UK & Ireland
Ferry good show The lines capitalising on the airline industry’s woes, p40; Round-up Who’s operating in the UK, Ireland and the Channel Islands, p42
The traditional stone cottage where Dave stayed near Snowdonia, Moel Siabod, has a lounge with all mod cons and three double bedrooms
Homes where the holiday is
Putting his fear of spiders behind him, Dave Richardson enjoys a cottage stay in north-west Wales with Hoseasons
M
y family all have rather bad memories of a Welsh cottage. When I was a boy we arrived at our holiday home, turned on
the light and dozens of spiders crawled from every nook and cranny to scuttle in our hair. We didn’t sleep that night, and we went home in the morning.
So with some trepidation we (four adults, two children and two dogs) set out for the unpronounceable Tan-y-Bwlch in north-west Wales. Admittedly the Hoseasons website has been a great help, with nice images, customer approval ratings of around 80% and loads of ideas about things to do. It is a long drive but the scenery gradually improves as we approach Snowdonia. A big plus about our cottage – one of three holiday homes converted from a stable block – is that it’s just behind a hotel, the Oakeley Arms, where we can always go for a drink or
meal. And if the spiders appear in their droves, we can get a room there too.
All mod cons... and sheep Of course I needn’t have worried. Our cottage, Moel Siabod, is spotlessly clean and beautifully decorated and fitted out. As with many Hoseasons properties, the word “cottage” is actually misleading. It has three large double bedrooms and a huge kitchen/diner, plus a sitting room with widescreen TV and DVD player (also in the kitchen). The only problem was just one bathroom for six of us, so we had a rota. It really has all the mod cons – more than many family homes – in a traditional stone building with floors of local slate, plus a complimentary bottle of wine and, this being Wales, sheep in the field outside. A car is essential at many self-catering holiday homes, if only to get provisions,
although there is a bus stop by the hotel. The nearest shops are in Penrhyndeudraeth, a few miles away, but we cook our own meals about half the time, and it is a shame not to with a large cooker, microwave, fridge freezer, dishwasher and barbecue outside.
Selling Snowdonia
Agents can sell virtually every part of the UK and Ireland with Hoseasons and sister brand Cottages4you. There’s certainly plenty to sell about Snowdonia. My fellow guests go dog-walking, sightseeing and shopping, while I explore several steam railways, including the narrow-gauge Ffestiniog, run- ning through Tan-y-Bwlch on its scenic jour- ney from Porthmadog to Blaenau Ffestiniog. We also go up Snowdon, to the Italianate village of Portmeirion, and to Caernarfon, with its impressive castle – both within an hour’s drive. I must admit I struggle to pro- nounce the names, and at the hotel many of the locals speak Welsh rather than English. “What does Moel Siabod mean?” I ask? “Scruffy mountain,” I am told. Now that sounds much better in Welsh!
BOOK IT
One week at Moel Siabod starts from £386 for up to six people. Three-night breaks are also available. Prices for one week in August rise to £904. ■
hoseasons.co.uk/agents
■For more self-catering properties, see p38 18.02.2011
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