Reeling in new customers after visit from famous fishermen

Ty Newydd is perched in a perfect spot overlooking the River Wye on the outskirts of Erwood, near Builth Wells.

It might be hidden away in the hills of Powys, but owners admit an already jam-packed booking calendar for this year and beyond is going to be even more crammed after much-loved British comedians Bob Mortimer and Paul Whitehouse paid a visit. The duo stayed during filming for their new series of Mortimer and Whitehouse: Gone Fishing, which returned to TV screens last month.

Series 4 of the show – which features lifelong friends Mortimer, 62, and Whitehouse, 63, reflecting on life after their shared major heart problems, while fishing in various locations around Britain – saw the pair wade into Elan Valley waters for episode five, which aired on Sunday, September 26, and featured the friends fishing on the mystical Llyngwyn Lake, near Rhayader.

After the programme aired, Ty Newydd’s owners were inundated with bookings, 20 in one day to be precise – which while welcome also gave owner Lucy Taylor a catch 22 type problem.

“It really is a hidden gem,” said Lucy.

“We had a flurry of bookings because of the show. It’s great but we’re a little worried that too many people will find it now.”

Looking ahead to next year, Ty Newydd is already fully booked for 2022. “But, we know we’re lucky,” added Lucy.

“We’re in a fantastic location and have a fantastically built lodge. We let all year round, we’re almost occupied all year round and now the show might bring us a wider market of people interested and coming to somewhere they might not have heard of before.”

Ty Newydd can be booked via Abergavenny-based firm The Cottage Company, which offers customers a curated collection of hand-picked self-catering properties in special locations.

Designed by local architects, and built by local contractors, the four-bedroom property sits above a privately-owned stretch of the Wye. Floor-to-ceiling glass sliding-doors open off both sides of it onto wide wooden decks, ideal for alfresco dining. The east-facing deck is the spot for morning coffee and the papers, while the west-facing one has steps down to the river.

Comfy sofas, a large TV, a Sonos sound system, woodburner, chunky industrial-style dining-table and sleek, modern kitchen-area complete the picture.

The former lodge is the perfect spot for a peaceful or activity-laden holiday, but has retained its historical character of being a fishery too, with a mile-and-a-half stretch of the river reserved for fishing – with trout and grayling prevalent in the waters.

During their trip to Mid Wales, Mortimer and Whitehouse met Mick May and Marina Gibson, who together have started a charity called Cancer and Pisces, which offers fishing as therapeutic respite for people with cancer. With each of them having suffered from ill health in recent years, Lucy felt the episode was very heart-warming.

“It’s given us a nice little boost, but it was lovely to see what they were filming,” she said.

“It puts out such a nice message and what’s important about life. It really was from the heart.

“It could have gone either way as Bob and Paul might have thought they were in the middle of nowhere, and we weren’t looking for any endorsements, but it was nice to be associated with it and it will broaden our visitor base. We currently have a balance between regulars and new visitors.”

Having taken over the lodge three years ago, Lucy has fallen in love with the local surroundings.

“Everyone knows about the Brecon Beacons, the Black Mountains and Hay-on-Wye with the book festival, but no-one really talks about the upper Wye Valley and nearby places like Pantyllyn Pool [just outside Builth]. You could go walking up there for hours not meeting anyone.

“This area is a special place for a lot of people and it’s been lovely to be associated with the show.”

Whitehouse and Mortimer pose with local angler Tom Jones and his son Arthur during filming

In the episode, the comedy duo fish for wild carp at the lake – thought to be the highest carp lake in Wales, if not the UK. Wild carp are the oldest strain of the species in the UK and there are tales from the Middle Ages of monks tending carp ponds.

It was actually a local tale involving mystical fish and monks that got them hooked on visiting Powys.

As long ago as the 12th century Llyngwyn was stocked with carp by the Cistercian Monks from nearby Abbeycwmhir. The lake was fished by the monks on their travels from the abbey at Strata Florida across the Cambrian Mountains at Pontrhydfendigaid, near Tregaron. The same strain of carp still exists in the lake today.

“I wrote to them after watching the Christmas special last year and told them about Llyngwyn,” said Tom Jones, treasurer of the Rhayader and Elan Valley Angling Association, who fishes the lake often.

“The production team loved the story about Llyngwyn and how this ancient strain of carp was put there by the monks as they passed between the abbeys.

“So, they sent the production team to meet me and I took them down the lake and showed them round.”

Mortimer, famous for his comedic partnership with Vic Reeves, and Whitehouse, who starred in The Fast Show with Harry Enfield, filmed in Radnorshire in May, and happily posed for pictures with Tom and young son Arthur.

*Series 4, Episode 5 of Mortimer and Whitehouse: Gone Fishing is available on iPlayer