High up on private land, down the driveway, through the natural garden, and there it is, Bryn Adda – a rambing L-shaped stone building that dates from the 16th century. It’s a fine house in anyone’s book. Landscaped gardens drop away in all directions and you can walk to Dolgellau. Find a warren of little stairways and landings in the old part, larger rooms in the new and a low-ceilinged farmhouse kitchen right in the middle, with Belfast sinks and a big old Aga. You get a dining room for 18, two sitting rooms opening to terraces – one big and sunny, with a dog-dozy fire and an old-fashioned charm, the other with nut-brown sofas and gleaming parquet floor. There’s a bedroom on the ground floor and seven more above, all comfy, all delightful, with various modern takes on traditional design. Bathrooms are new with a retro feel; antiques, pictures and books abound. Play hide-and-seek in the rhododendrons, table tennis in the barns, surf at Barmouth, hike in the forest, fish on their own stretch of river. Return to a blissful sauna – and toast your good fortune!
As a group of ten adults and four children, we greatly enjoyed staying in the Bryn Adda house. For my part, I thought that it was even better than expectations - it was a beautiful 16th Century farmhouse and the extension in the early 20th Century was built very sympathetically. The heating worked superbly, the floors were bizarrely uneven, the kitchen was well-equipped with an electric oven and an Aga, and the bathroom, sauna facilities and play-rooms were excellent. The country all round was lovely and great for walking.