Two-storey first-floor apartment. Two bedrooms: 1 x king-size (zip/link, can be twin on request), 1 x double. Bathroom with bath, shower over, heated towel rail, basin, and WC. Open-plan living space with kitchen, dining area, and sitting area with woodburning stove
Scoops’ Nook is a first-floor apartment set over two storeys and consists of an open-plan living space with a kitchen, dining area, and sitting area with a woodburning stove. The kitchen includes an electric oven and hob, microwave, fridge/freezer, cafetière, kettle, and toaster, while the sitting area offers a TV. The bedrooms include one king-size (zip/link, can be twin on request) and one double, served by a bathroom with bath, shower over, basin, heated towel rail, and WC. Electric central heating is provided. WiFi, fuel, power, bed linen, and towels are included in the rent. A highchair, travel cot, and stairgate are available. Paid public parking is available nearby. Outside, there is a balcony with furniture. Two well-behaved pets welcome. Sorry, no smoking. Shop 0.6 miles, pub 0.1 miles. Enjoy a vibrant town stay at Scoops’ Nook. Note: Property is above the owner’s ice cream shop. Note: Due to the central location of this property, there can be some noise during weekends (especially bank holidays). Note: Good housekeeping bond of 200GBP.
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.
