Day four of the Royal visit to Wales

Day four of Their Royal Highnesses’s annual Wales Week began with a tour of Talgarth Mill in Powys. Talgarth Mill produces flour and bread on-site using a traditional watermill, and is run almost entirely by volunteers.

Located in the heart of the Brecon Beacons, this restored community enterprise boasts a cafe, bakery, and craft shop, and visitors can enjoy a tour of the site.

During the visit this morning, The Prince and The Duchess learned more about how flour and bread are made using the watermill and met staff and volunteers.

The Royal couple then separated, and The Prince of Wales attended a service at St Mary’s Church in Abergavenny. After the service, His Royal Highness unveiled the church’s beautiful new stained glass window. The new Jesse Window has been created in memory of the late Dean Jeremy Winston, who served as Vicar of Abergavenny for 18 years.

The Prince also met churchgoers and members of the local community at a reception before heading to Abergavenny Fine Foods to open the firm’s new premises. The site of this family owned food manufacturer was badly damaged by a fire in July 2015, severely affecting production.

The 105 employees of Abergavenny Fine Foods were able to continue to supply customers while a state of the art replacement site was built. Today The Prince of Wales officially opened the brand new premises and met staff during his visit.

His Royal Highness’s day ended with meeting local residents at Garth Village Hall. After being completely renovated in 2012, the village of Garth in Powys decided to make the hall a thriving community hub. Various local groups enjoy meeting at the hall, including a choir, dance group and Young Farmers.

The local choir performed and children from a nearby school took part in a short sketch during The Prince’s visit to Garth today. 

Meanwhile, The Duchess of Cornwall travelled to Blaenau Mawr Farm to hear about efforts to conserve Welsh Hill Ponies and watch a pony demonstration.

Welsh Hill Ponies are an ancient breed that were added to the Rare Breed Survival Trust’s ‘At Risk’ register in 2000. Numbers have increased in recent years, and the breed was removed from the list in 2013.

Her Royal Highness also met Welsh pony breeders during this visit.

In the afternoon, The Duchess visited Emmaus South Wales, a charity that supports former homeless people by giving them a home and work at one of their communities. Emmaus UK’s Bridgend centre is the charity’s first South Wales community.

Her Royal Highness met residents of the centre, known as “companions”, and toured the centre before unveiling a plaque to mark the visit. The Duchess has been Patron of Emmaus UK since 2006, and regularly visits communities up and down the country.