November the 11th 2018 marks 100 years since the end of World War I. 100 years since the guns fell silent and the nation poignantly celebrated the end of a war that should have ended all wars. And although the end of the war was cause for celebration across Wales, the lives of families up…

Waterfalls are often known as “wonders” of nature, and are symbols of the power, strength and force of nature.  “I never saw water falling so gracefully, so much like thin, beautiful threads as here[1]” says George Borrow in his nineteenth century travel guide to Wales. He journeyed through the village of Llanrhaeadr-ym-Mochnant in Mid Wales…

Snowdonia and North Wales is teeming with wildlife, birds and a huge variety of different plant species; join us as we discover some of the region’s finest Nature Reserves. The stunning landscape of our beautiful region is packed with a huge variety of wildlife, plants and birds, all making their homes in wild spaces, woodlands, meadows,…

Reservoirs are a common feature of our beautiful landscape, and today we celebrate some of the area’s finest. Until the onset of the Industrial Revolution in the eighteenth century, man-made reservoirs in the UK were a rare sight. Natural lakes, rivers and streams provided enough fresh water to satisfy needs of small rural communities, and in…

The RNLI is one of the coastline’s most distinctive organisations, with stations, boats and crew members dotted along the shores of Wales.             “With courage, nothing is impossible” was the motto of Sir William Hillary, founder of the RNLI almost two hundred years ago. This inspiring man personally helped to save over 300 lives at sea…

Even today, George Borrow’s journeys and rambles through Wales in the 1850’s are some of the most famous tales of Welsh travels, culture and history. He chronicled them all in his book Wild Wales, so join us as we travel in Borrow’s footsteps. “Wales is one of the most picturesque countries in the world, a…

Although Cardiff may well be the official capital city of our little country, today we’re exploring the history of a little city in West Wales with a big claim; that it was once the capital of our beautiful nation. Indeed, it was the birthplace of our patron Saint, Dewi (or St David) and is named…

After the Welsh uprising of the late 13th century, Edward the King of England decided there was only one way to keep the rebels in check. Work soon began in earnest on Edward’s impressive plan to remind the Welsh of their new rulers, and to control any unruly behaviour. His plan resulted in the “iron…

A quiet corner of north Wales holds deep buried secrets to the area’s bustling industrial past From a distance, the mountains that surround the little town of Blaenau Ffestiniog are breathtaking in their quiet beauty, but dig a little deeper and there is a treasure trove of secrets to unlock; a glimpse of a noisy…

As regular readers of the Oakeley blog will know, we are absolutely thrilled to live and work in Snowdonia National Park. It is one of the finest natural spaces in Britain and it is an absolutely stunning place to live and visit, and earlier this week on the blog, we found out more about the Snowdonia Giving…