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2009 News
from Llyn Gwynant Campsite
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Tuesday 11th November: the weather has been good (it's glorious today!) so we are staying open at least until the end of November. Our barns stay open all year, (except the function barn which is closed in February) and our campsite does have planning permission to be open all year, so contact us if you do want to bring a group to the mountains. Saturday 24th October there will be a private musical event in our barns: Please be warned that our usual quiet campsite will not be as quiet as usual on this Saturday. Please do not come to Llyn Gwynant campsite on October 24th if you need a quiet evening - sometimes, depending on the wind, the noise does carry. (Usually the river side of the main camping fields are fine, but Ddol fach and Ddol fawr can be impacted.) We are sorry if this inconveniences our campers or reduces your enjoyment of the site, but it is in a very good cause - our fee for hosting this event will go to communities of the South Pacific, to the Samoan tsunami appeal and also to pay school fees for high school students in the Solomon Islands. Monday 12th October
The weather has been marvellous during September and October, and we've had more campers than usual for this time of year taking advantage of it, but as you can see we are far from crowded!. In case you haven't visited recently here are some recent pictures of what you are missing - the first taken last Monday, the others in September:
Friday September 11th: The weather is magnificent with clear skies and sun, and we anticipate ideal camping conditions! The Welsh scouts are on the lake this weekend but there is plenty of room for everyone. Friday August 28th: Bank Holiday Weekend: Currently, on Friday morning, we have had a few short showers with sunny spells in between. There is some wind blowing but this is due to calm down by Saturday morning and tomorrow looks like a pretty good day. But the rain will come again on Sunday with mixed showers and bright periods going through to Monday. We don't take bookings, but anyone arriving on Friday will certainly get a place. How much space we have left on Saturday depends on the weather and how many people arrive today. The ground is quite damp underfoot and we have taken steps to protect the camping areas by creating car parking around the edge of most of the fields. This means that for most of the site you cannot have your car right next to the tent and will have to carry your gear up to 50 yards. This is the only way we can ensure that people get a camping spot not churned up by vehicles. Thursday August 12th: Busy weekend Fridays We know from our emails that not accepting bookings can be a problem for people travelling to our site on busy weekends as they worry they will arrive and find the site is full. We have therefore adopted a new policy for these busy weekends: If you come on Friday we will guarantee you a pitch! We can't do this for Saturday as we may have already filled up on Friday, but we think it is worth making a big effort to accommodate visitors who make a big effort to get here on Friday! So let's see how it goes with this new policy for the rest of the year. And if you're heading our way for the weekend and worried about being turned away, well worry no more... It is worth reminding you why we do not take bookings - we don't take bookings because we don't have set pitches, we do not like a regimentted approach to camping, where we tell you where to go. We think camping is much nicer when you choose a place that suits your particular requirements and this also means we don't have to ask all those horrible questions about how big your tent is and tell you that you can't pitch a gazebo etc etc... Also taking bookings means we would have to have rules about people leaving early so the new ones can come it, and well we think camping should be a bit more relaxed than that. So let's see if this new approach will keep the stress levels down even further, you can set off on Friday after work knowing that the good wardens of Llyn Gwynant will find somewhere for you to camp. Remember if you arrive later than 11.00 pm then we do not allow you to drive onto the site as this disturbs other campers, but we have a large, flat pleasant area near the carpark which is our late arrivals area. Just park in the carpark and pitch near it - in the morning you can move if you want, or we even let you just stay in that rather pleasant place if the site is already busy. We hope to see you soon. Contact us if you have any worries, and remember email is much easier for us to answer than the phone as we are out and about so much it is often left unmanned... Thursday 16th July 2009. Our conservation weekend offers free camping in the barn field from tomorrow, with a shared meal on Saturday in the barns. In return you get to weed trees in the woodland above Nuthsell caravan. If you are interested email us or come along and ask reception. Monday 6th July 2009. We have now completed stage 1 of our barn re-building and re-furbishment. You will notice from the campsite entrance our big oak windows in the Dutch barn. This is now a wonderful space for large parties or functions, with a new stage at one end of the hall, and a great stone fireplace opposite the windows which are emblazoned with the coat of arms of the original Welsh family on this farm. We celebrated the new barns with a fantastic family wedding on Saturday. Even incomplete, this is a wonderful venue! Stage 2 of the barn improvements will take place in autumn ready for next season, with a new roof at the back and more large oak windows and doors in the end of the lean-to, giving a view of the lake. Stage 3 will follow later, with showers and toilets inside the barns. We'll keep you posted on our progress.
Some views of the the barns during a recent function. Building work will see these buildings even more improved in the next two years. Friday 29th May 2009. It is a stunning day today with the termperature forecast to reach 22 degress Celsius. For those who stayed at home last weekend because of the rain on Friday there is now no excuse not to come camping - and its not as busy as last weekend either. The photo below was taken this mornig from a hillock next to the campsite.
Wednesday 28th May 2009: Calling conservation volunteers!. Do you know that as well as our lovely campsite, we are also looking after some of the most significant woodland remnants left in Wales? We have now kept sheep and the local goats out of a large area between the mountain and lower wall, on the slopes above the main road, and have planted thousands of trees (ash, oak, rowan, holly, thorn) around existing remnants of ancient woodland. We will need helpers to weed these, especially those planted in bracken, during the summer. If you like the outdoors, like to help the planet, and could enjoy camping near our barns or inside them, then join us on our planned conservation weekend to be held at our barns on the weekend July 17th - 19th. In return for your work on the hills on Saturday morning and afternoon, and Sunday morning, you can spend time here and also learn about our woodland. See our Conservation page for more, or contact us . Tuesday 27th May 2009. We have had very busy bank holiday weekends and some glorious weather. A damp start to the last bank holiday (wind and rain!) gave way to two days of wonderful sun, and those hardy souls who pitched in the horizonal rain on Friday were rewarded with some stunning mountain sun... the major mountain hazard for Sunday was sunburn! However we have had to restrict cars on the site partly because of the rain, the ground was very soft. We may continue to keep cars off the back field Ddol Fawr, as the grass is so much nicer when cars have not driven over it! We think you agree, judging by the ongoing popularity of Bridge field. In other news we have put up Nutshell availability for 2010 owing to the high level of interest... but bookings are acceted only on the understanding that our prices will increase if we replace the existing caravan with a new one. Friday 27th March 2009. We have just reached an agreement with a very experienced local guide and outdoor instructor Peter Cooper of Great Adventures UK Ltd. Peter will offer outdoor activities including guided walks, climbing, coasteering, gorge walking and canoe and kayak instruction from the campsite during the summer, see our updated Boat hire and Activity page for details, the rates for Activities are at the bottom of the page. Our prices are competitive and you don't even need to get in your car to take part, just get involved right from the campsite. We start off with Guided walks up Snowdon on Easter Saturday (weather permitting). You will start at 9.00 am at the Reception Building and be back by 4.30 pm after walking up on one route, and back on another. On Easter Sunday there is a special Adventure Taster Day offering 3 different activities on the one day, all equipment provided, so why not get some hands-on experience and skills, develop your confidence and abilities and start enjoying the outdoors in new ways. The Guided walks cost £30 with half price for children. The Taster day costs £45 with all equipment provided. Check out their website at www.gr8adventures.co.uk In other news we have just finished construction of a road sign frame, and if it is finished on schedule tomorrow we'll put up a picture to prove it! It's only taken 28 years!! Friday 13th March 2009. We opened the campsite yesterday, in cool sunny weather, and already the first of this seasons campers are enjoying the site. We have cool spring weather at the moment and the valley is looking glorious. The rates for camping are the same this year as the two previous years during the low season, but we are putting up our rates by a pound for adults during the high season. We are also now charging all day visitors per person as the daily use of our facilities has increased a great deal. Hot showers are still free and we no longer charge for car parking during the day. Our barn rates will also increase by just a pound per person in the high season, although the improvements to the barns are now considerable. We will have indoor sleeping in our tall bunk barn for more than 30 people this season, as well as improved function areas. Work on the barns will continue throughout the season although the full improvements will not be complete until next year.
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Llyn Gwynant at 7:20am Friday 29th May 2009.