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Glamorgan vs Hampshire cricket, Buddy Holly, 9 Lives beer in Neath and the Welsh valleys with Lynn News Bar Man




There were a few free days in the calendar and it seemed like a good opportunity to go away.

"How about some cricket?", the Bar Wife enquired and so a study of the fixture list took us to Neath, in the Welsh valleys where Glamorgan had a one-day fixture against Hampshire.

We stayed a bit further north in a small village called Godrergraig and it wasn’t quite what I expected. No dour rows of terraces peeping through the relentless rain with locals who spoke only Welsh when we were around. Instead, it was pleasant, scenic and friendly. True, there were a couple of pubs akin to North Norfolk.

Flying Wales flag.
Flying Wales flag.

One had a wood panelled bar with lots of agricultural implements hung from the walls and roof, unchanged for years. Once we passed the inspection by the pub dog, the customers made us feel very welcome and chatted away.

The walls were decorated with over 20 CAMRA award certificates and the beer was from the local 9 Lives brewery, though they had their own names for the different brews, inspired by Buddy Holly. I chose Oh Boy, wondering why it had not been called Oh Boyo, and was very happy with my choice.

Emboldened by our visit we tried another free house up the road, and as soon as we entered realised our mistake. It looked from the outside like a classic real ale pub but it turned out to have no handpumps. It seemed rude to disappoint the landlord, with his tattoos and piercings, and he found me a bottle of Banks Amber ale, and went on to prove how looks can be deceptive, chatting about his time in Norfolk on a scaffolding course at Bircham Newton, while his partner gave us the low down on the goings on at the holiday camps near Yarmouth.

Jeff Hoyle
Jeff Hoyle

The next task was to find food, and our target pub turned out to be fully booked. My Whatpub app directed us to the nearby Café Chameleon, a vegetarian café/bar with more 9 Lives beer.

Sat under the large Welsh Pride flag, a red dragon on a rainbow background, I ate my delicious plant burger while marvelling how a town which I imagined might be one of the last places in the country to adopt the more modern attitude of toleration seemed just the opposite, a kind of Welsh Hebden Bridge.

And what of Neath? It’s a pleasant town with a fine church, but the real revelation was the Abbey. The extensive ruins, the largest in Wales, are comparable to some of the great English abbeys, such as Fountains or Rievaulx and were free to visit. Across town, the cricket ground nestles next to the Gnoll, home of Neath Rugby Club and was almost full. The weather was lovely, sunshine sandwiched between a couple of days of rain, and the home side recorded a thumping victory. Perfect all round.

Flag of Wales.
Flag of Wales.

Luke Rinehart, the Dice Man, would roll his dice to plan his next move, but I prefer the sports fixture lists. If your chosen method takes you to the South Wales Valleys, I have three recommendations. Check out Cilbrwyn, one of the friendliest places I have ever stayed, go to Neath Abbey and be amazed that so few people know about it and try the Café Chameleon, plant paradise. Meanwhile I hear the siren strains of Salford City football club and Barrow rugby league calling.

Will it be possible to fit in Lancashire v Yorkshire at Old Trafford on the way home? It seems unlikely…but perhaps not impossible.

Jeff Hoyle



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