The Hours Cafe & Bookshop

Excellent cafe in a lovely location. We parked in the long stay car park so it was a bit if a walk on a hot day but well worth the effort. Cafes in Brecon looked busy and few had tables outside. We were given a table in the shade just across the green from the cathedral. Cool beers and a lovely quiche, new potatoes and salad - just what we needed. We were driving from St Davids to Oxford via the A40 so as to avoid delays on the M4 and will do the same route next time - but use the car park next to the cathedral!

Come here all the time being a Brecon local. Friendly staff, a reasonable variety of foods and cakes (could do with a bit more0 but the feather in the cap is the location. Being set in the curtilage of beautiful Brecon Cathedral the setting is sublimely gorgeous, green, peaceful, historic and lowers your heartbeat by about forty beats. Apart from the tea and cakes you can walk inside this stunning cathedral and even see the historic military chapel and view the iconic colours of the South Wales Borderers that were involved in the Zulu wars.* There is also a lovely little shop and toilets on site. *The 24th Regiment - South Wales Borderers - established their Regimental Depot in Brecon in 1873 and the Havard Chapel in Brecon Cathedral was dedicated as the Regimental Chapel in 1922. In 1934, the famous Colours carried by the Regiment during the 1879 Zulu War were deposited in the Chapel. The Queen's Colour 1/24th was saved by Lieutenants Melvill and Coghill after the disaster at Isandhlwana. Both officers, who were killed by the Zulus, were each later awarded a posthumous Victoria Cross. These particular Colours, because of their significance, were encased in 2002 to prevent further deterioration.

A delightful oasis in the busy town of Brecon. Lovely welcoming staff when I phoned and who remembered my name. Sat outside under a tree in the shade on a sunny day on the lawn and finished with the pleasures of visiting the Cathedral in whose grounds the cafe lies. Presently shut Mondays and Tuesdays, I would strongly recommend it over cafes with chairs and tables on the pavements in the town centre. [A town but not a city, despite the cathedral.]