It’s not difficult to understand why so many brides and grooms choose to have their wedding ceremony here. There’s a magic in and around the castle which is difficult to explain – but easy to experience. Even as I head back to the car, as I look up into the trees there is a sense of serenity; you would never guess you were just a stone’s throw away from one of the busiest roads in South Wales.
It’s that sense of calm which I suppose inspired the marquess of Bute to create this summer residence. Sadly though, the castle, however beautifully appointed, was seldom used. Thankfully for us, the 5th marquess of Bute placed it into the care of the state and now that Cadw has responsibility of it, we can rest easy that it will be preserved for further generations of little (and much bigger!) children to enjoy.
At Slate House we’d highly recommend a visit to Castell Coch – not only to visit the castle itself, but to also enjoy the land surrounding it and nearby walks. When it comes to days out in Wales, it has to be one of the most interesting and magical of the bunch. For more information, visit http://cadw.gov.wales/daysout/castell-coch/?lang=en
Over the past few years, the Slate House team has been practising the art of candle making and through many, many trials we have developed a technique and finished product to be proud of.
If you haven’t seen them yet, Slate House’s soy candles are made with 100% natural soy wax and have large wooden wicks. The wick is a very important aspect of any candle – a wooden wick allows for a full melt pool, which means no wax is wasted when the candles are burned. Additionally, a large melt pool means a better scent-throw; a major plus point when it comes to fragranced candles. They are housed in a very chunky, good quality 12oz glass tumbler and capped with a hand made Welsh slate topper, which doubles up as a coaster when the candle is fully burned.
We’ve worked tirelessly to ensure that our soy candles are up there with the very best and our customers are continually recognising how good they really are. The best part is, they’re not mass-produced in a far-away country by a faceless company. They’re hand made in South Wales by people who believe in craftsmanship and quality. So to give you an insight to the process involved before they sit on your sideboard, here’s a step by step guide to how we make them…
Step 1:
Firstly we turn on our wax cooker and fill it with natural soy wax – it melts at around 60 degrees Celsius.
While we wait for the wax to melt, we lay out the tumblers onto our heated table. We’ve learned that it’s really important to ensure that the glass is warm when the wax is poured. If it’s not, when the wax starts to cool, it can separate from the glass container, leaving a slight gap between the glass and the wax. The heated table also prevents the wax from cooling too quickly – if this occurs, the candle will crack. With this in mind, gradual cooling is a top priority when it comes to producing quality candles.
Step 2:
Once the wax has melted and the tumblers are warm, we need to prepare the scent. We use 20ml per candle, which equates to 7% scent. As we pour five candles at a time, we need 100ml of scent per pour.
We then pour 1.5 litres into a jug and check the temperature, which needs to be between 58 and 62C. It’s a delicate process and if it’s too cold, we pour the wax back into the cooker and increase the temperature slightly. Equally if it’s too hot, we will have to wait for it to cool down.
Once the correct temperature is reached, we can pour the scent into the jug and give the wax a good stir, not leaving it too long as the wax does cool down slightly as soon as you pour the scent in.
Step 3:
We place the wooden wick into the glass tumblers, making sure they are central and secure. When we first started to make soy candles, we placed the wicks into the tumblers later in the process – but in line with our drive to continually improve and progress, we found that adding them before the wax is poured allows for a better finished product.
We slowly pour the wax into the tumblers, careful to avoid creating too much disturbance in the glass, as this will create bubbles and air pockets when the candle sets.
Step 4:
We repeat this process for a full batch of 100 candles and then cover them to avoid any contamination – and help to keep the heat in for as long as possible. We can then turn the heated table off and wait for 24 hours.
Step 5:
After the candles are set, we use a heat gun to re-melt the tops of the candles, removing any surface irregularities that can be caused by trapped air.
Step 6:
Once the candle tops are flat, all that’s left to do is give them a wipe over to make sure there are no wax drips. We then apply the stickers and box them up, ready to be distributed. All of our soy candles come gift-boxed, as standard.
We send our natural soy wax candles all over the world and stock a number of UK gift shops, including our own store in Neath town centre. Our Welsh Cake and Bara Brith candles are proving very popular recently – but although we may be biased, if you ask us, all of the Slate House candle fragrances are outstanding!
The dramatic landscape of the Brecon Beacons region provides a stunning backdrop to a small village in South Wales called Penderyn. But it’s not just the scenery that’s special about this place. Penderyn is home to a distillery which produces world-renowned whisky; Welsh whisky simply named ‘Penderyn’. As Penderyn Whisky stockists, the Slate House team recently visited the distillery for a tour,learning all about the whisky-making process…
In Wales we’ve been been making whisky since as early as the 4th Century; that’s 1600 years of Welsh whisky! There is a real science behind it and sometimes it’s good to take time out to appreciate the hard work that goes in to crafting something of such quality. At the Penderyn distillery, the team takes just a humble heap of malted barley and with a bit of know-how, they are are able to produce what we at Slate House would regard as an excellent whisky.
The Welsh Whisky-Making Process
The barley is milled into a coarse flour (grist), then fed into the mash tun with water added at three stages through the process. Each addition of water is at a higher temperature than the previous one; the aim is to draw out the sugary liquid known as wort from the malted barley. This wort is drawn off into a washback, where yeast will be added. The wort will be left for around 3 days to ferment – converting the sugars into alcohol. We’ve been told that we can’t go in to too much detail about these things – in fact. the lovely Laura Davies, a vital cog in the Penderyn machine, used the the phrase ‘Trade Secrets’ and although she said the words with a smile, we’ve got a feeling she was gravely serious about keeping their secret recipes just that – secret!
Once the wort has completed its fermentation, it’s piped in to unique copper stills to be distilled under heat. At different heats, different substances evaporate and are then cooled and condensed via cooling tubes to yield different products. The original still at Penderyn, a ‘Faraday’ still, uses a design that is completely unique to Penderyn in the whisky industry, and was complemented in 2013 by a second Faraday still, installed as part of the distillery expansion. The Faraday stills were also joined in 2014 by a pair of more traditional pot stills. They use these to produce super high quality single malt spirit.
The Casks Make all the Difference!
Once cooling is complete, it’s time for barrelling – and this key in the process. As any Scotch, Whisky or Bourbon fan will tell you, it’s all about the cask. Penderyn makes three signature varieties; the Madeira Finish, which is matured in ex-Bourbon casks and finished in Madeira wine casks, the Sherrywood and the Peated. The Sherrywood expression is produced by a marriage of ex-bourbon and Oloroso sherry casks, while the peated expression is created using a slightly non-conventional ‘finishing’ in a cask which has previously held a peated whisky.
They are sealed and shipped to the warehouse to grow old gracefully and then from around the three year mark (the spirit is only legally ‘whisky’ once it’s been matured in a wooden barrel for 3 years at least); Laura Davies and her colleagues head on down for the nosing and tasting. Given the unique concept of their Faraday stills, the whisky at Penderyn tends to mature more quickly than some of the more traditional malts (the spirit at Penderyn is drawn from the Faraday stills at between 92 and 86% alcohol by volume), meaning it might not need so long in the cask as some other whiskies do.
There was a real gleam in Laura’s eye when she talked about the whisky, like it wasn’t just a job, but a passion and a craft to boot. It’s really uplifting to see a group of people; an entire workforce, who are as dedicated and skilled as the Penderyn family are. Every cog, every person, working in harmony to produce a wonderful, wonderful thing.
Investment and Improvements…
The distillery invested a great deal of money in 2013/2014, updating and remodelling the visitor centre, tasting area and factory floor, which means that tours now go beyond the viewing glass and get right in to the ‘nittygritty’ of the process. The numb roar of the mash tun and stills and the powerful, sweet aroma of the barley mash and spirit fill the entire room, creating an atmosphere that can only be experienced and not described in words.
It’s definitely a sight to behold and a journey to be taken. At Slate House, we’re proud to stock Penderyn Whisky at our shop in Neath as well as on our website. Penderyn is quintessentially Welsh, steeped in history and tradition. There’s something really special (and award winning!) hiding in the foothills of the Brecon Beacons. If you haven’t tried it – then we suggest – no – urge you to try it. You’re missing out if you haven’t already.