Wales gets a bad rep for weather – rain in the morning often clears and it’s actually unusual to get a whole day that’s really wet. We’ve had our fair share of recent heatwaves too – albeit with a cooling sea breeze. But let’s face it, if you’re here for a while you’re likely to get at least a bit of drizzle – so it’s good to have some wet weather plans up the sleeve of your cagoule…
Check out the long term forecast before you leave home and pre-book an activity if there’s a dodgy looking day – popular attractions quickly fill up. Save the sunshine for those scenic hikes.
The slate mining landscape of North Wales is now recognised as a UNESCO world heritage site. Various attractions creatively re-use the the vast underground slate caverns as unique and and amazing subterranean playgrounds.
Here’s our rainy day tips for Snowdonia holidays – of course they’re great any day and work equally well in heatwaves too!
We’ve included some dog friendly days out in Snowdonia.
- King Arthur’s Labyrinth/Corris Mine Explorers/Craft Centre & Cafe. Loads of experiences for the whole family in one place, about 20 minutes drive from Graig Wen. Activities include an underground storytelling adventure, an award winning mine exploration filled with history, discovery and fun; craft shops and activities including pottery throwing, a world award winning small gin distillery and a great (dog friendly) cafe. Pre-booking essential.
- Bounce Below/Underground Golf/Deep Mine Tour/Caverns at Zip World Llechwedd Choose from: trampoline nets and slides in illuminated caverns; the world’s first underground adventure golf; a trip down Europe’s steepest cable railway on a historical slate quarry tour; or a Caverns challenge taking in 13 zip lines, as well as via ferrata, rope bridges and tightropes. These unique experiences are just 40 minutes drive from Graig Wen. Pre-booking essential. Dog care available on site and dogs welcome at cafes.
- Talyllyn steam railway/ Nant Gwernol Gorge/ Dolgoch waterfalls and tea room. Book a trip on this wonderful vintage steam train. You can hop on and off to explore waterfall walks in the Celtic Rainforest en route. Dogs welcome.
- The Magic Lantern Cinema, Tywyn A wonderful, cosy independent cinema. Tickets are excellent value and they serve a good range of snacks and drinks. Family films screened during the holidays. Well behaved dogs welcome too! 25 minutes drive around the coast from Graig Wen.
- Awesome Waterfall Walks – Get your boots on for the 2 1/2 mile hike deep into Coed y Brenin forest to mighty twin waterfalls. After heavy rainfall the rushing of these two giant waterfalls is a dramatic sight and sound. The Torrent Walk is a shorter walk around a lush gorge. Both 15 minutes drive from Graig Wen.
- Museum of Modern Art/Machynlleth cafes and shops
- TH Roberts cafe in Dolgellau for a long lunch with cake, cake and more cake. Dogs welcome. Good WiFi. Plenty of space upstairs. Interesting shops and charity shops to browse for trinkets.
- Beach walks and paddles can be fun even in the rain – Fairbourne beach is only 10 minutes drive from Graig Wen if you need to rush back, get changed and warm up! Dog friendly sections all year round.
- Indoor Play – The Children’s Farm Park is great value and about 40 minutes drive from Graig Wen on the way to Harlech. New for 2022 is a climbing wall for kids of all ages, air cannons and an obstacle course, there’s Outdoor Play with a Wooden Fort, Tunnel Maze and you can meet goats, rabbits and shetland ponies. At the same site you can take a self-guided tour through Llanfair Slate Caverns. Nearby in Harlech there’s a swimming pool and Harlech Castle is a UNESCO World Heritage Site.
Wet weather Camping
Listening to the rain on your tent while you cosy up with a good book or movie can be a memorable part of the camping experience. We’ve got some interesting local book stores as well charity shops to pick up holiday reading. Board games and cards are good to bring too.
Make sure your tent is well secured before the weather comes in. We find that most problems occur in poor weather because the tent pegs are too flimsy. Sturdy pegs like steel rock pegs are essential (we usually have some for sale on site)
Wet clothes
There are a couple of places to hang wet clothes out under cover on site. Although we don’t have a drying room or washing machines, there is a laundrette at Fairbourne less than 10 minutes drive which also offers service washes.
Shelter with a coffee or hot chocolate
Plan your wet weather day and get some top locals tips from us under the shelter of our Purple Rain Gazebo! During peak season you can pick up wifi there and we serve hot chocolate and barista coffee from 9 – 10.30am.
Don’t let rain stop play!
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