Three bedrooms: 1x king, 1 x double, 1 x twin. Bathroom with bath, shower over, basin, heated towel rail, WC. Cloakroom with basin and WC. Kitchen. Dining room. Sitting room with woodburning stove. Utility. Game room with TV
The picturesque village of Beddgelert lies in the heart of the Snowdonia National Park at the foot of Mount Snowdon. Beddgelert is a bustling village with arts and craft shops, tea rooms, welcoming pubs, including Saracens Head and the Royal Goat, and restaurants, centred around the Afon Glaslyn river. A leisurely stroll along the river will take you to the Aberglaslyn Pass, one of North Wales’s most famous beauty spots. The Welsh Highland Steam Railway passes through the village on its journey from Porthmadog to Caernarfon. Beddgelert is famed for its monument to the Welsh Prince Llewelyn’s dog, whom the Prince killed thinking it had attacked and killed his son, only to discover afterwards it had been defending his son from a savage wolf attack. From here, you can easily access Porthmadog, home to a Maritime Museum, the Welsh Highland Heritage Railway, the Black Rock Llamas, and Porthmadog Golf Club, as well as Borth y Gest, where you can hike along the Beach Path, spend a day at the beach, and dine at the popular Black Rock Beach Club with stunning sea views, onwards to the Llyn Peninsula and beyond, this is an ideal location for a Welsh holiday.
Gwynedd is a mountainous county with much of the east covered by Snowdonia National Park. To the west is the Llyn Peninsula which is flatter and has some of North Wales’s most beautiful coastlines.
The lagoons, wetlands, grasslands and reedbeds of Spinnies Aberogwen nature reserve near Bangor attract a wonderful variety of birds all year round but in particular during spring and autumn migrations. In the summer look out for kingfishers, little egrets, and grey herons in the reeds as they hunt for small fish, while in winter, water rails, great-crested grebes, and snipe, are joined by dunlins, lapwings, and redshanks looking for shelter. The reserve has a hide as well as bird feeders giving you the opportunity to see the wildlife up close.
Just south of Porthmadog is Traeth Glaslyn nature reserve made up of salt marsh, willow woodland, and grassland and a haven for wildlife and birds including teals, wigeons, curlews, black-tailed godwits. There is a hide here too, but please note at high tide the reserve can become submerged so check tide times before you go.
Another wetland reserve is the RSPB’s Arthog Bog in the Mawddach Valley. It may be small but it’s crammed with wildlife. Visit in spring for the opportunity to see summer migrants such as sedge warblers, whitethroats, and cuckoos. In autumn, flocks of redwings and fieldfares arrive for the winter. There’s a good chance to see goldfinches, linnets, and siskins feeding on seeds all year round.
For woodland birds head to Nantporth nature reserve, overlooking the Menai Strait and home to blackcaps, treecreepers, nuthatches, and jays. It’s also a good place to spot carrion crows, ravens, and jackdaws which often flock to the foreshore.
Also in the Menai Straits, is Traeth Lafan or Lavan Sands, an intertidal sandbank that is important for waterfowl in particular oystercatchers, as well as ringed plovers, knots, greenshanks, and turnstones.
Although ospreys can be spotted all over Gwynedd, for fans of these magnificent birds of prey a trip to Bywyd Gwyllt Glaslyn Wildlife is a must. A pair of ospreys has been breeding at the site since 2004 and in spring, visitors can watch on camera as the parents deliver fish to feed their chicks at the nest. There are also viewing platforms, hides, and scopes, and volunteers on hand to answer any questions you might have.
