Celebrate National Parks Week

This week is a pretty special one here in Snowdonia because it’s National Parks Week (29th July – 4th August) and that means it’s time to celebrate our very own and very beautiful Snowdonia National Park (of course, we think it’s the best in Britain, but then as you already know we are slightly biased!!)

Snowdonia National Park was the first to be designated in Wales, which makes it extra special. In 1951, it was announced that an area twice the size of Anglesey would be designated as Wales’ first National Park, and that it would be named Snowdonia, or Eryri in Welsh. Many people believe that this Welsh word comes from the Welsh for “eagle” (eryr), although others claim that the word comes from an old Welsh word for “high place” and has been used to describe the mountainous uplands since the Middle Ages.

Beautiful Snowdon

Of course, Snowdonia National Park’s centrepiece is the magnificent mount Snowdon itself; standing tall and overlooking North Wales at over 1,000m above sea level. But, there are many other absolutely beautiful areas of Snowdonia, almost too numerous to mention. From wide, flat beaches to high and craggy hills; from historic hamlets in the hills to modern, urban towns and from miles of open moorland to acres of deep forest.

And the Oakeley Arms Hotel in Dolgellau sits right on the western edges of Snowdonia, near where the windy Afon Dwyryd starts to make it’s watery course towards the beautiful estuary at Portmeirion. On a stay with us here at the Oakeley, you’ll never run out of ideas for days out in the National Park – whether your idea of heaven is a day on the hills or a night on the town. Check out our Things to Do category in our blog posts for loads of ideas for great days out in Snowdonia National Park.

And in the meantime, here’s our favourite Snowdonia National Park facts and figures…..

• Snowdonia National Park is the largest in Wales at over 2,000 square kilometers
• Snowdonia is home to Wales’ highest mountain – Snowdon (or yr Wyddfa).
• In about 26,000 people, over 58% of Snowdonia National Park’s population are fluent Welsh speakers
• About 10 million visitor days are spent in Snowdonia every year. 10 million days out can’t be wrong!
• There are almost 1,500 miles of public footpaths across Snowdonia National Park – more than enough for a day or two of rambling….
• Snowdonia National Park is quite unusual because it has a hole right in the middle of it! The town of Blaenau Ffestiniog and surrounding areas were deliberately excluded from the park’s boundaries to allow for development in the aftermath of the decline of the once busy slate industry there.
• Snowdonia National Park has one of the highest rainfall figures on the whole of Britain! Crib Goch on Snowdon has an average rainfall of 4,473mm per year, making it the wettest place in Britain! But don’t let that put you off; we think Snowdonia is beautiful, even in the rain…… 

To find out more about National Park Week, click here and for more information about Snowdonia National Park, click here

Image by OLU on wiki commons