Things you didn't know fforest did

Over the years, fforest has developed into a place to Stay Play Dream, an idyllic holiday destination where the outdoors is embraced and good food is enjoyed. But fforest has some lesser known offshoots that you may not be so familiar with...

 

fforest Gather

A very special event that brings the best of fforest together, a holiday full of creative engagement with the vibe of a festival.

Two week long family friendly gatherings with emphasis on engagement, exchange and fun. The great outdoors, activity for mind, soul and body, creativity and simple pleasures have always been bound to what we offer. At Gather, a revolving cast will provide workshops, creative play and outdoor activity in the day; films, live music, DJs and performers in the evenings.
 

fforest feasts

8 course tasting feast celebrating the best of local produce from land and sea in the big barn at fforest farm.

We have had the pleasure of hosting fforest feasts since 2016. Over a long weekend we welcome friends from far and wide to come and share good food and great company. A special evening centred on a unique dining experience. You can come for the feast only or stay and be looked after for the whole weekend at fforest farm. Book now for the fforest Winter feast below.
 

 

fforest corporates

'How do you start a fire in your organisation? The sort of fire that everyone can help to build, that everyone wants to sit around, wants to talk around, wants to dream around. A fire that grows.' - fforest chief

fforest is an experience and a place that encourages engagement, collaboration and creativity. Whether it’s a workshop, a retreat, a conference or a reward for a hard-working team we have the space and facilities to cater for corporate events of varying sizes. We can organise activities and entertainment, if you need a helping hand. We’ll provide amazing food and the best little pub in Wales. From boutique to festival, we have a style to meet most alternative briefs.

 

fforest favourites

You may recognise our blankets & cushions when you stay with us, did you know you could take home your very own?

We design our own blankets and cushions which are woven at a local woollen mill, enamel mugs in four colourways & featuring the fforest logo, woollen socks designed by us and made by Corgi, vintage rucksacks, aprons made from surplus tents & tarps, tea towels – lots of things to make your stay at fforest cosier. These can all be purchased at our fforest online shop so you can take a little bit of fforest home with you.

fforest weddings

10 years of unique events in 200 acres of bliss. 3 days of woodland, fields, festival, fun, no boundaries. A blank canvas.

fforest has hosted 150 weddings since 2008. Our venues have evolved as a celebration of the outdoors and an appreciation of the comfort offered by our indoor spaces. With the addition of the beautiful cedar barn and Ty Fforest farmhouse we are now able to host lavish weddings throughout the year, with guests staying on site and being treated to scrumptious fforest food throughout their stay.
 

 

fforest Glow camps

Inspiration, creativity & wellness. We have learnt that intimate retreats are full of the small things that can make a big difference.

Our Glow Camps are either creative or active retreats with a common theme: to share, support & inspire each other. We have always promoted "Active Relaxation" - clearing your mind through the challenge of learning new skills and the physical demands of a tough day's play. We also understand the luxury of just doing nothing. Sit on the deck, watch the deer, read a book, or just dream. Glow camps are the perfect combination of the two - physical challenge interspersed with relaxation and comfort.



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A holiday for the senses: Gather can stimulate the body & mind

We keep the mind active & the body moving at Gather. We can slow it down too, if that's what the body needs.
We want to feel something, learn something, create something, and we trust our bodies to help us do it...

Gather enlists the help of all the senses to encourage creativity, to practice patience, to uncover hidden talents, to enjoy simple pleasures. Browse our Gather 2017 galleries below to see what you could feel, taste, smell, see and hear at Gather.

TOUCH

Use your hands.

Combine a fresh muffin mixture and bake it over fire, mould a clay pot and decorate with fresh flowers, feel the grooves of letterpress letters in all shapes and sizes, sculpt magical woodland creatures out of clay, carve a spoon from a single block of wood, make pencils out of branches, weave willow into bold structures, sketch a wild bird, tie ropes around sticks to secure dens, mix water colours and inks, feel a refreshing pang of cold whilst wild swimming...


Taste

Feed your appetite.

Sample fresh breads, cheeses & chutneys, relish every wholesome breakfast, lunch & dinner, forage for wild herbs & edible plants, ponder over enticing choices from the fforest cafe, be surprised by natural wines, Welsh spirits & unusual beers, dribble over lavishly decorated cakes, try something you never have before...


Smell

Breathe it all in.

Savour the heavenly scent of freshly baked bread, notice subtle notes in natural wines, challenge your senses to beer tasting, deliciously unusual cheeses melt over burning embers to be lathered onto flatbreads, fforest flowers beam from their beds; the sweet peas and sunflowers firm favourites, your lungs are filled with fresh, clean, Welsh air, and there's plenty to go around...


SEE

Widen your horizons.

Watch clever people as they teach you clever things, meet & greet your inner artist, identify new talents and nurture them, create an idea and watch it grow; follow its journey from conception to completion, notice your imagination running wild, approach bold decisions with conviction, look at what you've created, surprise yourself, find magic in the woods, spot a bird in a tree, a stag in the field, a cat on your seat...


HEAR

Gather to listen.

Share stories over blazing fires, attend workshops and practice new recipes, concepts, techniques, laugh with old & new friends, birds chirp & chime in the trees, sausages sizzle over hot coals, crackling fires warm to the core, awaken to still & silent mornings, hear everything; hear nothing, but that dog will bark if you don't throw the stick...


What do you want from Gather?

Find out...



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Lillie from London Borough of Jam shares her passion for unusual yet delicious jam flavours at Gather

"I love the idea of being able to preserve the seasons by bottling fruits." Lillie O'Brien is the founder of London Borough of Jam, home of wonderfully weird taste combinations, a shop dedicated to the selling of damn good jam.

Greengage & fennel pollen, rhubarb & cardamom, blackberry & bay leaves... These are just a few of Lillie's jam creations. Her flavour combinations may be unusual but her finished products are just the right balance of weird, wonderful, sweet & subtle. Not just a go-to for the jam connoisseurs of London but slowly becoming a major hit overseas too, Lillie's jams are rightfully earning the widespread recognition and high status they deserve.

We are so excited to welcome back Lillie to this year's Gather to host another one of her superbly mouth-watering jam workshops.

Join us at Gather 2018! More info and book tickets here

In the meantime, take a head start before Gather and try your hand at one of Lillie's jam recipes below. Taken from The Food Keeper's blog, Lillie's Rhubarb & Cardamom jam:

Ingredients (for 10 300mL-10oz jars):

1.2KG (2.6 LBS) OUTDOOR RHUBARB

800G (1.7 LBS) CASTER SUGAR

2 TABLESPOONS GREEN CARDAMOM PODS

JUICE OF 1 LEMON

Instructions:

•Toast the cardamom pods in a small skillet over medium heat until they start to pop and turn light brown. Be careful, as they can be quite ‘lively’! Take the pan off the stove and leave to cool.

• Once cool, grind the pods in a electric spice grinder or mortar and pestle until the seeds inside have been ground (if using a mortar and pestle, you will need to sieve out the skins of the pods as they wont break down with the pestle).

• Mix the ground cardamom with sugar and leave for 24 hours to infuse.

• Once you are ready to make the preserves, wash the rhubarb and chop roughly into 5cm pieces.

• Place the rhubarb into a heavy based pan with ¼ cup of water and set to medium heat.

• Once the Rhubarb has started breaking down slowly add the sugar and lemon juice. Stir to combine.

• Bring the Preserve to the boil and cook till setting point 105c.

• Take the pan off the stove and leave to rest for 5 minutes, stirring to distribute any bubbles, which will slowly disappear.

• Pour into warm sterilized jars, and make sure you sterilize your lids.

Visit the London Borough of Jam website here



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"A cake should make you feel a little bit magic." The world of weird & wonderful decorations from Cake of Dreams.

'Everyone deserves a little bit of home baked, thoughtful goodness on their birthday. Or their wedding day. Or a Tuesday...'

Lovely Francesca is the lady behind these glorious, flower-covered, colour explosion cakes, handmade for any occasion. We fired a few questions Francesca's way to learn a little bit more about her thriving business and what to expect at her cake decorating workshop at Gather this August:

Your cakes are a delight to look at, each with their own unique decorations yet all with the same distinct style. What’s the inspiration behind the Cake of Dreams look?

When I started making cakes - for fun and then for a job - it was because I wanted cakes to make me feel like the cakes you would imagine as a child - cakes from story books or films. I wanted them to feel decadent and special and sparkly and oozy and conjure up some nostalgia and glamour and whimsy. A cake should make you feel a little bit magic and be a treat for all the senses, it’s no fun having the same old cake as everyone else… 

From glitter cherries to kittens wearing party hats, how do you choose your weird & wonderful decorations?

Everything has flowed rather organically. The glitter cherries were one of the first things I came up with, trying to decorate one of my very first cakes. I had this image of a disco ball cherry that I wanted to recreate, so I just experimented until it worked. The animals in party hats evolved from someone asking for something circus themed and I had this image of a Victorian dancing bear in a ruff and a hat, so I built one and after that kept getting requests for different “party animals” in custom getups. Poor little bear… I try not to stray too far from the general vibe of the cakes I have created, but occasionally someone will request something a bit out of my comfort zone and I’ll invent something new and love it. 

You’ve been a Gather contributor before, what can the Gather guests expect from a Cake of Dreams workshop? Is it kid friendly?

I love making food with my own kids, and I think that children can really bring that wonder and magic to decorating that I strive for, so last year I did a kids only workshop where they could just go a bit wild with all the tools I use, and the result was totally gorgeous psychedelic kid-decorated cupcakes that were worth the very lengthy cleaning up afterwards… I also do a class for 15+ to go over icing and decorating big layer cakes, with marginally less glitter and flowers flying through the air, and some secret tips doled out, all very relaxed and with lots of chatting. 

Francesca will be returning to run her cake decorating workshop this Summer at Gather; complete with flowers, foraged fruits from the fforest gardens, edible glitter, jewels, sprinkles, maybe even a couple of unicorns - who knows! Whatever she brings, its bound to be one of the wackiest (& messiest) of all Gather workshops!

Guarantee your place on the Cake of Dreams workshop at Gather, book tickets here

Visit the Cake of Dreams website



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Book here