Halt! Steam into this Snow do ni are treat
THE Landmark Trust strongly advises you to arrive at its newest property, Coed-y-Bleiddiau in Snowdonia National Park, by daylight.
We roll up at midnight in misty rain and agree that is very good advice.
Having parked down a farm track, we spend 20 minutes following a dewy path by torchlight with a sense that there’s a drop on one side, before the cottage comes into view above us. What a relief!
Better by far to take the train. Coed-y-Bleiddiau, built in 1863 for the railway’s line manager, sits right on the Ffestiniog Railway. You can catch the steam train to your door.
The house comes with a train ticket, allowing you to go up and down the line, chuffing between Blaenau Ffestiniog and Porthmadog on the west coast. Coffee, teacakes and ice cream are sold on board and the station cafe at Blaenau Ffestiniog supplies good picnic quiches.
Coed-y-Bleiddiau is a request stop, so be ready to stick your arm out. The timetable varies, but at the weekend the first train passes mid morning and the last one returns late afternoon.
Aside from the train passing by, you’ll feel blissfully cut off. There’s no TV, but the wifi is reliable. The cottage feels friendly and there’s a sense that people have been happy here. Its last permanent residents were Babs and Bob Johnson, who lived here from 1951 to 2006.
Many of the historic features have been saved — there’s a well-worn step into the kitchen with its original quarry tiles and stove. And you’ll come away wanting to re-paint your bathroom in the same pleasing shade of dirty pink (it’s Jonquil from Edward Bulmer). Before the Johnsons, the cottage was leased by the explorer and Arabist St John Philby, father to Kim, the Soviet spy. He took it from 1933 to 1947.
There is a very comprehensive history by Caroline Stanford and lots of literature on the shelves including Agatha Christie’s Murder On The Orient Express to get you in the mood. We go on long walks in the beautiful surrounding countryside, clambering up former slate mines and marvelling at the views.
After a winding train journey to Porthmadog, with vistas across the estuary, we follow the coast path and swim off rocky beaches, stopping en route at Moorings Bistro in Borth-y-Gest for crab spaghetti and Welsh cake ice cream.
A gin and tonic on the ride home tastes better than anything you’ve ordered off the commuter trolley, just don’t forget to ask the conductor to drop you back at Coed-y-Bleiddiau.
TRAVEL FACTS
A FOUR-NIGHT stay at Coed-y-Bleiddiau, from £356, landmarktrust.org.uk.