The last dragon in Wales was so long ago that nobody remembers it or even knows when it was around. Some think that having a National Red Dragon seems a bit Chinese but of course Dragons were once widespread and most cultures have some stories they can share on the subject of these (mythical?) creatures.

When I first visited Mid. Wales I thought I would find a Sheep Museum but instead, at Llandrindod Wells, I discovered a Dragon Museum tucked away on the left near the old fire station (in case of emergency) and before the town centre. I had assumed that it would grow to be the biggest Dragon Museum in the World – internationaly famous and a big tourist draw for the whole region, but on the occasion of my last visit to this Town, there was no sign of it and no dragon footprints leading away from the den.

I feel that the loss of this potential gem is serious because it was obviously started by an enthusiast living in exactly the right country. If you know the curator of this Dragon Museum, or any other Dragon Museum, I’d love to know about them and eventually see a Welsh Dragon Museum on the tourist map. There are many that share my enthusiasm for such great giants of myth, magic and might.

It is also logical to have a big ‘Sheep Museum and exhibition area’ in Wales and I have no idea if the Welsh Tourist Board have ever promoted this idea. In November 2002, Locum Destination Consulting was appointed by the Mid Wales Partnership and the Tourism Partnership – Mid Wales – Partneriaeth Twristiaeth Canolbarth Cymru – to undertake a review of the Regional Tourism Strategy but on reading it, I found that it just highlighted the potential of walking and cycling as usual.

Some believe that the tourism strategy of promoting walking and cycling in Mid. Wales will work best. I believe the best future is to create alternative enterprises, alongside farmers, that will entertain, educate and create health links between city and country dwellers.  These enterprises will boost the rural economy, encourage the peaceful growth of cities, maintain farms and preserve the natural environment.

“So what are these magical enterprises?”
I see the clues emerging everywhere in Wales like the largest underground trampoline, inland surfing, giant slip wires over a quarry. These are tourism wonders of the new World and we’re certainly going to experience them all and help promote the fun they create.

And what of that Dragon? The oldest recorded use of the Dragon to symbolise Wales is from the Historia Brittonum, written by the historian Nennius around 820. Before that? Who knows. More>