The annual Gwyl Fwyd Caernarfon was held on Saturday. (For those of you who don’t understand Welsh that means food festival). I had never been before and since husband wasn’t away we decided to go have a look.
We went down relatively early as we had been told it was going to be super busy. And the genius that is the husband decided to take the car down before breakfast to ensure we got a space.
So after walking down we found ourselves on Y Maes where stallholders included the usual Saturday market suspects.
Sexy Rub at the Castle
I picked up a map but I knew my first port of call would be the castle. Chris “Foodgasm” Roberts was there smoking his lamb ribs and whilst I’m not a huge fan of lamb, I wanted to get me some sexy rub! For those of you not in the know, that’s one of Chris’ catchphrases – he’s always on Instastories talking about his sexy rub (sauce in food – calm down people). Seriously though you need to check this guy’s Instagram… all that sexy foooooood!!
Unfortunately for me, when I arrived he was busy filming with George and Larry Lamb. I didn’t want to shout “oi Chris” during that! So I had to move on. I had fully intended on going back later in the day but didn’t make it.
Entertainment at The Anglesey and Beyond
Moving on from the Castle we were drawn down to The Anglesey where a stage had been setup. There was a young lad on stage playing guitar and some songs. We had a pit stop and the girls had a bit of a dance and singalong (ok I had a singalong) to some great Welsh music – specifically Mim Twm Llai or Gai Toms as he’s now known).
There were various different stages setup around town with a multitude of different music being played. From the contemporary pop at The Anglesey, jazz at the Market Hall to simple folk music on the streets, it was certainly a musical treat.
Food Stalls Along Y Fenai
After our little boogie we walked along the prom where there were various food stalls. I spotted Model Bakery (from Blaenau Ffestiniog) there and went over because they have some of the most amazing iced buns ever! My luck was in as he had two left!
Other food stalls I spotted were Debbie’s Cake Ole (also from Blaenau), Aerona (we bought some bottles of liquor from them at Portmeirion last December), Cheshire Pies (some lovely looking pork pies), and Amore Pizza (who I aim to try on Friday as I pass by their weekly pop up van in Dinas).
(There were plenty more but way too many to mention – and also bad blogger award should go to me as I failed to take photos of the food stalls as it was SO busy!)
G&T at The Marina
Down at the Marina there were plenty of drink stalls including a pop up bar selling gin. Also spotted Cwrw Llyn and Wrexham Lager there. There was another stage down there which had entertainment. We didn’t stay long enough to listen to any of the music but all I can say is that it was a perfect spot – food, drink, music and the view over the Marina and Menai Strait. #Bliss
Animal Magic
During the day I spotted a few people with birds walking around town. One of them was this fine looking kestrel (I think!) who was in the castle. Another was this large owl. Didn’t think anything of it until I got chatting to the people with them – they were walking around town with the birds in order to warn off the seagulls! If you remember my previous post about seagulls you’ll know that they are a pest here in town. Food festival and hunger-crazed seagulls are not a good match!
The birds weren’t the only animals around. Coleg Llandrillo’s Glynllifon agri department were also in attendance. They had brought along some sheep, pigs and cattle to display. (Not in the context of food I might add but as a petting zoo for children!). The girls (and I) loved watching the little piggies in the pen.
