Aberystwyth businessman, Julian Shelley, is a very familiar face in the town.
Many, particularly students, will remember the bookshop he ran at the bottom of the hill. Others will remember his and his wife’s appearance on the TV show Four in a Bed in 2013 when they couple turned their hands to running a guest house.
They run Gwesty Cymru on the promenade now, which is becoming quite the celebrity hot spot, as Julian explained.
“In the last two years at Gwesty we have hosted Gordon Ramsay, Ben Fogle, Al Murray, Robert Plant, Jason Fox and Tom Allen!
“It all started with a phone call and the excitement that Gordon Ramsay was coming to stay with five days’ notice. I spent days perfecting how to make the perfect scrambled egg. Gordon was very excited to hear the eggs came from my mother’s next door neighbour in Devils Bridge. He stayed for five nights and we thoroughly enjoyed having him.
“When Ben Fogle came to stay I thought I had mislaid the famous mountain eggs. I was running around the kitchen saying ‘I have lost Ben’s eggs’. Thankfully I found them.
“Once I mistook an guest’s wig for a Yorkshire Terrier and asked if he or she was friendly...
“Tom Allen enjoyed sampling our extensive wines, and Jason Fox from Who Dares Wins said that he would like to come back and see us one day. I was fascinated to hear about his SAS training in the Cambrian Mountains.”
Praising Aberystwyth, Julian said: “Such bookings are really good for the area. Thanks to Aberystwyth’s award-winning arts centre [where many of Julian’s celebrity guests are booked to perform] it is really placing Aberystwyth on the cultural map.”
Julian’s wife, Anna Maria Shelley, said: “We had an unforgettable night with Tom Allen and his team. It was so nice chatting about many things and we were good friends by the end of the evening.
“We often get guests wishing to reserve a room asking if they can stay in the one Gordon Ramsay stayed or Robert Plant, etc., stayed in."
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