Two bedrooms: 1 x king-size with en-suite shower, basin and WC, 1 x twin with pull-out trundle. Ground-floor bathroom with bath, walk-in shower, basin, heated towel rail and WC. Kitchen/diner with woodburning stove. Utility. Sitting room with woodburning stove
The small community of Trefor, which overlooks Caernarfon Bay and is surrounded by water and mountains, has a harbour with a stone breakwater pier and a protected sandy beach where the Wales Coastal Path passes. Those who are more daring can surf regularly outside the breakwater. A convenience shop, post office and authorised social club are helpful to the community. The Welsh Language and Heritage Centre and restaurant are nearby in the community of Llithfaen. A superb, two-mile stretch of sandy beach, as well as a decent selection of shops, pubs, and restaurants, can be found in the charming coastal town of Nefyn, which is 7.5 miles away. Families and couples enjoy playing golf at the award-winning club there. The facilities of the well-known towns of Pwllheli, Abersoch, Caernarfon, Portmeirion, and Bangor are readily accessible from Trefor. There are fishing, sailing, and watersports accessible, and the area’s coastline is lined with castles and coves. Five miles away lies the beginning of the Snowdonia National Park, which features stunning scenery and a variety of wonderful treks. This region is an excellent starting point for a trip to North Wales because it is so close to so many different places.
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.
