“North Wales, Ty Mawr cottage and Blaenau Ffestiniog - the good, the bad and the ugly.”
We had a great time in North Wales, if you like walking and views this must be well at the top of the list and difficult to beat, it seems to feature so many times on BBC Countryfile and now we know why - North Wales, we will be back.
Ty Mawr is a cottage situated on the outskirts of the main town of Blaenau Ffestiniog actually in Manod, it could be the last house. That meant walking to any local amenities shops, pub etc. was in our view excessive. The closest pub had recently closed down so a car journey was always necessary to get to the not so local convenience store. We quickly learnt to get what we needed on the way back to the cottage so as not to have to go out again. Going out again, now that was the problem. A parking space is proved and as you can read on other reviews it can be a challenge to get into and out of. It is not helped by the steep angles, low walls (not much can be done), and excessive vegetation, this can and should have been managed. Road side parking was a no-no, we believe the neighbours choose to park their cars directly outside to force Ty Mawr guests to use the off road space. Whilst we where there that issue was sorted, no-one can park outside because the local council have applied parking bans and painted double yellow lines directly outside the cottage. In fact we got a nice notice from the council asking us not to park our car there while they did the work. I think some of the local residents took offence as they spent the night moving the road side cones around.
The cottage 'worked' lounge, kitchen/diner and bathroom all down stairs, comfortable but so needed a larger screen TV. Excellent there was BT WiFi and Sky TV but if you can't see it what's the point? Oh and the water pressure, I've never experienced such high water pressure, the cottage is in need of a water pressure regulator 'cause ever time you turned on a tap the high pressure caused splashing which needed moping up or drying off your clothes. Also, far to many of the owners 'bits' left in the cottage a little more clearance would give guests some more space. Bedrooms upstairs, both comfortable but the main bedroom (or the one with the double bed), was a little squeezed, (perhaps a smaller double). And no welcome pack! that was a first likely we had some milk.
As for Blaenau Ffestiniog I can only describe it as 'grey'. It takes great pride in being an old slate mining town and you can see it. Some interesting features are the Llechwedd slate caverns, quarry explorer, Ffestiniog railway and local walks, these are a must if you like that sort of thing. The town isn't the most exciting but you are well positioned for the drives to, Betws-Y-Coed, the north coast resorts and of course Snowdon, the list goes on. Also there are some great pubs and walks in the driving area difficult to recommend them all.
