Calan Gaeaf yn Y Marram:
stories, sounds and stones
Saturday 24th October | 10:30am until late
What to ExpectOn the last Saturday before the clocks go back, we're marking Calan Gaeaf, the old Welsh turn of the year into winter. Nos Galan Gaeaf, the night it begins, was traditionally a spirit night. People lit bonfires, then raced home before the Hwch Ddu Gwta, a tailless black sow said to roam that night, could catch the last one.
We're keeping it a bit gentler than that. There's making for families in the morning, a haunting novel set among ancient stones at lunchtime, a trip to a five-thousand-year-old burial chamber, and a feast as night falls. Book each part on its own, or make a day of it.
Saturday 24 October 2026
• 10:30am Family workshop with Sensori Sara, £12.50 per child
• 12:30pm The Hill in the Dark Grove: Liam Higginson in conversation with Kristoffer Hughes, in the tent. £6, or £12 with the book
• After the talkTo the stones at Bryn Celli Ddu. Free, make your own way
• 1:30pm Family workshop with Sensori Sara, second session, £12.50
• 6pm onwardsThe Calan Gaeaf feast, October's Seasonal Development Menu. £100 per person, paired wines £65
Kids workshops with Sensori Sara
The apple was the old fruit of Calan Gaeaf, so we start there, with apple prints, an apple treasure hunt and spiced apple overnight oats. Then Sara leads a noisy one. Every child makes a rattle, bell or clapper to take home, the kind of thing that might once have echoed round the stones.
There are pumpkins to paint, tools for grown-ups to carve lanterns, and Sara reads Ysgol Arswyd, a spooky story by local author Catrin Angharad Jones. There are 13 places per session, so book early.
The Hill in the Dark Grove
A few miles from here, the passage tomb at Bryn Celli Ddu has kept its secrets for five thousand years. It was one of the places that inspired Liam Higginson's debut novel, and for Calan Gaeaf we're bringing the book home to Môn.
Liam Higginson (right) is in conversation with Kristoffer Hughes, Chief of the Anglesey Druid Order, about ancient stones, old beliefs and the thin places where the past refuses to stay buried. There's an audience Q&A and a book signing afterwards.
To the stones
After the talk, Kris heads on to Bryn Celli Ddu, a short drive away. If you'd like to see the chamber that helped inspire the novel, make your own way over too. It's open access and it can be muddy, so bring boots.
The Calan Gaeaf feast
As night falls, the kitchen serves October's Seasonal Development Menu, a tasting menu built from whatever Anglesey is giving us that week. The menu is released a week before, and booking ahead is essential.
