Discovering A Hidden Paradise || Travelling Back In Time

We travel up to the Gwaen Valley. The Valley runs inland from Lower Town Fishguard towards the Preseli Mountains. It was created by torrents of meltwater from the retreating ice during the last Ice Age to leave a steep-sided valley. By luck we join the interesting locals as we celebrate Hen Galan. It is one of a handful of places which celebrates the New Year according to the old Julian calendar, which means it's on January 13. In 1752 Britain and its empire ditched the Julian calendar, which had been in use since the days of Julius Caesar and the Roman Empire, and replaced it with the Gregorian calendar. There was some religious opposition because the changes were felt to be Catholic and in making September shorter people felt as if 11 days were being taken away from them unjustly. Some communities carried on celebrating festivals such as Christmas and New Year and the accompanying rituals late. And so Hen Galan, Welsh for "old New Year", is still marked in the Gwaun Valley. In the Dyffryn Arms, or Bessie’s infamous front room pub which has been in the same family since 1840, revellers gather to share a tipple, and the locals cook a large meal for the family. Traditionally Hen Galan was a bigger celebration than Christmas, so turkey or goose was the regular table offering. Tafarn Sinc, a community pub in the north Pembrokeshire village of Rosebush continue this tradition. It’s a wonderful evening packed full of singing and a great place to hear the Welsh language spoken. After all these celebrations we went in search for the Rosebush Quarries. Pembrokeshires best wild swimming spot. The now flooded Rosebush Quarry was opened in 1842 and the two neighbouring quarries went into full production during the last 30 years of the 19th century. At the peak of the boom years the quarries employed 100 men. Many lived in the 26 cottages of Rosebush Terrace, built to house the quarry men and their families. Please subscribe if you enjoyed our video. Its free! See what we are up to live on Instagram   / galavanting_whip   Edgy/funny videos about our trips on TikTok   / galavanting_whip   CONTENTS 0:00 Intro 00:16 getting ready 00:23 upgrades 02:25 plans 03:04 where to eat? 03:41 arrival at newport 05:08 dyffryn arms, what a legend 06:19 tafarn sinc, corrugated sheet galore 07:53 night antics 08:50 rosebush quarries, amazing wild swimming spot 12:06 vanlife tradition