South/West Wales advice please

[Milliechaz]

Hi, we will be looking to relocate to South/ West Wales (ish) in the near future and i am torn between looking for somewhere with land again (horses are currently at home) or returning to livery. Can anybody give me some pointers on areas that have good hacking (or a nearish box ride away) as this is important to me. Id also be really grateful if you could let me know what livery is like there. Id be happy with diy or part livery but would ideally want all year turnout.

Thanks in advance.

 

[Sealine]

I used to have family living on the Gower Peninsula near Swansea. It's a beautiful area. As a child my cousin had a horse in Pennard near Three Cliffs Bay. There was plenty of hacking in the area including lots of beach riding but it was a long time ago. I can't comment on livery I'm afraid. It's also quite an expensive area for Wales.

A friend moved to the Monmouth area a few years ago and bought a house with land but apparently the hacking isn't good.

 

[HelenBack]

I think it probably depends where exactly in South/West Wales you're thinking and your budget. You'll get a lot for your money if you head towards Carmarthenshire and beyond but land around Cardiff for example can be shockingly expensive.

I'm not from Wales originally so only have experience of a few areas but it seems that the hacking is in pockets and either really good or non-existent. It's lovely on the Gower (and also expensive to live there!) and there is some nice hacking around Bridgend - in the hills to the north and on the beach to the south. There is also good forestry hacking north or Cardiff and in Wentwood Forest just to the east of Newport. There are probably other areas too but I gather it's not so great in Carmarthenshire and Pembrokeshire. I've no real experience of those places though so hopefully someone else will be able to advise better on those areas.

Livery I have found to be hit and miss. It rains a lot in South Wales and a lot of the land is clay so winter and the mud can be quite grim! Most places that I know of do restrict turnout one way or another. Some will just keep them in when it's really wet and others do morning only turnout in the depths of winter but some will just keep on them for days and weeks on end so it does pay to look very carefully and ask lots of questions. I do know of some yard owners who will lie to potential liveries on this one as well so do be careful on this front!

If you decide you're specifically interested in any of the areas I've mentioned and lived in then I can give you some more specific information on yards if that would be helpful. Not being form round here originally I do find the standard overall to be a bit lower than I might expect in other areas but I guess it depends what your previous experiences have been as to what your expectations are! And all of that said I do quite like my yard overall and it's friendly with good support so that counts for a lot.

Hope that's vaguely helpful anyway but if you do want any more info shout up.

 

[Milliechaz]

I think it probably depends where exactly in South/West Wales you're thinking and your budget. You'll get a lot for your money if you head towards Carmarthenshire and beyond but land around Cardiff for example can be shockingly expensive.

I'm not from Wales originally so only have experience of a few areas but it seems that the hacking is in pockets and either really good or non-existent. It's lovely on the Gower (and also expensive to live there!) and there is some nice hacking around Bridgend - in the hills to the north and on the beach to the south. There is also good forestry hacking north or Cardiff and in Wentwood Forest just to the east of Newport. There are probably other areas too but I gather it's not so great in Carmarthenshire and Pembrokeshire. I've no real experience of those places though so hopefully someone else will be able to advise better on those areas.

Livery I have found to be hit and miss. It rains a lot in South Wales and a lot of the land is clay so winter and the mud can be quite grim! Most places that I know of do restrict turnout one way or another. Some will just keep them in when it's really wet and others do morning only turnout in the depths of winter but some will just keep on them for days and weeks on end so it does pay to look very carefully and ask lots of questions. I do know of some yard owners who will lie to potential liveries on this one as well so do be careful on this front!

If you decide you're specifically interested in any of the areas I've mentioned and lived in then I can give you some more specific information on yards if that would be helpful. Not being form round here originally I do find the standard overall to be a bit lower than I might expect in other areas but I guess it depends what your previous experiences have been as to what your expectations are! And all of that said I do quite like my yard overall and it's friendly with good support so that counts for a lot.

Hope that's vaguely helpful anyway but if you do want any more info shout up.

Thank you, that is really helpful. I'm trying to gauge opinions just to focus our search. My main worry about livery is that people do lie which is really disappointing and i dont want to keep moving around until i eventually find somewhere for the long term.

I know im asking a theoretical question but do you think people would be interested in livery on a private yard (depending on where we settle obviously)? It would be just to provide some holiday cover for when we went away and i would obviously do tit for tat.

Thanks

 

[DirectorFury]

Swansea area - if you want good hacking you'll want to head for Gower, or Bishopston/Murton if you want to be a bit closer to town. A lot* of the soil in this area is moderately sandy and well-draining, so you'd have a better chance of finding all year turnout. If you go further up the valley/out of Swansea you're on heavy clay and more likely to have little/no turnout over the winter. The downside is that land is vvvvv expensive in these areas, as are houses.

NW of Swansea (end of M4 area) - the hacking is very very poor, very few bridlepaths and mostly really busy and dangerous roads. Up here you'll find heavy clay with the occasional coal seam which means the land just doesn't drain and all year turnout isn't really an option. Land is cheap though (23 acres for 165k anyone?) and you can box to good/quiet hacking within a 20-30 minute drive.

*check OS maps very very carefully, avoid yards on low-lying ground, and anything on a marsh.

 

[Annagain]

My knowledge is of Cardiff and west to Brigend - mainly the Vale of Glamorgan area. It's very expensive - probably the most expensive part of Wales for houses with land due to the proximity to Cardiff, good schools and lovely market towns like Cowbridge. Parts the Vale have fairly nice hacking (the further west you go the better) and everywhere is within a 20 minute drive to a beach. Probably the best would be Ogmore - sandy soil and it has lovely hacking on the common on one side and the beach on the other but it does get very busy in Summer. Around jct 34 of the M4, there is some lovely forestry for hacking but houses are pretty big and prices are very high (you'd have Gareth Bale and other footballers as neighbours). The forestry is great for people like me who have very limited hacking where we are and can box to the forestry once a month or so but i imagine it would get a bit dull if you did it every day. Bridgend - particularly north of the M4 has great hacking around vast areas of forestry (very hilly and good for fitness work!) and land is cheaper to buy but not so free draining. The Caerphilly area, north of Cardiff, is the same.

I've been on riding weekends on Gower and the hacking is incredible (hours without hitting a road) but as an AONB it's expensive and again, very busy in Summer.

I'd say there will certainly be people who would want to livery on a private yard like you mention, especially if you manage to find somewhere where all year turnout is possible.

 

[poiuytrewq]

I used to keep a horse Cardiff side of Caerphilly mountain. Hacking over the mountain, Wenallt, The Ganol, Rudry was all lovely. I really miss decent places to ride and loved it there.

 

[cremedemonthe]

I'm in West Wales, place called Tanglwst, no hacking here and all the footpaths are either blocked from lack of maintenance or deliberately blocked by landowners so no chance of getting any new bridle paths being installed despite the false claims by Carmarthenshire council that they are putting some in.
The nearest off road to me I believe is the Horse Trail path, about 3 miles away, there's a car park there you can easily park a few lorries or trailers in but the sign to show you where it is off the road keeps being removed as someone doesn't like it being used!

 

[taranana]

I'm in West Wales, place called Tanglwst, no hacking here and all the footpaths are either blocked from lack of maintenance or deliberately blocked by landowners so no chance of getting any new bridle paths being installed despite the false claims by Carmarthenshire council that they are putting some in.
The nearest off road to me I believe is the Horse Trail path, about 3 miles away, there's a car park there you can easily park a few lorries or trailers in but the sign to show you where it is off the road keeps being removed as someone doesn't like it being used!

Ditto this. We are in Ceredigion and according to the OS map there are plenty of footpaths and just about enough bridleways. The story is actually rather different but fortunately the lanes are quiet. If you can, check the definitive ROW map which may be available online and that should tell you what is usable. Good luck

 

[meleeka]

If you can afford a house with land then you always have options. It depends on what’s more important to you the area, house or something else.

If I were looking (I wish!) I’d look at what you could get for your money in different areas then go from there.

 

[Annagain]

If you can afford a house with land then you always have options. It depends on what’s more important to you the area, house or something else.

If I were looking (I wish!) I’d look at what you could get for your money in different areas then go from there.

Affording a house with land in one place doesn't mean you could afford it somewhere else so if you really want land, the options are limited. My 3 bed semi with a postage stamp back garden just outside Cardiff would cost more to buy than houses with several acres in many other parts of Wales. The difference between Cardiff and surrounding areas and parts of the valleys as little as 30 miles away is astounding. Generally, the further north and further west you go, the cheaper the prices, although there are pockets of expensiveness in (mainly) coastal areas such as Gower and Pembrokeshire.

 

[Milliechaz]

Thank you so much everybody you have given me some really useful information.

 

[HelenBack]

I'd say there will certainly be people who would want to livery on a private yard like you mention, especially if you manage to find somewhere where all year turnout is possible.

I agree with this, and if there was any flexibility in your turnout options then I would say it would be doubly attractive. Most of the yards round by me are medium to large yards that all tend to offer a fairly standard arrangement. It's mostly large herds in big fields, with a few exceptions, and if people want to limit their grazing then they tend to either have to muzzle or keep in the stable. If you were able to offer things like restricted grazing or strip grazing or similar then I think you'd probably have a queue of people wanting to join you! Small and quiet yards are few an far between too so I think this in itself would be attractive.

Good luck in your research and let us know how you get on!