In a recent survey our village, Trawsfynydd Village, has been named as the second best rated holiday destination in the UK!
The Village is often overlooked as travellers zoom passed at 60 mph on their way to more popular destinations or on their North / South journey through Wales. But, if they were to take a detour for a moment off the main road or even look up and take in the view beyond the centre white line they may be surprised.
Trawsfynydd is at the Heart of the Snowdonia National Park. How many think that Snowdonia doesn't extend beyond Snowdon, Llanberis or Betws y Coed? But enter "Snowdonia" into your TomTom and you may be surprised to find that "Sally SatNav" brings you to Trawsfynydd!
The scenery in the area is spectacular! Mountains where you can walk all day without hardly seeing anybody. Wales' 3rd largest lake on the doorstep. Forest for miles. Remote moorland. And yet the main road up and down Wales runs through the centre of the area (don't worry - it's not the M4!).
The Trawsfynydd area is the ideal base for numerous activities. Coed y Brenin, the World famous mountain biking trail centre (and now busy trail running centre too) brings in many thousand visitors each year. Trawsfynydd Lake is the venue for international fishing competitions. The National White Water centre, Canolfan Tryweryn, is just up the road. The Ranges motorsports centre is "hidden" on the moorland. The Rhinogydd mountains with their remoteness and less well trodden paths form part of the route of the Snowdonia Way as well as being the location of the famous Roman Steps route. And for the adrenalin junkies we have the ZipWorld Slate Caverns Adventure less than 20 minutes drive away. Or maybe taking a sheep for a walk through the fields is more your style. Plus there is lots more.
But it's not all about activities. There is a remarkable breadth and depth of history in the Trawsfynydd area with stories (and legends) that are not widely known. With no big visitor centres or flashy signposts maybe travellers don't think there is anything to see.
The area is said to have the most extensive and best-preserved Bronze Age landscapes in the British Isles. There have been major archaeological finds from the Iron Age. The Romans had a fort and, yes, an amphitheatre just outside of Trawsfynydd. A farm just outside of the village was the birthplace of the first Welsh saint, St John Roberts and Trawsfynydd village is on the route of the Cistercian Way. Then there's the railway, the army camps and artillery ranges used to train soldiers destined for the Boer War, World War I and World War II. The home of the famous World War I poet, killed at Passchendaele, Hedd Wyn, is open to those wanting to see the simple life he and others in the local Trawsfynydd community lived. There is also the now decommissioned power station. Designed to "intrude as little as possible upon the sensitive nature of its surroundings". Make of that what you will.
2019 looks like it might also bring a new UNESCO World Heritage Site to the area too. Although Llechi Cymru (Wales Slate) will have no actual sites in Trawsfynydd, the Village will be an excellent base for exploring the sites which lie across the whole of Snowdonia.
So given all of this what do YOU think?
I've given the merest flavour of the Village and surrounding area. There are views to be taken in. Legends to discover. Paths to be walk. Wildlife to be watched (and listened to). Oh, and did I mention the Dark Sky Reserve? Amazing night skies!
If you would like to discover this area for yourself, Cadair View Lodge Ltd offer log cabin accommodation for guests staying 1 night or upwards or, in the centre of Trawsfynydd Village, Llys Ednowain has self catering rooms available for stays of 1 night upwards.