'Tywyn' holiday cottage in Beddgelert North Wales has been inspected by the Welsh Tourist Board for the first time and has been immediately awarded 5 Star status.

The cottage stands back a little from a country road, next to our own house. We have furnished and equipped it to a standard that we would be delighted to find if we were searching for really special holiday accommodation. An inventory of contents will reassure you that we have tried to think of everything to ensure that your stay is a happy one.

Everywhere has fitted carpets - except the kitchen of course. If you don't wish to be out and about every minute of every day, there are two colour televisions, video player / recorder with library of tapes, two music centres, chess, Monopoly, Scrabble, jigsaws, interesting books and magazines, plenty of novels and good maps and guide books to the locality (one wall is covered by a huge 1:25,000 Ordnance Survey map of the whole of North Wales!). Should you return from the hills cold or wet, then enjoy a hot shower or bath and central heating. Snuggle down in front of the open log fire with a hot drink and good music. With soft lighting from oil lamps and candles if you prefer.

You will enjoy lovely mountain views across wooded hillsides and sheep pastures. The river Glaslyn, with salmon and trout fishing and summer swimming flows from Snowdon just a couple of hundred metres away. Walk from the door into remote and beautiful hills , or take the Sherpa minibus that serves the Snowdon massif and catch a ride back to the door. Great castles - Harlech, Caernarfon and Criccieth are all within thirty minutes drive. A 'toy' railway steams into the hills to the biggest slate caverns in the world. The amazing village of Portmeirion is close by, and the sandy beaches and rocky coves of Cardigan Bay. There are ancient copper mines in the hills behind us; one, Sygun, can be entered safely with a guide. We have riding stables down the lane, and you can explore forgotten bridleways and woodland paths on horseback, lunching perhaps at a country pub. Or - you can sit quietly and just read or doze by a beautiful tumbling mountain stream behind the cottage.

If you decide on a change from cooking in the well-equipped kitchen, we offer impartial advice on good eating places ranging from the Best Fish & Chip Shop in Wales (really!) to special places for celebration meals. The bustling, award-winning village of Beddgelert is close by, five minutes drive or twenty five-minutes adventurous walk by the river, and offers a wide choice of eating venues catering to the thousands of visitors attracted by its beautiful location, and fame as winning village in the Wales-in-Bloom, Britain-in-Bloom and Europe-in-Bloom competitions!

It is difficult to know where to stop. We have lived here for more than thirty years and have climbed, walked, cycled, driven camped and barbecued just about everywhere. We know and love Snowdonia better than most. We will be delighted to share our enthusiasm and knowledge with you. If you ask.