Cottages in North Wales.

If you do not live in North Wales, you may wish to se it's countryside, or even it's many hillforts. This can be achieved by a day trip from a other part of Wales or of course England. Then again if you are further afield, in Ireland or Scotland or elsewhere, a hotel or cottage may be rented.

There are many cottages in North Wales.

Some can be hired for use, by tourists and some can be used by locals.

Famous ones, include the Ugly House near Betws Y Coed.

Lloyd George, the only Welsh PM of the UK, lived in a cottage in Criccieth, as the museum to his life in that town indicate.

Also there is the famous story of Mary Jones, who I remember from Sunday school. She lived at

Llanfihangel-y-Pennant, Abergynolwyn, at the foot of Cader Idris not far from Dolgellau.

The story inspired a founding of a British and Foreign Bible Society. Mary Jones, 16 Dec 1784 – 28 Dec  1864) was a Welsh girl who, at the age of just 15, hiked 26 mile without shoes, over fields and country just to buy a copy of the Welsh Bible off Thomas Charles as she did not have any. This was from a rural cottage where her family lived in North West Wales.

Indeed many figures from her time would have lived in hamlets and villages in cottages, of all types.

Of course Wales, in Conwy does claim the smallest house in Britain fisherman's home on the harbourside. Though that is not really a cottage as it is attatched to some homes beside it.

Though there are fishermen's cottages, lighthouse cottages, farmer's cottages, and all sorts. Some state how those cottages by Penrhyn Castle near Bangor look quite nice, almost Lord of the Rings like. Though there are nice little cottages across the area.

Hedd Wyn, the renown Welsh World War One poet as well, seems to have written some his poems in a cottage in Snowdonia.

Another fact is that there are many used, by many people in many towns and cities in Wales.

There are old cottages, new ones, ones with double glazing, and ones, with many ways. There are some that can have B & B, or be hired totally. Some are used by companies. Some can be very old, some new, some have whitewashed walls, or are brick, and some have wood designs.

Sometimes people buy them, and sometimes people use them for friends, or for organising. or mountaineers, or for relaxing breaks, or to get away from it aoll, or just above their own local town, or for family, or entertaining, or fun, or happiness, or pleasure. many reasons,

Some can become abandoned, or be knocked down.

Some overlook valleys, ore lakes, or roads, and some are in between other houses.

Some are very good looking and are good looking inside.

Some are in Bala, or Llandudno, or Anglesey, or Flintshire, or the coast, or Denbighshire, or Snowdonia.

​There has even been debate about should there be restrictions, to make sure local people can afford them, partly for their economic benefit, and partly for the Welsh language.

​But for sure, from farm cottages, to little ones on the edge of villages, they have been used as sites for tourists just like modern caravan sites for generations. The general consensus view is likely that most in North Wales want the best of both world's, the ability to share the land's wonders with tourists, for their enjoyment, and for the Welsh economy, but also the ability for people within Wales to afford housing, and to aid the Welsh economy, and surivavl of Welsh culture and the language, and all this is able to be debated in places such as councils and the Welsh assembly, media and Westminster. I make no political judgement on that.

So that is the debate which goes on, The picture on this page is of one on a hill above Prestatyn, on the North Wales coast, but has become a preserved ruin. It is from a couple of centuries or so back, but is a good reminder of the link between Wales and it's recent past. The picture below is from that cottage, you need my permission if you wish to use the pictures as they both mine. It ust be said there are cottages in Mid Wales, cottages in South Wales and Cottages in South West Wales, Indeed all sorts of ways of having a holiday in Wales, with many hotels in Wales, and camping sites in Wales.

You know what, you could say some of these hut circles remains of homes in Holy Island, off Anglesey, are remains of cottages, and some of those roundhouse post holes in hillforts could be regarded as thatched cottages, so what a great subject there.

I have also seen, in places such as North Welsh uplands, on moorland, or more often areas taken over by the forestry commission, sometimes old abandoned farm houses, with trees growing in. Or even just the foundations left.