Keith Thomas

Agriculture and Farming

Living in West Wales within a stone's throw of a dairy farm, and with a mother born into a farming family in Mid Wales, I've taken an interest in agriculture for many years.

Best of Wales - general interest tours

As a driver guide I can be flexible and take you to wherever suits your needs or interests. One of my favourite guided trips are those taking people to find where their forebears come from - whether it's a small village buried in the Cambrian mountains, or a former mining village in the Glamorgan valleys.

Castles

We've got a few of them! I can't claim to have visited every one, but maybe I can guide you to the less well known ones, like Cilgerran, Castell Carreg Cennen, Castell y Bere, Dolforwyn or Llansteffan. I'm equally happy in one of the "big hitter" castles, such as Pembroke, Caerphilly, Caernarfon or Beaumaris.

Copper Coal and Iron

My father was a mining engineer, and his father and grandfathers were colliers hence my lifelong interest in the history of coal mining in Wales - from the early phases linked with metal smelting (copper, then iron) through the steam coal phases of the late 19th century, and then onto the recent past. I also had the opportunity to go down 6 working mines on dozens of occaisons Learn on my guided driver tours how Wales was once the most important producer of both copper and iron in the world, and how the largest navies in the world relied on Welsh Rhondda coal for power.

Countryside

You're never far from countryside in Wales. Even when I lived in Cardiff, Bannau Brycheiniog (the Brecon Beacons) were under an hour away. Today I live in a tiny hamlet in West Wales, surrounded by the sights, smells and ways of the countryside. As a driver guide I can take you on the back roads to see the real heart of Wales.

Geography and Geology

Wales is a geologist's paradise - and two areas (Anglesey and Pembrokeshire) are exceptional even within Wales. I can show you awesome anticlines, delectable volcanic dykes and scintillating synclines! Probably a few other things, but I can't think of the alliteration!

History and Prehistory

I'm not a historian by training - but I've learnt so much by trying to link the Wales we see today, her towns and villages, even their place names, with Wales' history. Let me show you the Landsker line - one dividing Pembrokeshire with different place names on either side - and of course the castles that enforced that division, almost 900 years ago!

Slate and Slate Landscape

I live a mile from an old slate quarry (now repurposed for leisure activities!), but the history of how the natural riches of Wales were developed and exploited is a fascinating part of Welsh history. It's every bit as fundamental to our identity as coal mining and iron making were. In my twenties I worked in one of the main slate quarries in North Wales, so can easily identify with the industrial and cultural heritage of the region, and why it became an UNESCO World Heritage Site.

Welsh Language

As a native Welsh speaker, I beleive that the story of how the language of Wales has not only survived but promises to thrive is something that every visitor to Wales should hear about. If there's ONE thing that really distinguishes Wales, it's the Welsh language - Cymraeg - even for those Welsh men and women who aren't fluent in it.