Please do not visit Mid Wales at this time, April 2020, and avoid all unnecessary travel within Wales.
Mid Wales has very limited NHS resources with only 2 main hospitals serving the counties of Powys, Ceredigion & Gwynedd.
We look forward to welcoming you back in future; but for now, let’s all #staysafe and look after each other.
Thank You
With no sign of the pine martin population recovering in southern Britain, it is great to have The Vincent Wildlife Trust translocating pine martens from Scotland to mid-Wales. One has already been seen in Cwmystwyth. Also exciting to many is the Welsh Beaver Project, with beavers hopefully introduced to the Cors Dyfi nature reserve and other suitable release sites nearby.
The BBC reports that Tom Cullen, Welsh actor and writer, has been filming ‘Pink Wall’ in the Elan Valley, close to where he grew up. He was born in Aberystwyth. The film is a love story about two Americans living in Wales. Cullen played Viscount Gillingham in Downton Abbey.
Good to read James Stewart’s article on Machynlleth under ‘Great British Breaks’ in the Sunday Times. He starts by saying this is a good time to visit Mid-Wales:
Why?
‘Because winter is better in mid-Wales. After a ripe autumn as the playground for hikers and beachgoers, the gorgeous hills and coast around Machynlleth are quieter. Come for morning mist in the valleys, interesting shopping, waterbirds arrowing across marshes and pints by the fire’.
He highlights the great places to visit including the local nature reserves along with where to eat and stay. Of course we would say that when staying at Welsh Hideaways, Machynlleth is a fun day out and can be combined with visiting the Centre for Alternative Technology.
Wonderful Elan has been nominated as one of the 25 Amazing Outdoor Adventures in the UK in a list celebrating the National Lottery’s 25th birthday!
A new ‘astro-tourism’ trail has been created in the Cambrian Mountains linking six new locations awarded a ‘dark sky’ status, including The Arch, close to Welsh Hideaways between Devil’s Bridge and Cwmystwyth.
Lovely article in the Sunday Times saying how much is on offer in Wales, including a wild escape, (which Welsh Hideaways offers). He writes saying that in Aberystwyth there are some wonderful places to eat. These include Byrgyr, Ultracomedia deli and Medina.
The Guardian writes: In the 1860s, the dream of the owners of the Manchester and Milford Railway was to link the cotton mills of Lancashire with the port of Milford Haven. Their ambitious plans were knocked off course by the mighty Cors Caron peat bog and the Cambrian mountains beyond. In the end, they succeeded merely in connecting Milford with Aberystwyth. The Ystwyth Trail follows the northern end of this sidetracked venture, which eventually closed in 1965. The creators of the cycle path have similarly been derailed at the southern end, where the trail is pushed off the track bed and on to roads from time to time. However, it still makes for a cracking ride: leaving the coastal resort of Aberystwyth, the path follows the banks of the Afon Ystwyth before dropping south along the Teifi to Tregaron.
The Sunday Times named Barmouth beach as 12th best in UK in 2019. Besides the beauty of the large sweeping sandy beach, there are donkey rides, crabbing, paddleboard pub crawls up the estuary and the Fairbourne Steam railway to enjoy. Seeing where Snowdonia meets the sea is so lovely and the views over to Ynyslas remind you that this is only a day’s outing from Welsh Hideaways!
Welsh/English dictionary can be very useful but try Aberprogs ‘Welsh Lessons’ or Duolingo to get conversation going. This will give you confidence and the Professor below lacked that!
