Blaenfforest is only two and a half miles from the thriving market town of Newcastle Emlyn, at the heart of the Teifi Valley with an amazing history. It is said that the last dragon in Wales was killed at Newcastle Emlyn, while resting on the castle walls. The castle, built in 1240 to replace the 'old castle', was the centre of the town for 400 years and you can enjoy a visit to the ruins next to the River Teifi.
The nearby Cych Valley is reputed to be the enchanted valley described in the first part of the Mabinogion, the ancient Welsh tales of myth and legend. Abercych is a small village in the north of the 
county of Pembrokeshire. It is an ancient village, the name of which means 'the mouth of the Cych'. It is on one side of the valley of the River Cych, which is said to be a portal to the world of the fairies in the ancient pre-medieval epic Welsh story of the Mabinogion. The Cych ends just outside of the village where it joins the larger River Teifi which eventually empties into the sea at Cardigan a few miles away.
The last duel in Cardiganshire was fought in nearby Llandyfriog in 1814.
It is said that Blaenfforest was once a hunting lodge owned as part of their Welsh Estates by the Earls of Cawdor. The Carmarthenshire Archive Office have records dating 
back to the 1780s showing Blaenfforest as an established property surrounded by its lands and buildings. Recently, I found Blaen y Fforest (as it was then called) on a rent roll dated 1635! Investigations are still ongoing..
When the Estate was broken up in the 1960s, Blaenfforest passed into private ownership. We came to Blaenfforest in 2002 and found a special place where time seems to have stood still.
This historic, idyllic location is the perfect base for your cottage holiday in South West Wales.
