There’s a magical garden up a little visited valley about half an hour from The Slate Shed B & B at Graig Wen. Plas Brondanw was the home of Clough Williams-Ellis, architect errant of the more famous Portmeirion. But if you want to experience his special brand of surreal charm with fewer people around, then we recommend exploring Plas Brondanw. Especially on a crisp day in November.

Those who remember the Beauty and the Beast Ladybird book illustrations might find the clipped yew hedges, mossy lawns and weather worn statues oddly familiar. There’s also a secret tower with incredible views of Snowdon and Cnicht.

A small tea room is open on winter weekends and dogs on leads are welcome to visit Plas Brondanw too.

Yesterday was the first of what will hopefully become an annual event at Coed y Brennin, and I decided to take part. You could choose a 30k of 50k course, which covered the man made trails, fire roads, tarmac and plenty of mud.

The 30k course was finished in 3hours and 9 mins (according to my bike computer, which also said I had riden 33k!)  ,this is what I had wanted to be able to achieve. Putting this in context the first rider completing the 50 k finished in 2 hours and 45 mins.

Low point at 15 k when pushing bike up a wall of mud, balanced by high points of being able to ride some great and challenging trails which are normally of limits and a great pint of ale at the end.

Many thanks for the impressive list of birds below, which were spotted by Mr Smith from Queniborough, Leicestershire, on his two week holiday with us on our touring site in early September.

Spotted on and around Graig Wen over a 3 mile radius..

Curlew

Blue Tit

Great Tit

Coal Tit

Chaffinch

Robin

Raven

Blackheaded Gull

Great Black Backed Gull

Herring Gull

Wheatear

Heron

Magpie

Jay

Mallard

Kestrel

Buzzard

House Martin

Swallow

Red Poll

Pied Wagtail

White Wagtail

Starling

Jackdaw

Carrion Crow

Greater Spotted Wood Pecker

Wood Pigeon

Feral Pigeon

Swan

Wigeon

Wren

Song Thrush

Mistle Thrush

Tawny Owl

Teal

Barnacle Goose

Greylag Goose

Canada Goose

Ringed Plover

Black Bird

House Sparrow

Seen on mountain walks

Meadow Pipit

Seen at Ynis-Hir RSPB reserve

Goshawk * Top Spot

Bar Headed Goose

Little Egret

Spotted Fly Catcher

Mr Smith noted that this was “not bad for September with no Warblers spotted and very few Waders”

He also had one unidentified spot.. Which he said was possibly an Osprey

Thanks to everyone who supported our cake and tea stall on the Mawddach Trail on Bank Holiday Sunday.  We raised £150 for MacMillan Cancer Support.  Graig Wen Volunteer Jenny whipped up some fairy cakes and John made his signature chocolate brownies.  The “cake oasis”, as it was dubbed by one grateful cyclist, came as a nice surprise for many weary walkers as well as a bit of a treat for our happy campers.

On a damp but bright welsh august weekend, twenty design enthusiasts met to create something ‘in the woods, out of the woods’. Armed with tools, a pile of different local timbers and pockets full of energy, the teams created three beautiful inventions through collaborative design processes.

We could have stayed a month exploring all the material possibilities and interpreting the site through visual and spatial means. However we had little more than 2 days and the outcomes are a testament to our belief that not providing a brief would allow space for genuine creativity to soar unbounded.

3 ideas made it through testing to final pieces. The ‘skybowl’ holds the whole stratosphere in it’s arms, inviting people to star gaze together. ‘Piddle, paddle, plonk’ creates music in time to a stream, thanks to a hand-made water-wheel and xylophone. The third piece located deep in the woods was inspired by the idea that all life comes from death and had as its focus the root ball of a fallen oak tree. The fractal structure, the ‘Bioshroom’ has now now been renamed ‘the Fungidome’ by the children camping at Graig Wen who have come to love the sculptures and care for them in all their fragility and impermanence.

Ewan aged about 11 said that “Fungidome is a combination of wood, tools and a bit of imagination.”

And Charlotte aged 10 said that “Piddle, Paddle, Plonk is the best because it plays music a bit like a xylophone but in the water, although Skybowl is quite good when you lay in it at night watching the stars because there’s nobody there and its relaxing.”

For more photos, press reviews and information please check out the Crafted Space web site

I turned round yesterday and found a small child in bed with the dog and then a gentleman came in and kindly offered me a cucumber.

Welcome to the school holidays….

The other day we took delivery of box after box of plastic water bottles that we use in our B and B, we have had them specially printed with the slate shed logo on.

We have done this as we wanted to bring another item to our guests from as local a source as possible. The bottles come from Dwr Cerist, who are located at Dinas Mawddwy no more than ten miles away. They also employ local people with disablities, helping them to achieve a greater sense of independence.

Hope you like it.

A BIG thankyou to my Dad who has been helping us out on site since he moved to Dolgellau, his title is chief bottle washer (his own words). And an even BIGGER thanks for his very generous gift of our new notice board, we tried to get local celeb Russel Grant to open it but he was otherwise engaged.

For the first time in 400 years (as far as we know anyway) Ospreys are breeding in the Dyfi Valley.  Today we visited the Cors Dyfi Nature Reserve, about half an hour South from Graig Wen to view the nest from the hide in the marshes.  We could clearly see the female peaking out of her enormous nest, and a solicitous male hanging around and delivering the odd sea trout.  All three eggs are now hatched and you can watch the wobbly chicks on large screens as well as on the Dyfi Ospreys web site.

With Ospreys also nesting at Glaslyn, about 40 minutes north of here, we are keeping our eyes peeled and fingers crossed that these spectacular birds of prey might be visiting the Mawddach Estuary.

Until then, we are delighted to see the housemartins back and nesting under all 8 eves of The Slate Shed B & B and our holiday cottages.

Grab your paddle and pull on that wetsuit - next weekend its the first ever paddle festival on the Mawddach Estuary and Barmouth.  Hundreds of fools like us will be taking to various kayaks, rafts and coracles for a mass paddle up the estuary to the pub.

Run in Association with Paddle Wales and Mawddach Rotary Club, this festival takes place on Saturday 21 and Sunday 22 May aimed at paddlers of all abilities, with raft races, and a kayak challenge upstream from Barmouth to the George III pub at Penmaenpool and back. There will be a BBQ party, Jazz on the Quay and the Welsh Kayak Fishing Championship are being held on Fairbourne Beach as part of the Paddlesport festival. There will also be coracle demonstrations on the estuary.

Main Event Organiser Jon Swain of Mawddach Rotary Club told us “Coracles are an iconic symbol of Wales and their return will be a truly nostalgic occasion. Coracles have not been used on the Mawddach since the mid 1800s, when their salmon netting rights were revoked. Coracles at this time were also used to help guide Bales of Wool down the Mawddach from Abergeirw to Dolgellau”.

We’re going to be getting involved - John will be with the Mawddach Rowing Club in a Celtic longboat and I’m joining our Bushcraft expert friend Heath in his Canadian canoe.  The forecast looks good so if you fancy a paddle or just a laugh at us desperately trying to paddle upstream to the pub then come along.

We’ve still got accommodation and tent pitches available here at www.graigwen.co.uk and there’s more about Paddlseports at www.paddlewales.com