Three-storey. Nine bedrooms with Smart TV: 1 x second-floor king-size with en-suite walk-in shower, basin, heated towel rail, and WC, 1 x second-floor king-size with en-suite basin, heated towel rail, and WC, 2 x second-floor king-size, 1 x second-floor twin, 1 x super-king-size with freestanding bath, 1 x super-king-size, 1 x king-size with freestanding bath and en-suite basin, heated towel rail, and WC, 1 x king-size. Second-floor shower room with walk-in shower, basin, heated towel rail, and WC. Second-floor cloakroom with basin, heated towel rail, and WC. Shower room with walk-in shower, basin, heated towel rail, and WC. Bathroom with bath, shower over, basin, heated towel rail, and WC. 2 x cloakroom with basin, heated towel rail, and WC. Ground-floor shower room with 2 x walk-in showers and basin. Kitchen. Dining room with Smart TV and electric fire. Sitting room with woodburning stove. Utility. Games room
This small, beautiful market town is located in the heart of southern Snowdonia, between the imposing Cader Idris mountain range and the sea. It’s a superb base for a holiday – perfect for combining the many outdoor pursuits on offer in Snowdonia with relaxing days out on the soft sandy beaches of Barmouth, Fairbourne and Aberdovey. The town itself offers a good selection of shops, five pubs and a wine bar, along with a number of excellent restaurants, cafes and two bakeries, that produce fresh bread and cakes each day. Dolgellau is home to over 200 listed buildings, allegedly the highest concentration in the whole of Wales, and the town is also a designated ‘cycle break centre’ boasting a range of dedicated cycle routes all around the area. Close by is the Coed y Brenin mountain bike trail and this location is ideal for quiet outdoor recreation with superb scenery, mountains, forests, waterfalls, castles and beaches all close to hand.
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.
