Things to pack for a winter break in Snowdonia

According to Arthur Wainwright, “There’s no such thing as bad weather, only unsuitable clothing”. As one of the most well-respected fell walkers in the UK and taking his advice on board, here is our list of Things to Pack For a Winter Break In Snowdonia…

1 | WALKING BOOTS AND WATERPROOFS

Let’s get the boring and obvious ones out of the way first. A winter break in Snowdonia will involve some rain, that is pretty much guaranteed! So make sure you have suitable waterproofs and shoes so that you are never caught short and ready to enjoy whatever the weather throws at you.

2 | LAYERS

Great for when you are walking up mountains or just mooching around. There is a lot of moving from the cold outside to the warm inside and so having a number of layers that you can put on and take off will be much more comfortable than having a couple of thicker layers.

3 | BINOCULARS

Snowdonia has been granted Dark Sky Status which means that we have some of the best views of the night sky in the world. The winter is the best time of year for star gazing as the nights draw in. Do your research as to what to look for and then take it all in once you land in Snowdonia.

4 | TORCHES

Dark sky status means that we have much less light pollution than you are probably used to especially as many of our cottages are out of range from street lights. It will certainly come in handy for those visits to the shed to stock up on firewood!

5 | MAPS

This is not an obvious one in the age of sat nav and phone maps. But our wonderful mountains do mean that sometimes 3G is a little temperamental… So just to be on the safe side, pack a good street and OS map of the area you are visiting in the car. They will help when tempers get frayed if you’ve lost your way in the Snowdonia countryside:)

6 | BLANKETS

When it’s not raining, sitting out in the crisp winter air, looking out to the sea or out over the mountains is one of the most beautiful parts of a winter break in Snowdonia. Take a blanket with you to put over your knees to keep you warm while you enjoy being out in the winter air.

7 | NETFLIX | DVD’s

A night in with the fire on and watching a film could not be more idyllic. Most of our cottages will have a DVD library, but downloading Iplayer or Netflix onto a tablet is also a good idea. Investing in something like a chrome cast device to stream Netflix etc onto the TV screen might also be something you want to consider.

8 | SUNGLASSES

Maybe not the most obvious choice in a list of things to pack for a winter break in Snowdonia but the low-level sun can make driving difficult during the winter months, so make sure you pack those sunglasses.

9| A GOOD BOOK

Time away for downtime is what holidays are all about and having a good book to enjoy will certainly make your afternoons after a day out that little bit more indulgent.

10| A PLASTIC TRUG

Having a trug in the back of your car is another life saver. There are some days that you will attract a lot of mud (!) and so having something you can just chuck everything into is good. I have one and use it all year round: for sandy beach days in the summer and muddy, wet days in the winter!