TOURISM MINISTER VISITS LLŶN PENINSULA

Today , Heritage Minister, Rhodri Glyn Thomas,  had the opportunity to visit the Llŷn Peninsula to meet with local tourism businesses ahead of the coming season.  The Minister visited two developments which are nearing completion after recent investment with grant from the Welsh Assembly Government.

The Minister’s first stop was Gwesty Tŷ Newydd, Aberdaron.  Local couple, Iain and Wilma Roberts purchased the Ty Newydd when it came on the market with the vision of turning it into a high quality Inn.  With a stunning beachside location, Gwesty Tŷ Newydd, which opens Mid June, will be a great asset to the serviced accommodation provision on the Llŷn.  The Welsh Assembly Government supported the development with an investment of £287,000.  The owners have taken special care to create a sense of place and have worked with the Welsh Language Board to develop a Welsh Language Policy which the minister will welcome during the visit. 

Iain Roberts, said: “We’re looking forward to opening and to welcoming our first guests in June.  Having been brought up in the area I was keen to see that Gwesty Ty Newydd could contribute to the local tourism economy and I’m hoping that the quality of the hotel will attract more guests to this wonderful part of Wales.  It’s been important for us to make use of the Welsh language in the business and it goes a long way to create a sense of place which gives visitors a sense of being in a different country within the UK with its own culture and language.”

Ifan Evans, Director of Private Sector and Business at the Welsh Language Board, said: “dyfyniad Ifan”

The second port of call was The Ship Hotel which is directly opposite the Ty Newydd in Aberdaron.  The Minister met with owner Alun Harrison who received a grant from the then Wales Tourist Board in 2002 to refurbish the hotel. Alun has created 9 luxury ensuite bedrooms and modernized the bar and restaurant which regularly feature in the Which Good Food and Good Beer Guides. He has also re-opened the adjoining Caffi Hen Blas where crab, mackerel, prawns and lobster are served, all freshly landed in Aberdaron Bay by Alun’s brother Steven.

The journey continued to Edge of Wales Walk, a locally owned company which provides walking holidays on the new Llyn Coastal Path, booking accommodation and providing luggage transport so that the walkers can progress along the 84 mile path unencumbered and also get the boat over to nearby Bardsey Island. The Minister met with Michael Francis, Jane Davies, Peter Hewlett and Simon Logan and was given a guided tour of the new Walking Centre which is about to open and has received a grant of £126,000 from the Welsh Assembly Government.  This is a multi-purpose facility comprising 4 en-suite bedrooms, a day visitor change and shower room, a day room/meeting room, kitchen and dining room, and a store for cycle hire and Tramper hire. 

Peter Hewlett said that the Walking Centre “brings to Pen Llŷn many of the facilities now necessary to make the area seriously popular with walkers and cyclists year round in a way that perhaps Betws y Coed is today-cycle hire, day changing, clothes washing and drying, a function/meeting room, catering for groups, ensuite B&B with plenty of provision for single people, internet access, digital mapping and GPS routes service, and facilities for a huge section of the population that wants to get out and enjoy the countryside but is just not up to an extended walk. The building has been carefully designed to incorporate the latest ideas in energy and water saving and is fully accessible to the physically impaired throughout-not just the odd room. This means that we will be able to offer this section of the market some good and quiet accommodation and the use of our Tramper All Terrain electric buggies specially designed to go for 35 miles along local beaches and open heathlands

The Minister’s visit to the Llŷn came to an end with a visit to Plas Glyn y Weddw, Llanbedrog.

Notes to Editors:

For more information, please contact:

Heledd Parry, Senior Press Officer – Heritage (Tourism & Cadw)

Welsh Assembly Government

Tel: 07811 332 633

Email: heledd.parry@wales.gsi.gov.uk

Edge of Wales Walk wins prestigious contract

The team behind the Edge of Wales Walk have been awarded a contract by Tourism Partnership North Wales to form new partnerships and further develop the walking product across North Wales. This association will be called  Walking North Wales and will have its own website www.walkingnorthwales.com. This will be a one stop shop window for people looking to come on walking holidays in North Wales and will be working alongside Adventure North Wales see www.adventure-northwales.com to increase tourism. Immediate objectives are to send a strong team to Showcase Wales in October, establish the website, and to bring a high profile UK Walking Festival to Wales next year.

New Walking Centre for Penllyn

We are delighted to announce that Gwynedd Council have now granted detailed Planning Permission for the development of a new Walking Centre at the rear of the Edge of Wales offices at Dolfor, Aberdaron. This Walking Centre will be a multi-purpose building offering new office space for us, day changing and shower facilities for walkers who want to walk on the day of departure, storage racks and covered space for cycles and the electric buggies, catering facilities for large groups looking for a meal or drinks out of peak season when the local cafes will be closed, three fully serviced en suite bedrooms to make up for the shortage of beds in Aberdaron, and one bedroom fully kitted out for the semi ambulant disabled who want to come and see the Llyn and perhaps use the all terrain electric buggies that we have available.

Says managing director, Peter Hewlett, "What we are seeking to do is to incorporate within a single building many of the facilities that other more established walking areas have developed over a period of time as demand has grown. We have been behind here on Llyn where organised walking holidays have only recently been offered. So we now need to catch up-and quickly. A lot of English walkers are going abroad now and heading off for the Pyrenees , Malta or the Black Forest. We need to tempt them back and to attract walkers from the populous parts of Europe. These walkers will expect a high standard of service and accommodation and we will have the building and the kit to be able to offer it to them. We hope to start building the Walking Centre around the start of the New Year."