Coed y Brenin - Go Apeless!

Last Thursday I accompanied my exercise-addicted daughter along to Coed y Brenin, a forest a few miles north of Dolgellau, so that she could spend the afternoon mountain biking. As we drove into the car park, I thought that something was missing. It wasn't until we'd parked up and got out of the car that it dawned on me that Go Ape was missing! We'd come as a family or accompanied groups of our daughters' friends to enjoy climbing up into the trees, zipping down zip wires and clambering across precarious looking rope bridges on a number of occasions over the past few years. (Well to be honest I use the term 'we' very loosely - I was always the official photographer, as I have no head for heights).  So what has happened to Go Ape at Coed y Brenin? It always seemed popular enough. Did it not attract enough business? Did their lease with Coed y Brenin run out? There's not a sign that it was ever there now. Whatever happened , it's a real shame.
Anyway Coed y Brenin forest is still a great place to visit, whether you're a couple wanting to exercise your dog (which is what I did for a couple of hours last Thursday), or you're a group of adrenalin junkies wanting to enjoy the buzz of hurtling downhill on two wheels while getting plastered in mud or you're a family who want to enjoy the children's playground followed by a wander round the visitor's centre and a cup of tea and cake in the cafe.
There are a number of biking trails ranging from easy to extreme, as well as a network of running/ walking trails that criss-cross the forest, a running gear shop, bike hire shop (quite pricey but well equipped), toilets and showers, and the visitor's centre and cafe as previously mentioned. You could easily spend all day here but be warned that you have to pay for the car park (I paid £3 for 3 hours) - but at least the trails are free!
It does get very busy at weekends so if you can, go during the week when you can spend a couple of hours wandering or biking the trails (which are very well maintained) away from the crowds , if that's what you want to do. I only passed 4 people and 2 dogs altogether but did hear a cuckoo on my walk last week.
I still want to know what happened to Go Ape!

May 19th - Go Ape have informed me that the high ropes course at Coed y Brenin was destroyed in the storms of 2013. What a shame.

Stags and Hens

After great deliberation we took the decision when we first opened Pentre Bach to say 'yes' to requests to have Stag or Hen parties at Pentre Bach.
Our first group was a Stag Party back in 2008. A group of young men (plus a couple of not so young men) came and set up the dining room as a temporary casino. They played roulette and poker all weekend, all wearing masks that made them look like the groom-to-be. A few liquid refreshments might also have been taken over the weekend, a great time was had by all and the house was left in a very tidy state. We then had the pleasure of welcoming back some of the stags with their respective families at a later date.

Since then we've probably hosted two or three Stag and Hen parties a year. If you want a Stag or Hen Party consisting of pub crawling or night clubbing in pink tutus until the early hours, then Pentre Bach is not the venue for you.

Perhaps the tide is now turning regarding locations for these parties. Being invited to a wedding is expensive enough these days without the added cost of going abroad for up to a week, and spending so much money on alcohol that the participants have no idea of where they are anyway! Now many groups are preferring just to spend time in each others' company, in comfort, surrounded by beautiful countryside. The weekend doesn't have to be boring though!

We've just had a Hen Party, where the ladies enjoyed a day at Zip World and exploring caves near Blaenau Ffestiniog, followed up by a Murder Mystery evening, while dressed up as their characters. They had a brilliant weekend.

Other parties have involved pony trekking, gorge walking and white water rafting, while another group preferred the more sedate pastimes of candle making and chocolate making at Corris Craft Centre.

We also believe that one Hen party managed to engage the services of a male stripper but we've no idea where he came from!!

8 years of Pentre Bach

Last week we passed our eight year anniversary of when we bought Pentre Bach. What have we achieved in those eight years?
We've had 16 pv solar panels installed on the main house roof which help to create electricity for us on sunny days, as well as had the 2 existing solar panels, that helped to heat the water, replaced.
We've decorated and furnished the main house, as well as added fire doors, a complete new heating and hot water system, put in two new bathrooms, replaced four showers and replaced several carpets to change it from a family home into a holiday let to sleep up to 17 people. Mike has painted the whole of the outside of the house a lovely off white colour to cover up the drab grey that it used to be - a massive job. All the old sash windows have been refurbished.
We've put three new kitchens into the cottages as well as  adding new curtains, carpets, floor coverings and beds. Y Llaethdy has had all the windows replaced.
Walls have been taken down and other walls erected, car parking spaces added and outdoor patios installed with patio furniture so that guests can enjoy the gardens.
Wi-Fi has been provided for all guests to access.
An area for playing ball games has been made in the field, well away from our fragile windows!
Vegetables continue to be grown in the walled garden (although not on such a grand scale as the previous owners) but the outside vegetable garden down the side of the field has been turned into a wild flower area for our bees who reside in two hives in the walled garden.
We have 66 wonderful reviews (well 65 are!) on Trip Advisor and have been awarded a certificate of excellence by Trip Advisor so we must be doing something right! Plus we have lots of guests who keep coming back year after year. We even got bookings for 2018!
There's still so much to do to maintain the properties and gardens. We'll never just sit back and twiddle our thumbs!

Plans for April 2016 include new carpets for 4 bedrooms, New curtains for the two windows in bedroom 2, and a complete new window for bedroom 2. Watch this space for photographs of bedroom 2!
And here they are!

A rather damp December and what to look forward to in 2016

A very Happy New Year from Pentre Bach!

Well December turned out to be the wettest on records but fortunately for us here at Pentre Bach, we escaped the worst of the weather, almost unscathed.

We had one brave, determined and some would say - foolish guest, who stayed in Y Llaethdy in mid December ,who took part in the Run to the Castle ultra race, 42 miles from Aberdyfi to Harlech!! He was one of the few to finish the race in atrocious conditions but he did it - in 11 hours!! Hats off to him.

Our guests who stayed with us over Christmas and New Year were much more content to snuggle up inside, next to roaring log fires, drinking mulled wine and playing games. They all commented on how cosy , yet spacious the house and cottages were. They did all manage to venture out to sample local pubs and brave bracing walks along nearby beaches, at some point in their stays.

So its now 2016 and as I write I can spot some welcome patches of blue sky out there. Is the weather taking a turn for the better at last?

What to look forward to in 2016?
Those of you who visited Llwyngwril between May and October last year will remember the amazing yarn bombing project that graced the village.

Well its going to happen again this year but you'll have to wait and see what the theme is going to be! Watch this space!

The usual events will be occurring again.
The Three Peaks Yacht Race will be setting off from Bamouth on June the 11th this year. It's quite a spectacle to watch the yachts set off on their epic journey.
www.threepeaksyachtrace.co.uk

The Race the Train event will be happening on the 20th of August this year. Anyone up for it?
www.racethetrain.com

And something different this year. Tywyn have been chosen to host the International Sheep Dog Trials 2016- a very prestigious event in the world of sheep dog trials! They'll be held at Sandilands Farm near Tywyn over the weekend of the 8-11th of September. We still have accommodation available if you fancy coming to watch - or even take part!
www.internationalsheepdogtrials.org.uk

Nellie's looking forward to that!

Top Tips to keep your Holiday Cottages Owners happy!

We have lots of lovely guests who come to stay in our properties and enjoy the facilities and the local area. Many return time and time again.
However there are a few guests who could do with a few tips on how to keep us happy.

1. If you really do have to cut your toe nails while on holiday , then please make sure that you put the clippings in the bin!


2. We really like welcoming families to Pentre Bach and provide cots and high chairs for families accompanied by babies and tots but please clean up the goo that some little darlings tend to smear into all the crevices and surfaces of the high chairs. Also please bag up pooey nappies and put them straight out into an outside bin. If left in the bins in the bedrooms or toilets, the smell does tend to linger long after you've departed Pentre Bach!

3. Please do not turn up before 3pm on arrival day unless you're prepared to grab a mop and join in with cleaning from the previous guests. You're always welcome to park your cars and have a wander round the village.

4. Please leave by 10am on departure day unless you've agreed a later time with us. We love to hear all about all the exciting things you've got up to and all the wonderful places you've visited but during our busy periods we only have a few hours in which to turn all three properties around so every second counts!

5. If the central heating is on and you find its getting too hot, please don't open all the windows and doors to let the heat out. Our poor boilers will just keep working twice as hard to provide more heat that goes straight out the windows! Either turn the thermostats down or ask us to alter the settings.

6. Please don't bother making all the beds up nicely, with throws, cushions, etc., before you leave. We won't be leaving them like that for the next guests!

7. Recycling! Our council only collect non-recyclable rubbish every three weeks so please do your best to recycle as much rubbish as possible. Our green bins are the receptacles for non-recyclable rubbish and only rubbish that can't be recycled should go in these bins. There are blue boxes provided for everything that can be recycled, apart from food. If its food waste then just put it on one of our compost heaps. If you have any unopened food or packaged food that you can't take away with you then PLEASE DON'T THROW IT AWAY! We can always find a home for it, even if its just in our dog!

8. If you order a grocery delivery from Asda,then please make sure that you book a time when you know you'll definitely be here. We had one huge £300's worth of groceries that arrived half an hour before our guests and before we'd finished cleaning!

9. If you find a problem or something is not working then come and tell us and we'll do our best to resolve the problem - as long as its not midnight! Don't leave it until you're leaving to tell us.

10. Dogs - if you bring a dog then please don't allow it upstairs in the bedrooms. Dog hairs on the valances are as bad as toe nail clippings on the carpet!

But above all - do have a lovely time!!!

Nellie's Great Adventure!

Well I've had a great summer. Every day, sometimes twice a day Big Mike or Big Wilma has taken me down to the beach to chase stones. They throw them into the stream and I run into the water after them time and time again to catch them and bring them back. The trouble is...... when they land in the water I can never find them! One of these days I'll find one. I just keep on trying!
I love getting wet - cold and wet, and then I love having a good shake when I come out of the water.

I've got loads of room here at Pentre Bach to run around chasing swallows and seagulls and sparrows and robins and crows and bluetits and anything that flies really. But when big people come to stay in the cottages with dogs then I have to be good and have my lead on. We can't have dogs running loose all over the place , can we?

A few weeks ago BM and BW got this big long green thing out of the barn and put it in the car. It was so big it stuck out of the back so I had to sit in the front with BW. When we got near the beach , we all got out and pulled the big green thing out of the car. Then they put me in this bright orange coat thing with straps and a handle on top. We all went down to the beach and BM and BW put the big green thing in the water. BW got in and sat down then BM lifted me in and tried to get in himself but somehow we didn't do something right and it tipped up and we all ended up in the water!!! Great fun!
We tried again and set off out to sea with BW sticking a long black stick in the water every so often and BM trying to do the same but I think I probably got in the way a bit. Every time I saw a seagull I wanted to jump in and go after it but BM wouldn't let me.  After a while I did jump in but the water was really really deep and we were really really really far away from the shore and I have to admit I got a bit scared and wanted to get back in the green thing. Good old BM got hold of my handle and pulled me in. I may have done it again - I can't quite remember. I did get out again when we got back  near the shore and swam back. I showed them!! I can't wait till we go again!!

Last week my mate Mizzle came to stay again. We had a great time chasing each other and snuggling up in bed together. She does snore at lot though so I'm glad she's gone back home so I can get a good night's sleep.

Our new look profile

Some views of Llwyngwril beach

 

 

 

by Wilma