Two Bedroom Welsh Country Cottage near Betws Y Coed | Cefn-Rhyd
Published on 21 Mar 2014 by Gwion Llwyd“Thank you very much for a lovely stay at Cefn-Rhyd. From the moment we arrived we received a warm welcome – At the cottage and also from the locals at the brilliant nearby pub. The cottage is gorgeous and immaculate and loved the regular visits from the cats. They really added that extra special touch to our stay. Would recommend a stay at this quality cottage, and also the food at the brilliant Giler Arms pub. All in all a fantastic week! So thanks to all.” – Nicola & Michael, Basingstoke
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We chose to stay here as part of a fun getaway with my partner and our two closest friends. What a great surprise we had coming into the driveway to see this modernised barn house style cottage with luscious green hilly backdrops. The cottage was furnished to a high standard and everything appeared to new and up to date. We spent our first day unpacking and settling in before taking a short walk to the nearby lake which was so nice before the sun began to set.
The next day we had planned to drive into Betws-y-Coed village where we could take part in some activities. It was only a short drive away which meant we could spend most of the day enjoying ourselves and not travelling. It really was a tossup between Go Below and Tree Tops Adventure but seeing as it was such a nice day, the high beams were for us. We had such a fun day but the fact that my partner is so scared of heights definitively added the comedy factor. You were strapped into a harness and given a helmet before having to brave over high beams riddled with obstacles. We hadn’t done anything like this before so we found it a great experience, even if the younger children were braver than us at certain points! There were other attractions on offer at the centre where you could jump the Powerfan Plummet parachute simulator or even the Sky Ride, Europe’s largest and first ever 5 seater swing. Afterwards we took a walk around the Village before learning about the Marin Trail which we were all interested in trying out. It was such a pleasure to walk around the village for the day where there were plenty of ‘crafty’ Welsh products on sale which offered something a bit different to your average gift shop.
Feeling refreshed after a long evening in relaxing, we mustered up the courage to venture back into Betws-y-Coed to try out the Marin trail. It wasn’t a problem that we were able to rent mountain bikes from a local business called Beics Betws at around £28 each including a map and toolkit. The Marin Trail definitely wasn’t the easiest of biking routes with its big climbs. It took us a few hours but the decent was great and worth the hard work. What’s more, the views on the trail were outstanding and unlike anything we’ve ever seen. One part of the track known as the dragon’s tail was quite bumpy and testing but it really added to the thrill of the track. Needless to say, afterwards we were a bit exhausted but we came away having feeling like we had made the most of our day. Having handed the bikes back we were glad to see the cottage again where we could relax and enjoy a drink or two.
The day before we left we decided that we would still like to see the area although we were quite physically spent after the Marin trail so we decided to take the Snowdon Mountain Railway, a narrow gauge steam train that goes all the way to the top of Snowdon. Well, if we thought we’d seen some sights on the Marin trail, then this really was the pinnacle of our trip. We couldn’t believe we were actually taking a steam train to the highest point in England and Wales! Once we were at the top we were able to have some lunch from the visitor centre at the top of the mountain where we could overlook the surrounding mounting scenery which was truly amazing. It really was a great way to spend our last day in the area and we were so glad that it all turned out so well as our first activity holiday together. We’ll definitely be returning again!