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DOLGELLAU:
Dolgellau is a fine market town and the principal starting point for exploring the old county of Meirionnydd. This pleasant town straddles the river Wnion and is a natural meeting point for travellers going south-north and east-west; in the summer it can become a major attraction for tourists seeking to taste some of the more accessible parts of wild Wales - and there are several cafes, pubs and restaurants which cater for this passing trade.

The buildings in Dolgellau date from the nineteenth century and could be mistaken for any market town of the same period in the south of England - but the dark granite and blue slates do giveit a Welsh dimension all of its own. Despite this the town itself has been a focal point for many of the most historically important and socially influential happenings over the centuries.

Owain Glyndwr held the last Welsh parliament here in 1404, the town and the area were the main focal point for the development of the Quakers in the seventeenth century - and this community was one of the main drives for a new homeland for free religious worship in Pennsylvania (Bryn Mawr is the name of a local farm in the area which gave its name to the famous Pennsylvanian University). The nineteenth century saw the Welsh gold rush centred on the area - there still is a working mine and museum in the area where you can pan for gold yourself. At the end of the last century people started visiting in numbers - encouraged by the romantic ideal and the writings of George Burrow, and although the area never attained the same popularity among climbers as the northern Snowdonia region, it still attracted and still attracts many hillwalkers and climbers

As the most convenient access point to the southern reaches of the Snowdonia National Park, Dolgellau is a decent and enjoyable base holiday, as well as offering some wonderful walks, notably an easy stroll along the Mawddach Estuary and a strenuous hike up Cader Idris, Dolgellau offers plenty of evening diversions in the form of good pubs and restaurants and a fair bit of live music, especially so the folk/world music festival held every summer at the town - y Sesiwn Fawr.