It is 1999 and we are guests at Celtic Manor in Coldra Woods, Newport, Gwent Wales. We are located on an elevation adjacent to the golf course. As the dream of hosting the Ryder Cup takes shape around us, we are looking back. Below us is Caerleon, once a thriving outpost the Romans called Isca. Several valleys beyond the mist-shrouded knolls along the River Wye, directly to the east, lie the historic remains of Chepstow Castle and Tintern Abbey.
Magpies, their black and white feathers dappled by the sun’s rays breaking through the low, swift clouds, pounce from their pine perches. They strut haughtily across the precise, perfect lawn casting wry glances at a trio of men huddled nearby. One takes a decisive shot, undisturbed by the chatter of birds, following the ball with one’s eyes as it soars over the lake and well-guarded green to a prime landing spot just a short distance from the target hole.
This is New Wales, the land of wizards, ethereal music and sheep grazing in parish gardens, now plunged headlong into a union with the high-tech lab and pristine golf courses that surround us. These ventures are the culmination of a dream realized by the richest man in Wales, the 18th richest man in Britain.
After graduating from the University of Wales, Swansea, Newport native Terry Matthews, now 55, headed for Canada. Newbridge Networks, the advanced telecommunications equipment company he founded, is still headquartered in Ottawa, Ontario, but its headquarters are just a short drive from Celtic Manor, the hub of the resort that the billionaire has turned into a world-class destination. .
This is the sixth year that my husband and I have returned to Celtic Manor, a 19th century stone mansion converted into a hotel under the wise planning of Matthews. Crouched over the M-4 like a venerable grandmother, he catapulted himself into Johansen’s esteemed Guide to Recommended Hotels in Great Britain and Ireland shortly after its creation.
On this day, television cameras are set up at the hotel entrance to film BBC sports commentators and other media personalities interviewing golf enthusiasts who arrive non-stop in taxis and fancy sports cars. Players then mingle in an emotionally charged atmosphere, their camaraderie expressed in multiple languages. Without realizing it, we have timed our trip to coincide with the opening of Wentwood Hills, a championship course designed by Robert Trent Jones Jr. and the third of his 18-hole courses at Celtic Manor.
Their latest achievement is a strong contender to host the Ryder Cup in 2010. Today’s media hype, broadcast later across the UK, is a hole-in-one.
The once-serene woods surrounding the resort fail to dampen the din of construction crews rushing to finish the new Celtic Manor Hotel in time for the “grand” opening scheduled for July. From our fourth-floor bedroom window, we look up past the sea of wildflowers cascading down a rugged slope. At the top, the spectacular new hotel dominates the rocky cliff. Each spacious room features a cleverly positioned balcony for optimal views of the picturesque landscape. We squint, momentarily blinded by the sun admiring her reflection in a sea of glass patio doors.
It is clear that Matthews has invested lavishly in the project. His expectation that it will be hailed as the UK’s most spectacular hotel, conference, golf, sports and leisure complex is realistic. From 400 ornate guest rooms and suites featuring state-of-the-art electronics, to the soaring glass atrium and spacious Wentwood Suite theater and banquet hall, the resort anticipates the business needs and trends of the next century. At the same time, leisure-seeking guests will be wickedly pampered, whether it be on the golf courses, lazing around the Roman-style pool, following a vigorous fitness program at Club Rio, analyzing and reviewing golf techniques at the Ian Woosnam Golf Academy, or enjoy a smorgasbord of other sports.
But Celtic Manor does not represent Wales or its people. Beyond the magnificent golf courses, visitors to this small nation quickly discover enchanting vistas in the surrounding cities and countryside, where natural, ancient and historic treasures must be seen and preserved to avoid being overwhelmed by modern tastes. .
In the nearby capital city of Cardiff, the Welsh National Opera and the National Orchestra of Wales satisfy the soul, while the National Museum of Wales and the Welsh Industrial and Maritime Museum on Cardiff docks fascinate the mind. The train station is a hub for vacationers heading to the seaside delights of Barry Island. Others travel north through the narrow, fertile valleys where miners once sailed and the legendary Rhymney bells await at the journey’s end. Lovers of rugged nature can opt for the sixty-mile cycle path that connects the bay to the Brecon Beacons National Park.
The Welsh Folk Museum in St. Fagans, on the outskirts of Cardiff, is a collection of authentic buildings recreating Welsh crafts, customs and heritage, from sheep farms to a castle with a formal rose garden. On each return trip, we always find something new to admire at this “must-see” attraction. Wide in scope and history, a visit whets an appetite for more Welsh delights.
For romantics, nothing makes the heart beat faster than castles that abound in every direction. Built among Roman and Norman ruins, Cardiff Castle and its alter ego Castell Coch are 19th-century whims of the 3rd Marquess of Bute and American architect William Burgess, whose reconstructions lean more toward Victorian and Gothic styles than the true antiquity.
Caerphilly Castle, on the other hand, is a vast complex of stone towers, walls, dams and moats that was completed in 1271. Generations of armored knights kidnapped here participated in jousting tournaments for fun and occasional battles for self-preservation until the castle was besieged. in 1647.
A gray masonry tower of this second largest castle in the British Isles leans precariously, the victim, some say, of Cromwell’s failed attempt to blow up the fortress during the bloody Civil War between Wales and England. Others attribute the depression to the passage of time and the natural movement of the islands and the dam walls that support the towers. Shrouded in mist that hangs over the Rhymney Valley and a story that pits generations of rugged Welshmen against an oppressive crown, Caerphilly Castle is a metaphor for a town under siege. Some insist that her mysterious aura emanates from the shadowy ghost of the Green Lady.
Banished into exile centuries ago by her husband, a Norman lord who once ruled the castle, she is said to haunt the place of her demise and often frightens tourists by demonstrating in the cobwebbed chapel adjacent to the Great Hall or along of the crooked stairs. She means no harm as she, time and time again, wanders in search of the Welsh prince who stole her heart.
While the Green Lady simply retraces her steps within the castle walls, tourists enjoy the wonders of the outdoors as they pony ride through the Brecon Beacons National Park, braving the rugged and windswept Snowdon Mountain in North Wales, or strolling along the rocky Pembrokeshire coast. Path. Not surprisingly, hiking, climbing, and casual walks are among the main draws for the small country. By all accounts, one sees more castles and verified antiquities than in any other country in the world. Burial chambers dating from pre-Christian times are mixed with medieval fortresses. Standing stone circles from before Stonehenge, traces of prehistoric settlements, and Celtic burial mounds tempt the ancestor seeker in all of us.
Update: It’s 2010 and Terry Matthews, now 66, is making his dream of hosting the Ryder Cup at Celtic Manor come true. Famous golfers and their fans from around the world will flock there from October 1-3 for an event that has been planned for twelve years. But don’t be surprised if, when it’s over, many attendees will be so enthralled by the surroundings that they’ll be tempted to explore beyond the untouched greens in search of uniquely Welsh magical mysteries.
