Graig Wen is a site where you can camp, stay in your caravan or motorhome, hire their holiday cottage or even – as we did – stay in a yurt. It’s not a big place but it is fantastically placed in a very quiet and picturesque location with great views over Afon Mawddach estuary but still near enough to Dolgellau that you can use it as a base to visit much of this part of Wales. Sarah & John who own Graig Wen are very friendly, and as it’s all very new (we were only the third group of people to stay in our yurt!) the facilities are excellent.

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We visited Cwm Idwal in Snowdonia, Llechwedd Slate Caverns at Blaenau Ffestiniog, Betws-y-coed, Portmeirion, Harlech Castle and the fantastic beach at Dyffryn Ardudwy. They’re all to the north of Graig Wen, but to the south there’s Corris and Machynlleth to visit too. I really want to go to the Centre for Alternative Technology one day, and using Graig Wen’s yurt as a base certainly appeals.

They have a website which you can get to by clicking here:

and they even have a video!

If you’re thinking of staying in the area I’d recommend Graig Wen, and I’m looking forward to staying there again myself.

Finally, in case you’re wondering, you can find out what a yurt is by clicking here. (Ours was canvas over a local ash frame though – no yak skins for us!)

Looking at the map below it’s the lake (or cwm) highlighted by the blue marker.

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I first visited Cwm Idwal in 1993 as a teacher on a school field trip. I went back on the equivalent visit another seven times and never tired of the place. I’ve been back a couple of times since, including during the past week, and having seen it in glorious sunshine, torrential rain, low cloud and high winds I’ve never been disappointed with how it makes me feel. The atmosphere of the place, the views along the Nant Ffrancon Valley, the sense of peace despite the relatively easy access, it just blows me away. You can spend hours up there or, as we did this week, be back at the car park within a couple of hours without feeling at all rushed.

Until I visited Grand Anse, La Digue in Seychelles it was my favourite place in the world. Now it’s my joint favourite place, but with the advantage that it’s a little easier to get to!