Half-Term Hotspots Yay! The half-term holidays are here, and families across the country will be celebrating with days off, holidays and fun days out. Here at the Oakeley Arms, we really hope that the sun comes out to play (and stay) so we can all enjoy the break and have lots of Snowdonia holiday fun.…

Surf’s Up! News reached us this week at the Oakeley Arms that we could soon be welcoming our very first surfing centre in Snowdonia. And no, it won’t, as you might expect, be based on the shores of the Llyn or on the beaches of Cardigan Bay, but instead a brand new custom-built “surfing lake” will…

Go Outdoors Regular readers of the Oakeley Arms Hotel blog will know that we are big fans of the great outdoors, one reason being that we are lucky enough to live in the heart of Snowdonia – one of the most stunning mountain and coastal landscapes in the UK. So we were thrilled when news reached…

Extend the lake railway! Just a stone’s throw from the Oakeley Arms Hotel is the lovely town of Bala. A popular market town with both local people and visitors alike, it is most famed for it’s lovely lake (did you know that Bala Lake is the largest natural lake in Wales?) and of course, the…

Sizzle those bangers Did you know that the month of May is National Barbecue Month? Well it is, and with this bank holiday weekend tipped to be a gloriously sunny one we can think of no better time to drag the BBQ out of the shed, dust off the cobwebs and head down to the…

Spot a sea-shell As our regular readers know, the Oakeley Arms Hotel in Blaenau is situated just a stone’s throw (or should that be a shell’s throw!) away from the stunning Snowdonia coastline, and one thing about a day beside the seaside is that there is so much to spot – not least the beautiful wildlife…

Walk Wales It’s been almost two years since the Wales Coast Path opened in May 2012, and it’s been hitting headlines ever since – for being the only walking path in the world to circumnavigate a country’s entire coastline and for appearing with world attractions as a “must-visit” destination nominated by the Lonely Planet travel…

Don’t buzzzzzz-off There’s no clearer sign of the beginning of the long warm, balmy summer months (we hope) than spotting a bright yellow and black little bumblebee buzzing around the pretty shrubs and flowers in the garden. Bumblebees are one of the quintessential signs of summer, but they’ve been hitting the headlines recently because their…

Happy Holidays Iiiiiiit’s the Easter holidays! One of our favourite bank holidays of the whole year – because there are two so close together that it means a super long weekend for lots of happy people. So, what are you getting up to this weekend? The sun is shining here in Snowdonia, and the view…

Sniff out the Chocolate…. Only a few days to go now until Easter weekend, and here at the Oakeley Arms we’re pretty excited! Easter is one of our favourite times of the year (of course it’s nothing to do with being legitimately allowed to eat our own body weight in chocolate mmmmmm). An Easter egg…