Ooooo Bee-haive….. Sorry for the buzzingly bad beehive pun, but we couldn’t resist! We’ve got some exciting news here at the Oakeley. We are proud to have hosted the first meeting of the Meirioneth Bee Boles Project last month. The Bee Boles Project is run by the Meirioneth Historical and Record Society and the Meirioneth Bee Keepers Association,…

I bet you didn’t know…. No, silly! We’re not talking about Queen the legendary rock band (although now you come to mention it, that would make a v good future blog post….), we’re on about Her Majesty the Queen! In honour of next week’s diamond jubilee, we’re celebrating with some weird and wonderful facts about Queen Elizabeth II. How many…

The History of Nature Reserves Calling all nature lovers! The Wildlife Trust nature charity are celebrating 100 years of the Royal Society of Wildlife Trusts in May. Nature Reserves are such an important part of our local landscape, and these days athey re so accessible to many people, that it’s easy to forget that there…

Trample for Survival! In the news last week is the story that the trampling boots of walkers, the muddy paws of dogs and the squelch of bike tyres have all helped to save a rare flower from extinction on Anglesey. The flower – the three-lobed-water-crowfoot is a not only a bit of a mouthful, but is also part…

Wales Coast Path to Mountains Link! Well, the fabulous Wales Coast Path opened last weekend to much celebration and excitment. And, in honour of this brilliant footpath, a brand new walking route has been created. The Vale of Ffestiniog Way is a stunning 18 mile circular route that goes from our lovely village of Maentwrog. It leads all the way up one…

A Rail Celebration Well, doesn’t time fly?! A whopping 30 years of the Ffestiniog Railway! You read right – it was in May 1982 that the newly renovated Ffestiniog Railway proudly opened it’s carriages again and the whole route between Blaenau Ffestiniog and Porthmadog Harbour resumed as it once had done a hundred years previously. The restoration…

These boots are made for walking….. Fancy a walk this weekend? Well why not try the brand new Wales Coast Path? On May 5th, the Wales Coast Path will be officially opened, making Wales the first country in the world to have a walking route that follows every inch of its coastline. It’ll be possible…

Pretty as a Picture For our guests and customers that have been to Portmeirion, it’ll be no surprise that this beautiful and bizarre village will feature on a Royal Mail Stamp Collection. The Stamp Collection will celebrate British Heritage and Culture, and features 26 unique location across the UK – each letter of the alphabet representing…

Fit for a Hero Who would have thought that the little town of Barmouth would be linked with one of the most famous maritime stories in history? Well, on Sunday 15th April, the centenary of the sinking of the Titanic, a plaque was unveiled on Barmouth’s quayside. The simple plaque commemorates Harold Lowe, one of the Titanic’s most heroic officers.…

Like a Bridge…. If you’ve been out walking this weekend, you might have noticed that there’s a lovely new bridge in Dolgellau. The £450,000 project was given the go-ahead last winter and was completed just in time for the Easter weekend. The new foot bridge replaces the old one, which crossed the Afon Wnion in the town…