Alaw Cynfal, Ffestiniog, Snowdonia National Park

Pronounced Al-ow (as in 'cow') Kun-val – Welsh for Melody of the Cynfal, the river which can be heard from the house though it is far below.

Take a break and relax in this home from home sleeping up to 7 people in a spectacular mountain location just ten miles from the sea

Alaw Cynfal is the white house on the far left of the panoramic image above. It is a comfortable stone cottage in a quiet location on the edge of the hilltop village of Llan Ffestiniog in the heart of the Snowdonia National Park. Situated in the Vale of Ffestiniog, renowned for its beauty, it is twenty-five minutes' drive from the sea, forty minutes from Snowdon itself, with wonderful mountain and valley walks right from the door. It is ten miles inland from Porthmadog.

The well equipped, centrally heated cottage can accommodate small or large groups – families of various sizes, extended families, or three couples, for instance – with ease and comfort at any time of year. It is the ideal base for exploring Snowdonia, with walking, cycling, water sports, fishing, golfing, steam railways, and other activities all to hand. It is also an area fascinating for its history and technology, with Roman remains and medieval castles nearby, steam trains, Victorian slate mines open for visitors, and marvels of modern engineering, including the dam visible high on the Moelwyn mountains just across the valley.

Accommodation

Sorry, no smoking and no pets

PRICES

 (all inclusive – no hidden extras)

NOTE: weekly lettings run from Sunday to Sunday

Band 1: peak season (late July to early September) – £685 a week

Band 2: mid season (June and September, plus Christmas, Easter, half terms, and Bank Holiday weeks) – £480 a week

Band 3: low season (the rest of the year) – £355 a week

Reduction for those using only one bedroom: £50

Short breaks and weekends (£215 for up to 3 nights). Available by arrangement. Not normally bookable more than 3 weeks in advance or in peak season.

Depending on availability, bookings can be taken at short notice.

Phone 07546-366 107 or 07748-167 897,
Email paulaburnettuk@gmail.com

Picture Gallery

The cosy Victorian cottage which has been recently renovated to a high standard has spectacular mountain views to front and back. Ffestiniog is just on the southern edge of the Snowdon range, in the Snowdonia National Park. It is accessed easily from the midlands via Bala (twenty-five minutes' drive), or from the north-west via the A55 and Betws y Coed (twenty-five minutes' drive). The Moelwyn mountains stand just to the north of the house across the Dwyryd valley, so, unlike many places on the northern slopes of the Snowdon range, the mountains do not cast a shadow or block out the sun in the direction of the village, even in winter. The view of the Moelwyns from the sunny patio is breathtaking, and always changing. Fill your lungs with really fresh air!


The sunsets are spectacular
The cottage sleeps up to seven, five in the main house and two in the annexe. On the ground floor the house has a hall, a dining room with a mountain view,


The table extends to seat six or seven
The view of Manod from the dining room
a big living room with beamed ceiling, multifuel stove in a stone inglenook and French doors to the patio garden,
and a fitted kitchen with stable door to the garden.
Upstairs off the landing there is a spacious bathroom – with basin, toilet and bath with shower –
and three bedrooms:
A double at the front with view of meadow and mountain
A twin room with hill view to the back and a single also with mountain view to the front
The comfortable stone-built annexe, a few steps across the patio garden, provides a double room with en-suite shower room. Stable doors open to the garden and back lane. Tea-making facilities are provided, with a tiny fridge for milk, for that early morning cuppa.

Location

The cottage is in the historic hilltop village of Ffestiniog, nowadays known also as Llan Ffestiniog (Llan means church) to distinguish it from its bigger and more recent neighbour Blaenau Ffestiniog, a slate-mining town which was established three miles higher up the mountain in the nineteenth century. (By the way, Ff is the Welsh letter pronounced like English F, while a single F in Welsh is pronounced like English V.)


Where is Ffestiniog? Set in the midst of spectacular mountain scenery south of Snowdon, it's the small hilltop village on the left of the green foreground. The cottage lies behind the church, the larger building to the left. Blaenau Ffestiniog is the town in the distance on the right.

The cottage is in a little cul-de-sac leading off from the church square. There is on-street parking outside the house and almost no traffic, as there is only a handful of houses beyond. A big meadow on the other side of the road allows uninterrupted views to the mountains. The rear garden has been attractively paved with different coloured slate slabs, with side flower borders and decorative pots. Patio furniture is provided.

The village has a post office, a small shop selling newspapers and a range of basic provisions, and a pub, the Pengwern Arms. The house is just a stone's throw from the church which is perched on the highest point at the western edge of the village, with a viewpoint just beyond from which you can look right down the valley to the coast.


Coming into Ffestiniog on the Bala road, the Vale of Ffestiniog and the coast beyond
Slate slab fencing is a distinctive feature of the Ffestiniog area

There is a range of shops, restaurants and facilities three miles away in Blaenau Ffestiniog including a chemist, slate craft shops, hardware stores, second-hand bookshop, and Co-op and Somerfield supermarkets, but for a wider range of shopping and services (including Tesco and a cinema) the nearest substantial town is Porthmadog. There are good pubs and restaurants for eating out in the area, such as the Oakley Arms and the Grapes in Maentwrog or the Indian restaurant in Blaenau Ffestiniog which also has good take-aways.

Activities

It is a walker's heaven. Mountain trails to the principal peaks of Snowdonia can be accessed by car or bus (regular service a hundred yards away, or forty minutes' drive to the foot of Snowdon), but there are lots of options for walks short or long right from the door. A ten minute circular walk to the high point behind the church is a treat at any time. Take the footpath to the left of the church to the viewpoint, where there is a bench to take in views from the mountains right down to the coast, with the Dwyryd estuary and the sea shining far below to the west. It's a wonderful spot from which to watch the sunset.


The view towards the cottage from the knoll behind the church
The back lane with snow on the Moelwyns

If you go to the bottom of the road, there are three footpaths which lead steeply down into the tree-clad valley, the Vale of Ffestiniog, long famous for its beauty and for its wildlife (several parts are protected nature reserves). If you go up into the village, you can access the footpath to the gorge of the river Cynfal with its waterfalls, well worth a visit at any time but particularly spectacular after heavy rain. The village is perched on a hill between the rivers Cynfal and Dwyryd. The river can usually be heard from the cottage, hence the name Alaw Cynfal, Melody of the Cynfal.

At night the lights of Tanygrisau twinkle on the lower slopes of the Moelwyns and the lights of Blaenau Ffestiniog are visible to the north-east. The short drive to Tanygrisau, to the parking place above the village, gives access to some wonderful walks in the Moelwyn range, entering first the romantically secluded mountain valley, Cwmorthin, with its beautiful lake and occasional dramatic ruins of the old mining community (cwm, which appears in English as coombe, means valley). An easy footpath leads along the valley by the lake and up to the Rhosydd slatemine, all now abandoned to the sheep but once echoing to the shouts of men and the ring of picks.

In fact the industrial archaeology of the whole area is fascinating. Well worth a visit are:


A medieval fortress crowns the Roman camp of Tomen y Mur, a short walk from the road with the Moelwyns in the distance
Trawsfynydd lake and decommissioned power station lie below the ancient mound

Railway enthusiasts will enjoy a ride on the narrow-gauge Ffestiniog steam railway from Porthmadog to Blaenau Ffestiniog (from Easter). You can hear its whistle from the garden and see a wisp of steam as it climbs the opposite flank of the Moelwyn mountains a mile away. The nearest stations are Tanygrisau and Tan y Bwlch (just up the hill behind the Oakley Arms on the main A470 road). The Welsh Highland steam railway running through the centre of Porthmadog reopens in 2008. There are other steam trains in the area, including the famous Snowdon railway which climbs from Llanberis to the summit of Wales's highest peak. The café at the top is currently being completely rebuilt and is scheduled to open late in 2008 (see the Snowdonia-active blog for dramatic pictures and progress reports).

The Ffestiniog railway connects with national rail services at both ends. At Porthmadog there are connections to spectacular coastal routes west to Pwllheli and south to Barmouth, then on across the hills to Machynlleth, Shrewsbury and Birmingham. At Blaenau Ffestiniog it connects northward with the line to Llandudno Junction, then on to Holyhead (for ferries to Dublin), or along the North Wales coast to Crewe, then the North West or Birmingham. During August special steam trains run every weekday from Machynlleth, over Barmouth bridge, to Porthmadog and back (some going on to Pwllheli), with tickets available for the whole ride or a part, single or return, as preferred.

Those arriving by train can either take the hourly bus from the station at Blaenau Ffestiniog and get off at Ffestiniog church, from where there's a walk of just 100 yards to the house, or pick up the same bus route from the station at Porthmadog. National coach routes also serve Porthmadog, including a single service all the way from Newcastle without changing.

The coast is only a short drive away, with wonderful sandy beaches at Harlech, Shell Island, Barmouth, Borth y Gest (just past the harbour town of Porthmadog), and Black Rock sands (where you're allowed to park on the beach). As well as its spectacular medieval castle, which is well worth a visit, Harlech, a World Heritage Site, has a theatre, a swimming pool and a stunning golf course on the dunes, as well as interesting antique shops, tea shops, and a book shop. Harlech's golden sandy beach, one of several awarded the coveted Blue Flag in the area, is over a mile long, and the dunes there and at Shell Island, a little further south, are fascinating for their wildlife, as well as making wonderful sunbathing hollows in fine weather.

Harlech castle high above its enormous pristine beach (right) with views along the Llyn peninsula

Wildlife enthusiasts will also want to visit the ospreys' nesting site at Tremadog, which now has a viewing platform from which the birds can be seen fishing in the river. Many different species of wetland birds can be seen in the Dwyryd and Glaslyn estuaries (and in the Mawddach estuary further south, between Dolgellau and Barmouth), while the mountains have unusual moorland species, and the woodlands of the Vale of Ffestiniog are full of birdsong in the spring. The Migneint area to the north-east of Blaenau Ffestiniog is an extensive raised bog of national importance. Many different types and colours of mosses and lichens, as well as brilliant heather in August and September, can be seen in the protected reserve, and you may catch a glimpse of some rare birds and animals such as the water vole.

Other places to visit in the area include Portmeirion, the architectural fantasy built by Clough Williams Ellis in the 1920s near Penrhyndeudraeth. It occupies a beautiful site on the estuary and provides some beautiful walks and picnic spots out on the headland by the water, as well as some nostalgic scenes for fans of "The Prisoner" TV series, which was filmed there.

For sports enthusiasts there is a golf course in the hills at Ffestiniog itself, as well as one on the Harlech dunes, while the internationally important Coed y Brenin mountain biking centre is just fifteen minutes' drive away, south of Trawsfynydd. It has an extensive network of cycle tracks and walking trails in the forest with options for all abilities. Biking equipment is available for hire, and there is an excellent, reasonably priced restaurant in a beautiful circular building made entirely of wood, with tables on balconies overlooking the forest, open to all comers. Fishing permits can be bought for a number of local lakes and rivers, and sea fishing trips depart from Barmouth, Porthmadog and Pwllheli.

A holiday for all seasons


A brilliant autumn sunset seen from the house

Snowdon true to its name, seen from the Dwyryd estuary between Ffestiniog and Harlech. New Year's Day, 2010
Spring colours the slopes fifty yards from the cottage