In the not-so-distant past, my wife and I were happy to sleep in tents on our holidays to faraway places such as the Scottish Highlands. We weren't walkers then and we travelled by motorbike, but the principle was much the same: carry only what can be strapped to the bike and rough it!
Nowadays, we prefer self-catering cottages and all the comforts they bring.
I've noticed in the months I've been a member here that tents feature regularly, while cottages and other types of accommodation barely get a mention. Having stayed in a dozen or so self-catering cottages in the last three years, I’ll attempt to restore some balance by reviewing some here. And who knows? Perhaps someone might decide they like the look of one and rent it for a week or two…
I’ll start with
Hywel Sele Lodge near Dolgellau in Snowdonia:
We’d spent a week in a cottage near Snowdon a few months before and fallen in love with Snowdonia. For our next visit, we decided we’d like to be within easy reach of Cadair Idris, and we discovered this castle-like cottage online:
Hywel Sele Lodge is actually an early Victorian folly, which serves as a gatehouse on the Nannau Estate. But it really does feel and look like a castle.
There are two bedrooms, but we found it the perfect size for just the two of us.
From the windows, there’s a good view of the Cadair Idris range:
And this is the almost genuinely medieval toilet!..
We arrived and found the key in a prearranged place. We saw no one all week and left the key where we’d found it. The cottage is about 100 yards down a tree-lined track – here, we’re returning after an evening stroll:
We loved Hywel Sele Lodge and would recommend it highly.
Oh, and in addition to Cadair Idris, we did a good many other excellent walks in the area. My personal favourite (meaning not my wife’s!) was the climb up Aran Benllyn and on to the summit of Aran Fawddwy. Aran Benllyn is about 9m shorter than Cadair Idris while Aran Fawddwy is about 12m taller and the two summits are 1.5 miles apart. Whereas the summit of Cadair Idris was very busy, we had this pair completely to ourselves – and the views were every bit as spectacular!