Snowdonia News
Christmas Shopping in Betws Y Coed
Betws y Coed always seems to hold an enchanting feeling about it, set around luscious green forestry and beautiful views as the gateway to Snowdonia National Park. During Christmas time the village really does come alive, when visitors and residents truly celebrate the festive season in style. Being one of Britain’s first artists’ colonies, the products and crafts available certainly set the standard – and the entertainment is nothing short of fantastic during the village’s main event during the first week in December. This event – Nadolig Betws y Coed Christmas – puts on entertainment especially for the kids with their very own Santa’s Campsite. The marquee is filled with art and craft activities, a snowman shy and Santa’s grotto at the far end. Of course, where would Santa be without his trusted elves on hand to lay out the entertainment and guide the children into the grotto to visit the Mr Claus himself? Next to…
Cycling Holiday in North Wales
If, like me, youâve been inspired by team GBâs performance in the velodrom during the London Olympics, you might want to consider bringing your bikes along when you next visit North Wales. Hereâs 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 âBeast of Brenninâ, âDragons Backâ and âMinour Tourâ. 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. Thereâs a nice cafĂ© 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…
Snowdonia, Things To Do When it Rains
Facts and figures Before we start, itâs only fair to point out that it doesnât actually rain in Wales as much as you might think. The west coast of Snowdonia in particular, fairs better, weather wise, than most of the UK. Met office statistics show that the number of âwet daysâ (days with rainfall total of 1mm or more) during the summer months averages 25 in Valley on Anglesey compared to an average of 30 days in Upper Castern, the Met Office site in the midlands. When comparing âhours of sunshineâ the western coast of wales again, tends towards the top of the UK table. (metoffice.gov.uk/climate/uk) But youâre right of course, this isnât Spain, and yes it might rain. So what to do? Underground Adventures Like the treasures of London during the Blitz, you might want to seek refuge in some of the slate caverns of Blaenau Ffestiniog. In 1940, on the orders of Winston Churchill,…
Snowdonia festivals, fairs and summer events
A lot of the larger events like Wakestock, The National Eisteddfod and the Royal Welsh Show already get a lot of attention and publicity. But I though it might be nice to promote some of the smaller more local fun days that weâve enjoyed in the past. Ffair Criccieth, 29th of June. A summer fair has been held in this pretty seaside town for over 100 years. Winding streets lined with market stalls lead you down to the town car park filled with Ferris wheels and candy floss. Cytser are a theatre and production company based here in Snowdonia, North Wales. Every summer they organize some magical open air events in the grounds of Harlech Castle. They range from Shakespearian plays to musical pageants. This year, weâre particularly looking forward to Illyria Theater Companyâs production of Rohl Dahlâs The Twits on the 25th of July. The Sesiwn Fawr music festival began as a small celebration of…
New 'Glamping' Domes on the LLyn Peninsula
As you know, most of our cottages are 5 star type accommodation and luxuries like hot and cold running water are taken for granted. So these new ‘glamping’ domes are a bit of a break from the norm for us. But I think itâs good to leap into the unknown sometimes. While Iâm confident youâll have a lovely time in these domes, I hope youâll feel little apprehensive when you book. After all, thereâs no adventure without a little bit of fear. [Read more..]
5 Things To Do in and Around Dolgellau
A small and beautiful town, Dolgellauâs story is said to date back to the 11th or early 12th century when it was believed a settlement was created by Cadwgan ap Bleddyn for a town to be created to serve as a âserf villageâ. Later in mid 12th century, Dolgellau was more recognised for its importance when the area was the location of a council of chiefs led by Glyndwr. In the 18th century, the town was recognised for its wool industry, where its output was calculated to be worth 50,000-100,000 annually. More recently, in the 19th century the area experienced decline with the development of wool looms but later, experienced a gold rush with gold being commissioned for the royal family. Today though, Dolgellauâs economy relies on the tourism industry. With the towns stunning surroundings and being set in the southern part of Snowdonia National Park, it provides a brilliant base location for tourists looking to…
New Downhill Mountain Biking Trails Comeing to Snowdonia
I visited the people at Antur Stiniog today. It was the usual bad coffee and powerpoint type affair. But I’ll forgive them, as the project really is an exciting one. And they’ve got some proper money to spend, ÂŁ1.5 million being one of the few bullet points I remember. As part of the ‘Snowdonia, One Big Adventure’ initiative, work is well underway to develop a world class Downhill Mountain Biking centre at Llechwedd Slate Caverns in Blaenau Ffestiniog. This is a specialist type of mountain biking where nutters, sorry, I mean âenthusiastsâ, are ferried up to the top of a steep mountain so they can then throw them selves back down on the back of a bike. A walk along one of the easier trails highlighted the fact that this was proper hard core stuff. Not for the light harted or uninitiated. The riders are skilled and the bikes are highly specialised machines. The five ridiculously…
WiFi | Our list of self catering cottages with WiFi is growing
Our list of cottages with WiFi is growing. Tan Y Wenallt, Llys Bennar, Ysgubor, Bwthyn and Stabal can now be included in that category. So no more Angry Bird withdrawal symptoms. Let me know if you have any handy links for our guests while on holiday. You can find the full list of Internet enabled cottages here. https://dioni.co.uk/category/internet-wifi/
Farm Stay, Group Accommodation
I’ve added some more categories to the list to try and group similar cottages together. I’m hoping this will help our guests to browse through cottages that fit what their looking for. ‘Farm Stay’ includes cottages based on working farms. ‘Group Accommodation’ has been included to help people that are organising a break for a large group of people. Finally I’ve included a list of locations such as Tal Y Bont or Harlech which naturally group cottages in that area. The full list should be visable on the right hand side of this page.
Family Fun this Christmas
Here are five suggestions for family-friendly activities and events taking place in Meirionnydd during the 2011 Christmas holidays. 1. See a pantomime Pantomime is a lovely Christmas tradition that can be enjoyed by all members of the family, from tots to grandparents. The pantomime at the Dragon Theatre in Barmouth this year, on 28th and 29th December, is Sleeping Beauty. The performance comes courtesy of the Ardudwy Youth and Community Theatre, and tickets – which are available at the door, though it’s advisable to call the theatre to check performance times if the weather is especially bad – cost just ÂŁ5 for adults, ÂŁ4 concessions and ÂŁ15 for a family ticket, which covers two adults and two children. 2. Full steam ahead It may not be quite the Polar Express – you won’t see waiters cartwheeling down the aisles, at any rate – but a trip aboard one of the Talyllyn Railway’s steam trains at Christmas…
Pet Friendly Cottages, Real Fire etc.
Now that we’re beginning to get a bit more choice of holiday cottages on the website I’ve tried to set up some categories to group similar cottages
Newborn Foal at Bwthyn-Bach
[iframe src=”http://player.vimeo.com/video/27494495?title=0&byline=0&portrait=0&autoplay=0″ width=”100%” height=”338″ frameborder=”0″] To the delight of our recent guests a new foal was born born in the field near Bwthyn-Bach and Bwthyn-Clyd, two of our self catering cottages here in Dyffryn Ardudwy, Snowdonia.
Horse whisperer tames Carneddau ponies in Snowdonia
This story really caught my eye. Iâve 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 âexterminatedâ. 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…
Beware of the Alpaca
Two alpacas have been introduced at a farm in Nant Gwynant here in Snowdonia. The theory is that they help protect the new born lambs from foxes and other predators. They bond quickly with other grazing animals, have excellent eyesight and their protective instincts are well documented. Cases have been recorded in Australia of alpacas bravely standing in front of females and their young in the corner of a paddock fending off multiple animal attacks. More locally I’ve heard how a donkey will protect lambs and chickens from foxes. I guess south American alpacas are probably more suited to our rugged terrain. So why not. Arwyn Owen, the farmer responsible, certainly seems convinced. [Read more…]
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 didnât 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 âchemistryâ 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 weâre paying a bit more attention our other sow also seems to be âin pigâ. Iâll 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…
Solar Panels
Lisa and Mark, the owners of Pant Golau have just finished installing solar panels on the roof of their pretty little cottage near Llanbedr. Mark was explaining that the system was capable of producing 2.2kw per hour on a sunny day. And that the government would now pay them just over 40p for each kw they produced. This is in addition to getting free electricity of course. With an installation cost of ÂŁ9000 from Platinum Plumbing, Mark and Lisa hope the system will have paid for itself in 8 years. So as you sit in the sun on the raised patio, gin and tonic in hand and enjoying the views, you can be further comforted by the knowledge that youâre staying in a cottage which is just that little bit greener than most.
Glyder Fawr promoted to Super Mountain
G and J Surveys have been busy again. You might remember that they were checking to see if Tryfan qualified as one of the 14 peaks in Wales over 3000 feet. Well they must have bought a new tape measure as this time theyâve gone metric. Glyder Fawr, previously recorded as being 999m high has been measured at 1000.8m. The Guardian headline reads âWales celebrates promotion of peak to ‘super-mountain’â and The Telegraph writes how this will lead to an increase of people climbing the mountain and that â..the famous Welsh 1000m Peaks Race will have to consider becoming a longer race with five peaks instead of four..â. Itâs a nice news story, but it would be wrong to think that the mountain has changed, improved even. Itâs just our perception thatâs altered. I guess thatâs what I like about mountains. Theyâre fixed, permanent, a reassuring constant in an ever-changing world. The five peaks over 1000m…
Barmouth Walking Festival
The Barmouth Walking Festival is fast approaching once again. Itâs a great event organized by the Barmouth Publicity Association and runs from the 18th to the 27th of September. For ÂŁ7.50 you can join a group of like minded enthusiasts for a guided walk along some fantastic routes. The walk leaders have all been carefully selected and can really add to the experience with their local knowledge of the landscape, history ond nature. There are more than 30 walks to choose from. The price goes down a little if you book 4 days or more. The brochure suggests that there are routes for all abilities. But most of them I would suggest are best suited for people who have done some walking before. 10 miles through the Rhinog Mountains is not for everybody. Weâve had a lot of guests in the past that have really enjoyed the experience despite some sore feet so we highly recommend…
Road Works on Snowdon
The Snowdonia National Park are busy laying tarmac on sections of the popular Miners Track which leads to the summit of Snowdon. Initially I was quite taken aback by the news. A ridiculous notion dreamt up by some obscure and unelected committee I thought. The rights of a disadvantaged minority riding rough shot over common sense. Political correctness gone mad. “I bet itâs funded by Europe.” I agreed with critics pointing out that this would lead to even more pressure being placed on this natural recourse and an inevitable increase of people on the mountain who are ill-prepared and badly equipped. But Iâve had a bit of a rethink. As with many headlines, the reality is not as shocking as you first suspect. The section of the Miners Track being renovated is limited to the first gradual stretch from Pen y Pass, a popular starting point up to Llyn Glaslyn. Traditional building methods have been used…
Green Coast Award
Two of our local beaches, Harlech and Bennar Beach in Dyffryn Ardudwy, have won the âGreen Coast Awardâ again this year. The award is aimed at rural beaches which provide a ânatural, unspoilt environmentâ as well as the excellent water quality standard required to achieve the more recognizable âBlue Flag Awardâ. The award is given out by the nice people at âKeep Wales Tidyâ with financial help from Europe. Itâs great to see that our fantastic beaches are getting recognition at that sort of level. But I guess the downside might be that if more people visit our beaches itâll be harder no maintain the standard. So mumâs the word!
