Read our April 2015 Magazine Article

TOURING : CLUB SITES
Into cycling, walking, angling,
climbing, birdwatching or
sailing – or just looking to
escape for a while? Then
make a break for North Wales,
says Elizabeth Fowler
THIS MONTH’S SITES
1.GWERN-Y-BWLCH
For the most up-to-date details, see
The Club website – alternatively, turn
to p252 of the 2015/16 Directory.
2.RIVERSIDE TOURING PARK AS
FO GR
R EA
KI T
DS
For the most up-to-date details, see
The Club website – alternatively, turn
to p257 of the 2015/16 Directory.
3.GAER HYFRYD AS
FO GR
R EA
KI T
DS
For the most up-to-date details, see
The Club website – alternatively, turn to
p248 of the 2015/16 Directory. Facilities
include a play area and playground.
4.LADY MARGARET’S PARK
For the most up-to-date details, see
The Club website – alternatively,
turn to p250 of the 2015/16 Directory.
Facilities include a play area.
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3
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You can book your pitch online at
caravanclub.co.uk/searchandbook
or by calling our Advance Booking
Service on 01342 327490.
Please call Affiliated Sites (AS) directly.
View from Castell Dinas
Bran above Llangollen
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April 2015 The Caravan Club Magazine
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TOURING : CLUB SITES
FOOD + DRINK
View across Llyn Geirionydd,
a remote lake in Snowdonia
FOR THE FAMILY
King Arthur’s Labyrinth
Legends of dragons, King Arthur,
Saxons and Celtic glory are
brought vividly to life in this
Corris attraction’s winding
tunnels and immense
caverns as you travel by
underground boat, with
a hooded boatman at
the helm.
MachinationsVisitor Centre
Contact: 01654 761584,
kingarthurslabyrinth.co.uk
Nearest featured site:
Gwern-y-Bwlch
Machinations in Llanbrynmair is the home of Timberkit
moving models and the building is filled with wonderful
examples of the craft. When you can tear yourself away,
there’s a nice café serving excellent homemade food.
Tree Top Adventure
Contact: 01650 521738, machinationswales.co.uk
Nearest featured site: Gwern-y-Bwlch
Experience the adrenaline rush of
swinging through the trees on zip
wires, crossing rope bridges,
climbing trees and balancing on
platforms high in the canopy, all while
held safely in your climbing harness.
Ugly House Tea Room
Quaint and crazy would be my
description of this delightful little
place in Betws-y-Coed. The cosy
interior boasts a fire for chilly days,
or dine outside in the pretty garden,
weather permitting. You can also read
about its history and take a walk
through the grounds.
Contact: 01690 710914,
ttadventure.co.uk
Nearest featured site: Riverside
Contact: 01492 642322, theuglyhouse.co.uk
Nearest featured site: Riverside
Rhug Estate Farm
Shop & Café
Started in 2004, this
Corwen shop has grown
over the years and now has
a huge range of Welsh
products. The on-site butcher
sells Rhug organic meat and
will cut whatever you want.
There’s also plenty of cheese,
charcuterie, pies and quiches.
Contact: 01490 411100, rhug.co.uk
Nearest featured site: Gaer Hyfryd
The Boathouse
Located at Chirk Marina on the
Llangollen Canal, this café, bar
and restaurant serves a good
selection of meals from all-day
breakfasts and salads to evening
meals and barbecues.
Contact: 01691 772493,
theboathouseatchirk.co.uk
Nearest featured site: Lady Margaret’s Park
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H
ead north-west from central
England and you venture ever
deeper into glorious mountain
scenery, where little villages
of sturdy stone cottages with
heavy slate roofs are safely tucked away in
beautiful small valleys. It is wonderful to
still find areas of Britain that retain their
unique character.
Central/North Wales is an intimate land,
offering walking, climbing, birdwatching,
fishing and sailing on an accessible scale.
Exploring this unspoilt region is easy as
small lanes criss-cross the mouthwatering
countryside and quirky railway lines remain
from its industrial and mining days.
Finding The Club’s Gwern-y-Bwlch site
is part of this Welsh adventure, as you leave
the rush of modern Britain behind and
follow the roads deeper into peaceful
valleys. This five-acre site, just outside
Llanbrynmair and between Snowdonia and
old Montgomeryshire, is located in one of
these sublime valleys, its 34 pitches set on
small terraces among flowering trees and
offering splendid views.
There is no toilet block, but Gwern-yBwlch does boast a really good information
room, and buses to either Newtown or
Machynlleth stop just 150m from the site
entrance. As well as lots of accessible
walking routes for people, your four-legged
friend is also well catered for here, while
keen ornithologists don’t have to move
from their caravan to spot the elegant red
kite and other birds, thanks to the
numerous feeders around the site.
King Arthur’s Labyrinth in nearby Corris
is a family attraction with a difference – it is
located underground. Set in an old Welsh
slate mine, you can choose from either oneor four-hour expeditions – you make your
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journey through the mine’s 10 chambers by
boat and on foot. Be warned: you need to
take care on the walking sections (you’ll
need to wear sensible shoes or boots); you’ll
need to wrap up warm as it gets quite cold;
and it might not be suitable for small
children. After your underground
adventure, stop awhile in the craft centre
where you can buy your souvenirs.
UNIQUE ATTRACTION
On my travels, I’ve been known to buy
simple mechanical moving models (or
‘automata’) as presents, so it was a lovely
surprise to find the UK’s only permanent
exhibition of automata tucked away in the
village of Llanbrynmair. Machinations
Visitor Centre, the “home of the world
famous original Timberkits”, has a
fascinating display, which will keep children
young and old engrossed for hours. Indeed,
I was so captivated that lunch in the centre’s
café was seriously delayed!
Eventually, I made my way to the
beautiful village of Betws-y-Coed and
Riverside Touring Park, an Affiliated Site.
Bordered by the River Conwy and with the
dramatic tree-covered hills of Snowdonia
rising above it, this site’s setting is
mouthwatering. It is also convenient for
exploring all this glorious area has to offer,
since it is located in the heart of the village,
with a bus stop and the railway station only
200m from the site entrance.
The site has 59 pitches, 20 of which are
fully-serviced, and none being far from the
excellent toilet block. The on-site shop
stocks most essentials as well as caravan
accessories. Small trees and hedges divide
the site into more intimate areas, while at
the far end, past the tent area, a track leads
to the dog walk. If you want advice on >>
Llangollen Railway
Steam your way through lovely countryside aboard the
Llangollen Railway. The route travels for 10 miles beside
the River Dee, from Llangollen station to Corwen through
an Area of Outstanding Natural Beauty.
Contact: 01978 860979, llangollen-railway.co.uk
Nearest featured site: Gaer Hyfryd
Chirk Castle
Some 700 years after the reign
of Edward I, this Welsh castle
near Wrexham is still lived in.
There’s a medieval dungeon
and tower, 17th-century long
gallery and grand 18th-century
state apartments, surrounded
by award-winning gardens.
Contact: 01691 777701, nationaltrust.org.uk
Nearest featured site: Lady Margaret’s Park
April 2015 The Caravan Club Magazine
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CLUB SITES : TOURING
CULTURE
Centre for Alternative Energy
For 40 years this centre in Machynlleth has been exploring
how to live a greener life. You can ride the water powered
Cliff Railway up to the Information Centre and then explore
the buildings and gardens dedicated to sustainable living.
Contact: 01654 705950, cat.org.uk
Nearest featured site: Gwern-y-Bwlch
Ty Mawr Wybrnant
“If you love taking photos, you’ll be in heaven
here – there are lovely stretches of water, scenic
mountainscapes and spectacular waterfalls”
where to eat, ask at site reception – or take
the five-minute stroll to the Betws-y-Coed
Information Centre. The village boasts a
variety of eateries and interesting shops.
For afternoon tea, I rediscovered the
Ugly House Tea Room and the wonderful
country above it. A glorious drive in the hills
to Llyn Geirionydd, a beautiful lake where
people were canoeing, swimming and
walking, was followed by a delightful walk
back down to Betws-y-Coed via a tiny
single track road.
Dinas, the Iron Age hillfort, for which I was
rewarded by the most stunning views.
The site is surrounded by pasture land,
on which you can watch sheep and cattle
graze as you relax with a refreshing glass of
wine in hand. With some lovely mature
trees on its boundary, Gaer Hyfryd has
35 pitches, most of which are laid out on
beautifully-maintained grass. There is
also a small play area for kids.
>>
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Contact: 01690 760213, nationaltrust.org.uk
Nearest featured site: Riverside
Valle Crucis Abbey
Founded in the 13th century in what was then a remote site as
favoured by the Cistercian monks, this is now an evocative ruin
where many original features have survived. The glorious West
front has a richly-carved doorway and beautiful rose window.
LIGHTS, CAMERA, ACTION
If you love taking photographs in superb
locations, then you’ll be in heaven here –
there are lovely stretches of water, scenic
mountainscapes and spectacular waterfalls.
No wonder the area has been used
extensively by filmmakers – Dragon Slayer,
Dr Who, The Inn of the Sixth Happiness
and Robin Hood were filmed around
Betws-y-Coed. You can find them all on
the ‘North Wales Movie Map’.
From Betws-y-Coed, I headed east to
stay at Gaer Hyfryd, a delightfully rural
Affiliated Site set nicely off the A5. From
nearby Corwen, I took the train into the
small town of Llangollen, where I enjoyed
a relaxing horse-drawn boat journey on the
canal and a strenuous walk up to Castell
An ancient, stone-built farmhouse
in the beautiful Conwy Valley. Park
above and walk down to the
picturesque setting by the stream.
This was the birthplace of Bishop
Morgan who first translated the
Bible into Welsh. There is a historic
collection of bibles inside.
Contact: cadw.wales.gov.uk/daysout/vallecrucisabbey
Nearest featured site: Gaer Hyfryd
Pontcysyllte Aqueduct
Completed in 1805, this is the longest
(1,007ft) and highest (126ft) aqueduct in
Britain, a Grade I listed building and
World Heritage Site. If you’ve a head for
heights, why not walk the towpath
above the River Dee?
A typical Welsh cottage
Contact: 01978 292015,
pontcysyllte-aqueduct.co.uk
Nearest featured site:
Lady Margaret’s Park
April 2015 The Caravan Club Magazine
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TOURING : CLUB SITES
OUTDOOR FUN
Llyn Clywedog
Located in the hills near
Llanidloes, this reservoir
offers glorious views and
attracts walkers, cyclists,
anglers and sailors. Created
in the 1960s, it’s six miles
long and an ideal habitat for a
variety of wildlife – birds,
butterflies, dragonflies and
flowers abound.
Nearest featured site:
Gwern-y-Bwlch
This site is an ideal base if you enjoy
gentle green countryside, easy and
attractive walking and good access to the
attractions of North Wales – including the
National Trust’s fabulous Bodnant Garden
at Tal-y-Cafn, near Colwyn Bay.
The final site on my journey was Lady
Margaret’s Park. This is a beautiful
woodland site beside the grounds of Chirk
Castle. Some of its pitches are tucked away
intimately among the trees, others are in an
open grassy area. There are woodland
walks, picnic and play areas as well as
footpaths that lead from the site to the
castle and down to the canal.
Covering 8.5 acres, Lady Margaret’s Park
can accommodate a total of 106 outfits, the
extensive facilities grouped in its centre.
Buses to Llangollen and Wrexham stop one
mile from the site while Chirk train station,
with services to Shrewsbury, Chester and
Holyhead, is just half a mile away.
Visitors to Chirk Castle are
greeted by these ornate gates
Whatever you’re looking for – whether
it’s quality local food, exciting family
attractions, fascinating archaeology and
natural history, extreme climbing or gentle
walking, North Wales really can provide
whatever you want for a great caravanning
holiday. What are you waiting for?
MEMBERS’ VIEWS
Llangollen Canal Trip
The Roe family (left) were
staying at Lady Margaret’s
Park. “We are all here
celebrating my father’s
90th birthday. We spent
today wondering at the
amazing aqueducts and
phenomenal architecture.
If you are a walker, you are
spoilt for choice – it’s really
beautiful. We’ll be back as
we have only scratched
the surface.”
From Llangollen Wharf, take a slow two-hour, horse-drawn trip
to the Horseshoe Falls or a motorboat trip to the Pontcysyllte
aqueduct. Alternatively, hire a narrow boat for a day.
Contact: 01978 860702, horsedrawnboats.co.uk
Nearest featured site: Gaer Hyfryd
Cycling
Cycling in North Wales is not for
the faint-hearted, but offers
stunning scenery as a reward
for completing the challenging
climbs. Lôn Las Cymru,
National Cycle Network Route
8, connects Anglesey and
Holyhead to Cardiff, traversing
the Snowdonia National Park and
Cambrian Mountains.
Contact: sustrans.org.uk
Walking
Betws-y-Coed TIC has a wealth of information about walks in
this dramatic area, from an easy stroll along the riverside to an
energetic six miles up to Capel Garmon and the Neolithic
Tomb. This is perfect walking country.
Contact: 01690 710426
Nearest featured site: Riverside
Christine and David Bailey (below) were
visiting Riverside Touring Park from their
Staffordshire home. “This is our fourth
visit as we do like this site – it’s perfect for
golf. The TIC has routes for 16 local walks
that have bits of history as well as special
landmarks. It’s a magnificent walking area.
We also enjoy eating in the town – we had
a great meal at the Stables Bar.”
Mr and Mrs
Stanley (right),
cousins from
Aberystwyth,
were enjoying
the surroundings
at Gaer Hyfryd
“We’ve been
caravanning
since the age of
five. This is a
lovely and quiet,
small site, really
well laid out and the wardens are very good.
We have two dogs and the big field is
excellent for them. We also like the variety of
shops in Llangollen.”
Club Together
The online community
that just keeps growing
To read even more member views,
see our fantastic online forum at
caravanclub.co.uk/together
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