Snowdonia News
North Wales Microbreweries and Taprooms
As a keen real ale enthusiast, I find there is nothing better to do on a sunny day (or a rainy one, come to think of it) than pop down for a nice refreshing pint at one of North Wales Microbreweries and Taprooms. However, living in North Wales, this has become a particular joy of late thanks to the number of locally brewed bevvies on tap. At present, the Campaign for Real Ale (CAMRA) estimates that over 100 people in North Wales are employed by microbreweries, bringing a diverse mix of flavours and textures to the market, and I for one could not be more delighted – especially as this figure is set to grow thanks to the huge popularity of local real ales.
Top 5 Mountain Biking in North Wales
Nothing comes close to the feel of a rugged tread plunging into the fresh soil of an undiscovered path, rushing through undergrowth, scaling up a rocky trail and emerging, triumphant, to be greeted by a breathtaking vista of endless coastlines and rugged, forested mountains – unless you have found your way to cosy pub at the end of it all as well, of course. With some of the world’s most beautiful untouched territory at hand, the North Wales has just about everything that an avid mountain biking enthusiast can possibly thirst for – and we’ve got five fantastic routes that you’ll just have to put on that 2014 itinerary. Coed y Brenin Meaning “King’s Wood” in Welsh, this spectacular piece of land rolls out in true Welsh regal style, imposing and supernatural in its scale and presence. Part of Snowdonia National Park, it features several single-track courses as well as a dual-slalom course, and is a…
Self Catering Barn Near Pwllheli, Llyn Peninsula - Bryncaled Diary
“Despite the inclement weather we all had a fabulous break in a delightful, well appointed cottage. It was close to all amenities and yet remote enough for peace and tranquility. Facilities were spot on, in fact we enjoyed it so much, we considered taking a few extra days onto our fortnight’s holiday, but unfortunately it was booked. It was our granddaughters 1st holiday, 1st time at the beach, 1st tooth, and 1st paddle in the sea, many other 1sts – so memorable we will have to do it again very shortly. Cannot recommend it highly enough.” – Alan Jones, Shropshire As it was such a lovely day, we decided we would spend our first day in Aberdaron so the girls could enjoy the beach. The village of Aberdaron, not too far from where we were staying could only be described as one of the most idyllic little seaside villages we’ve ever come across. Set right next…
Bloodiest Castles in North Wales
Caernarfon We should start our tour of the Bloodiest Castles in North Wales with the largest of them all perhaps. Caernarfon Castle. Following years of bloody battle, Llywelyn, the last price of Wales, was finally defeated and killed by the armies of Edward I in Builth in 1282. King Edward I wanted to deny Dafydd, Llywelyn’s brother, any chance of staging a comeback so quickly drove home his advantage by ordering the construction of huge a huge castle in Caernarfon and other strategic locations. James of St George was put in charge. He immediately employed hundreds of workers to dig the huge moat that was to surround the castle and to cut the great foundation trenches that would support the 6-meter thick walls of the castle. Any houses of the old welsh township that lay in the way were torn down and destroyed. By 1284 the castle was almost finished. Edward I and his wife Elenor…
Cycling Holiday in North Wales
If, like me, you’ve been inspired by team GB’s performance in the velodrom during the London Olympics, you might want to consider bringing your bikes along when you next visit North Wales. Here’s a couple of places for you to consider. Coed Y Brennin Probably the best mountain biking centre in the UK. Miles and miles of rugged trails with fantastic names like ‘Beast of Brennin’, ‘Dragons Back’ and ‘Minour Tour’. The trails are colour coded according to difficulty similar to ski slopes. So all abilities can be confident of having a great time. All the trails start and finish from the new eco visitor centre just south of Trawsfynydd on the A470. There’s a nice café there, a well stocked spares shop, bike wash facilities and shower cubicles. Bikes can also be hired from the very nice people at Beics Brennin. Mawddach Trail The Mawddach Trail is the perfect choice for a family outing out…
Horse whisperer tames Carneddau ponies in Snowdonia
This story really caught my eye. I’ve been fascinated by the wild horses of the Carneddau mountains in Snowdonia since I was a little boy. I was lucky enough to see three of the ponies whilst walking with an elderly aunt near Sychnant. We came upon them unexpectedly one cloudy morning. The encounter caught us and them by surprise. The horses stopped to look at us for half second before charging off across the fields into the mist. My auntie went on to explain how they had never been tamed and how the English king, Henry the VIII, had failed in his attempt to have the horses “exterminated”. They were truly magical and lived in the imagination of this 9 year old boy for a long time afterwards. But as ever, their future in our modern world is far from certain. So, in an effort to make the breed more commercially viable for Snowdonia farmers, efforts…
Surprise!
Some of our guests were lucky enough to be staying in Nant when Magldi, one of our Kune Kune pigs gave birth. A bit of a surprise as we didn’t know she was pregnant. We had borrowed Hafren, a pedigree Kune Kune boar from some friends before Christmas. His breeding abilities weren’t proven however and unfortunately he didn’t seem very interested in our girls. We tried playing a Barry White CD and introduced some soft lighting to the pig sty but eventually presumed that the ‘chemistry’ just wasn’t right. 3 months, 3 weeks and 3 days later (the length of a pigs pregnancy) and Hafrens credentials are irrefutable. And now that we’re paying a bit more attention our other sow also seems to be “in pig”. I’ll keep you posted. [nggallery id=31] Well our other pig, Pauline, did have piglets. This time luckily we were more prepared. A holding pen complete with warming lamp and clean bedding was all ready. They all…
Royal Welsh, Spring Fair
We escaped from the farm last week to go to the ‘Small Holders Fair’ which is held every year in Builth Wells on the Royal Welsh Show ground.
