After a busy travel schedule to Bespoked UK and a few post-showcase Shop Visits, John and Cari found respite at the Fforest Ffondo. Read on for a springtime sampling of Wales and a look into Welsh hospitality…
Fforest Farm
Petor first profiled the Fforest Ffondo for The Radavist back in 2022, and at the time when I read his Reportage, it looked like a dream. As we were planning our Bespoked UK trip and the subsequent weeks of traveling to various framebuilders and makers, the 2025 Fforest fit right in the middle, offering a bit of R&R after a busy spring schedule.
The event’s intent is to offer a sampling of the Welsh countryside, with the home base for the weekend taking place at the Fforest Farm, just a few miles from the town of Cardigan. This idyllic locale is nestled at the tidal reach of the River Teifi at the point where Ceredigion meets Pembrokeshire. The Welsh coastline is stunning, and the cities and towns along it are lined with colorful bwthyn, or cottages.
On the drive in, along narrow hedge-lined roads, we were offered quick peeks of beautiful rolling green hills and coastal redolence. Looking at a map on my phone, I could see where we were heading and that almost all of these serpentine roads lead directly to the sea.
Family Owned and Operated
Fforest is owned and operated by the Tucker-Lynch family. Sian Tucker and James Lynch were both designers working in London in the 1990s. Sian was in textiles and James in a design studio. Wanting to create more spaces for artists and designers to live, James began converting industrial lofts to artist live/work spaces in Shoreditch. Not long after, the neighborhood became busy and the stress of living in London had James and Sian looking for a change.
Initially setting their sights on New Zealand, the two decided to relocate their family of four sons, Jackson, Robbie, Calder and Teifi, to Sian’s home country of Wales where they found the land and a series of small buildings that soon became Fforest.
The pleasantries experienced today when you visit are far from its beginnings. Initially, the property was very rustic, with but a few buildings overlooking the river valley below. Now there are a series of guest suites and geo dome tents sprinkled throughout the acreage, along with communal spaces, both indoor and out.
Dreamy Road Riding
Once Jackson, the oldest of four, found cycling in his young adulthood, he decided he wanted to host a cycling event out of Fforest but noted that most of the weekend events at the time were gravel-focused. The hills surrounding Fforest are lined with perfectly-paved roads and the locals are a patient bunch, making it perfect for road riding.
Jackson wanted to bring in people from all across the UK to enjoy Welsh road riding and the event, laying out a series of routes for a variety of fitness and skill levels. There are easy two-hour rides and harder six-hour outings, with the longer routes taking riders deeper into the hills and coastline roads.
Our group took on the 40-mile route that boasted 4500′ elevation gain and it wasn’t until the final summit that the unwelcomed springtime guest arrived: wind. With gusts reaching 60 mph, we dumped the bikes in the Condor Cycles van with Ben and Claire and hitched a ride back to camp with David from Death Spray Custom in his sweet Defender 110.
David is perhaps best known to the readership of The Radavist for his wild, custom-painted bikes and cycling kits. He took his design eye and added the Fforest logo, a Welsh pattern, down the side of his 2005 Defender. He added a pleasant note on the spare tire cover: “Caution Cyclists” in both Welsh and English; something you’ll often see on signs throughout Wales as the country wishes to keep its native language alive.
He also brought along his Stanridge ‘cross bike… Wow.
Thanks to David, we made it back to Fforest sated from a nice ride and began to scope out the property which had come alive with all sorts of activity…
Activities, Accommodations, and More
Fforest Ffondo isn’t all about riding, though – this year’s event felt very family-oriented with a Bespoked-themed workshop set up in the large tent propped up on the property’s hillside. Inside were a selection of handmade bicycles and a series of craft tables. Sturdy Cycles had an anodizing station where you could custom anodize a titanium mug. Albion, the cycling apparel company, had a heat transfer station for customizing cycling caps from Condor or Fforest Ffondo shirts. Andrew from the Academy Tools and Billie, a metalsmith, had a headbadge station.
While the event caters to cyclists primarily, there were also group running, and stretching sessions. On-site saunas and hot tubs are available to soothe achy muscles and stress, and wildflowers are in bloom throughout the property, casting colorful hues across its varied terrain. To call Fforest quaint is accurate, but there’s much more intentionality here.
Behind the chill vibes and rustic aesthetic, countless hands keep the event rolling on schedule. Nonalcoholic beverages are available, meals are abundant, and coffee flows like a Welsh spring.
Our lodging was in the Onsen hut, a geodesic dome with an attached hot tub. At one point, Cari caught me working while soaking, perhaps missing the point of the whole experience! Littered along a bridle path, used only by maintenance crews, the huts have sunset views of cascading valleys and are filled with songbirds each morning.
The main activities are downhill from the lodging, so you get in plenty of steps each day going back and forth. At the end of the weekend, my calves were sore – and it wasn’t from the riding. Joking with James on the last day about the hills, he commented “If you take Wales and flattened it, the surface area would be larger than the entire UK.”
He’s not wrong.
The event was a great respite from the stress of covering an event like Bespoked UK solo. The long days and late (or early?) nights piled up on top of a very busy spring schedule but as soon as I set foot onto the Fforest property and got out on a ride with some friends, all that seemed to melt away.
Cycling was the motivator for the Fforest Ffondo but it was the experience of springtime in Wales that I’ll remember the most. It’s the hospitality, camaraderie, and conversations at sunset that will forever be rendered in my mind. I wanted to thank the Tucker-Lynch family for their invitation and an event that has, without a doubt, left a lasting impression.
Many thanks to the Tucker-Lynch family for the invite, our dear friend Petor Georgallou for facilitating the trip, and to everyone who said hello and chatted! xo
Keep your eyes peeled on Cold At Night for the 2026 Fforest Ffondo!
… and you don’t have to attend the Ffondo to escape to Wales for the weekend. Fforest has several accommodations and events throughout the year to attend and enjoy.
All of the photos from the gallery are here in The Radavist Dropbox.