Team Good Life visit Halen Môn
WORDS BY LOWRI JONES
In Welsh language ‘hiraeth’ describes a homesickness hard to explain, a longing for a place and a time. It’s an untranslatable word that I feel whenever I think of Ynys Môn or ‘the island’ as my family affectionately calls it.
Last week, we left our desks in Hawarden and went on a long overdue team trip to Halen Môn to learn about all things sea salt.
Anglesey is a place of beauty, transformation and uncertainty — and that’s exactly what enticed Alison and David Lea Wilson, Founders of Halen Môn to stay. One minute you’re faced with bone-rattling coastal winds and fierce foaming waves, the next it’s gentle rolling tides and bright horizons that a smartphone can’t do justice. The pair studied at Bangor University and left wanting to set up a business to sustain a living in North Wales.
They went on to launch Anglesey Sea Zoo. It was here that they noticed that the usually particular sea horses were perfectly happy to breed in the saline water from the Menai Strait. This gave them the idea that the same water could produce high quality salt flakes, and the rest is history.
The Halen Môn HQ open to the public today is a hive of ideas and innovation. Tours of The Saltcote run year-round and offer great insight into the practice of salt production. We were all amazed that the final product used by culinary experts all over is still harvested entirely by hand.
Salt tasting isn’t the only experience on offer, so afterwards we took a dip in the seaweed baths. The bath itself is a repurposed whisky barrel and the water is a by product of the harvesting process. There is something profoundly relaxing about enjoying a salty soak overlooking the incredible landscape that surrounds the facility. I slept so well that evening!
If you’re looking for inspiration we absolutely recommend a visit. And we are proud to stock Halen Môn products in our Farm Shop, and David, Alison and Jess are regular speakers at some of our events such as Summer Camp, so be sure to keep an eye out for those.
