Three bedrooms: 1 x double, 1 x small 4ft double, 1 x twin. Bathroom with bath, shower over, basin and WC. Cloakroom with basin and WC. Kitchen. Dining room. Sitting room with woodburning stove
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.
Snowdonia National Park, now officially known as Eryri, has a rich diversity of habitats including mountains and hills, rocky crags, upland bog, ancient forests, coastal dunes, and river valleys making it a paradise for bird watchers.
Managed by the RSPB, Coed Garth Gell in the Mawddach Valley is small nature reserve that is home to a good variety of woodland birds. In spring look out for lesser-spotted woodpeckers and hawfinches, while nightjars can be heard ‘churriing’ on still summer evenings.
Nearby Arthog Bog, also managed by the RSPB, is a wetland reserve that’s crammed full of wildlife. Bird species that can be found at the reserve include cuckoos, siskins, and reed buntings.
Another extensive woodland area is Coedydd Maentwrog National Nature Reserve, the remains of a vast Celtic rainforest that once extended down the west of Britain and Ireland. With plenty of walking trails, it’s a beautiful space to spend the day searching for redstarts, pied flycatchers, and wood warblers hiding amongst the oaks.
To the north of the park is Cors Bodgynydd reserve, home to numerous birds of prey including red kites, peregrine falcons, and buzzards. There are plenty of mammals to look out for too; badgers, otters, and foxes all call the reserve home.
Head to Morfa Harlech by the coast to visit one of the few sand dune systems in Wales, which supports a range of rare wildflowers, and where ringed plovers come to nest in the late spring. Skylarks and stonechats also breed on the reserve, while wading birds such as redshanks, oystercatchers, and dunlins come to feed at the shoreline.
If you want to hone your bird watching skills, Rhyd Y Creuau Field Centre set in the heart of the Snowdonia National Park offers a variety of one day and residential natural history courses.
