Beth Nawr? (Now What?) Festival

Join us for Beth Nawr? Festival on Saturday 5^th July 2025 in Talgarth, Wales. Tickets only £10 per 2-hour workshop, and £5 for live music!

About the Festival 

A micro-festival nestled in the hills of Bannau Brycheiniog, hosted by Black Mountains College. Unlock your capacity to create a future in which people and the planet can thrive. 

Our planet is in crisis. Our way of life is increasingly unsustainable and unequal. Meanwhile, there is no shortage of ideas and models for solutions and alternatives to turn things around. Yet, actual application of these ideas is painfully slow. 

So, we are asking, Beth Nawr? (Now What? in Welsh).  

This festival brings together community builders and activists, farmers, artists, politicians, food leaders and many more all pioneering practical systems change across the UK and internationally. 

Through a day of interactive sessions, explore how they are doing it and how you too can help leverage change in small and big ways to build a more just and regenerative society.  

Join our Beth Nawr? WhatsApp Community group to get festival updates and connect with BMC team and attendees. 

Programme 

On Saturday the workshop programme runs 9.30am – 7pm. There will be four workshop slots, with 2-3 parallel sessions each. In the evening there will be live music at Trigg’s Cafe and an informal campfire social. On Sunday morning we will gather for a walk to explore the BMC farm campus and local landscape, deepen connections we’ve made, and continue conversations we’ve started. 

Spaces on the workshops are limited. For more information on each session and to reserve your place follow the link to the booking page. Each workshop is ticketed at £10. Be careful to book one workshop per timeslot. All venues are in Talgarth and within short walking distance. 

Morning Sessions: 9:30 – 11:30  

• Workshop 1: How to reimagine our relationship to plants beyond the narrative of invasion 
  Tsitsi Mareika Chirikure
• Workshop 2: How to take back control; land, power and community 
  Chris Blake – The Green Valleys 

Noon Sessions: 12:00 – 14:00  

• Workshop 3: How to start local, future-proof economies and industries 
  Stephen Davies – Social Designs 
• Workshop 4: How to protect our forests 
  Lina Brunelius – Protect the Forest Sweden and Greta Thunberg Foundation.  
  And Gabriel Paun – Champion of the Earth 

Afternoon Sessions: 14:30 – 16:30  

• Workshop 5: How to centre future generations; lessons from Wales 
  Jane Davidson – #futuregen: Lessons from a Small Country 
• Workshop 6: How to build community learning infrastructures for just transitions 
  Daniel Blyden and Emily Churchill-Zaraa – CIVIC SQUARE 
• Workshop 7: How to grow food systems for your community  
  Ali Taherzadeh – Splo-down Food Coop and Teasel Coop 
  Sanab Hersi – Green Soul 

Evening Sessions: 17:00 – 19:00 

• Workshop 8: How to reimagine fair food systems for rural communities in Powys 
  Chloe Masefield – Bwyd Powys Food  
  Carwyn Graves – Cegin y Pobl. 
• Workshop 9: How to protect our rivers 
  Nicola Cutcher – Rivercide and Friends of the River Wye 
  Paul Powlesland – Lawyers for Nature 
• Workshop 10: How to create education that teaches people to change systems 
  Andre Pusey, BMC Degree Lead. 
  BMC Student Society. 
  Natalia Eernstman, HE lecturer and creative practice lead. 

There will be ongoing free demonstrations and drop-in workshops organised by BMC students throughout the day. 

Live Music: 20:00 – 22:00

Hawk Howard & Michael Warburton 
British folk scene up-and-comers Hawk Howard (guitar, vocals) and Michael Warburton (mandolin, vocals) bring their improvisational, genre-spanning approach to Triggs’. Borrowing from bluegrass, 60s folk singing and the Hot Club, expect up-tempo tunes, slow waltz’s and beautiful harmonised songs informed by their eclectic taste. 

Travel 

We encourage travelling by foot, bike and public transport where possible. The nearest train stations are Abergavenny and Hereford – there is a public bus from Hereford to Talgarth. For those arriving to Abergavenny, we will run a minibus pick up between the train station and Talgarth – see times below. 

The T14 bus runs between Talgarth, Brecon and Hereford train station five times a day, timetable here: https://traws.cymru/en/services/SSWL/T14 

If you are driving, consider carpooling with other festival guests. Parking is available in the Talgarth Car Park and there are limited spaces outside Unit 5 at the Business Park. 

Minibus Times 

Friday:
18:00 – Abergavenny Train Station -> Talgarth (30 mins) 

Saturday:
8:45 – Abergavenny Train Station -> Talgarth 
11:00 – Abergavenny Train Station -> Talgarth 
19:30 – Talgarth -> Abergavenny Train Station 

Sunday:
13:00 – Talgarth -> Abergavenny Train Station 

Accommodation 

Camping 

For the weekend, we are collaborating with Lower Porthamel Camping, to provide a beautiful, tranquil place for you to spend the night. The campsite is located 1.5 miles down the road from Talgarth on an organic orchard, so you will sleep between the very apple trees that make the cider in the onsite tap room. As part of a Dark Skies Area in the UK, you can camp under starry skies if we are lucky enough to have a clear night! 

For those travelling from further afield, you may want to book both Friday and Saturday nights to make the most of the day. We recommend booking soon before pitches sell out: 

Book your pitch here 

Non-Camping Accommodation 

• The New Gurka Inn 
• The Castle Inn 
• Dinas bunk house 
• The Red Lion Llangors 

Food + Drink 

We’ll have a street food van serving all day from the Unit 5 Garden so you can grab something delicious between workshops and refreshments will be available in each venue. Sobremesa Drinks will be supplying locally pressed apple juice, natural cider and farmhouse beers from their pop-up bar – you can also enjoy a drink from their Tap Room in the evening located on the Lower Porthamel campsite. 

There is also an abundance of local, independent eateries in the area to choose from. Here are a few recommendations where you can find a tasty breakfast, lunch or dinner: 

• Trigg’s at the Mill (cafe with locally sourced ingredients) 
• Pobl Bakery (fresh bread, pastries and savouries) 
• Claire’s Wholefoods (fresh produce, snacks and drinks) 
• The Deli Pot (fresh sandwiches, cheese, meat and savouries) 
• Honey Cafe (Mexican inspired food and local honey) 
• Parry’s Ice-cream (gelato and milkshakes) 
• The New Gurka Inn (Nepalese cuisine) 

Tickets 

Each workshop is ticketed at £10. Book your space here.