National Marriage Week

Love is in the Air

 

We've come over all romantic here at the Oakeley Arms this week, because did you know, it's National Marriage Week?

 

So, if you've been waiting for the right moment to pop the question, then this week would be a pretty perfect one!

 

Last year, the number of couples getting hitched rose by almost 4%, the largest increase for almost 10 years. And the number of divorces is at an all-time low too, so what are you waiting for?

 

Image by Conmani on sxc.hu

 

And if you're looking for a perfect venue for your special day, then look no further than the Oakeley Arms. Why not come and celebrate with us in the stunning surroundings of Maentwrog village? Our historic hotel in Snowdonia is one of the finest locations for a beautiful Welsh wedding.

 

We can offer a wide range of services to suit individual requirements, exclusive service, private use of function rooms, five acres of grounds and a range of accommodation options for your guests.

 

Contact us today to see how we can help you with your big day; we'd love to be a part of your big love story.

 

National Marriage Week runs from the 7th to the 14th February 2013.

 

Image by The Swedish on sxc.hu

 

 

 

 

Self Catering Special Offer

Winter offer at the Oakeley Arms Cottages

Our fabulous holiday cottages here at the Oakeley Arms in Snowdonia are perfect for a last minute winter break, and right now, we've got a special offer on all bookings of the three bedroom cottage between now and December 17th 2012. You can book the cottage for 7 nights for just £450 - the cottage has three bedrooms and sleeps six people. That's just £75 for a magical week in Wales!

We've recently renovated our once derelict stable buildings into stunning holiday cottages set in the Oakeley Arms Hotel grounds. These charming self catering cottages in the heart of Snowdonia are enchantingly named after local mountains and rivers (don’t worry we’ll help with the pronounciation!)

Traditional furniture and original features mean that the cottages contain an abundance of charm and period style, but modern and quality fixtures mean that you won't have to compromise on style or practicality.

You’ll be greeted with wine and cakes on arrival and bed-linen and towels are provided. All you have to do is relax and enjoy the fabulous views across the Vale of Ffestiniog.

The cottages are within easy reach of the area’s popular attractions and local towns.

For more details and to book see our website www.oakeleyarms.co.uk or call us on 01766 590 277

 

Hurry! Offer ends 17th December.

Locally Grown

Local Support

 

Regular readers of this blog will already know that at the Oakeley Arms, we're super proud of the beautiful area that we live in. And here in Snowdonia we're really lucky to have a huge choice of local producers and companies who supply us with a great range of fabulous products and services.

 

We firmly believe in supporting small and local businesses, because we think it's important for the economy of our area and that it encourages jobs and prosperity. It also helps to keep communities alive with a diverse and interesting selection of characterful produce and businesses, rather than indistinguishable mass produced goods and services. We also hope that in turn, other local businesses will support us too.

 

99% of what we use here at the Oakeley is bought locally - from beer to cheese and toilet roll to tin foil. We're proud of our local ales, chocolates and fresh produce and we think it all adds to our warm Welsh welcome.

 

The Oakeley Arms are proud to support local, small and homegrown businesses.

 

Wettest June on record

Wet Wales

The Met Office has confirmed that last month was the wettest June since records began, and to be honest, it's not looking much brighter here at the Oakeley. Any more cloudy days and we'll have forgotten what the beautiful Snowdon scenery looks like!

But, never ones to let a rain-drop or two (more like two million.....) get us down we got to thinking about rainy day things to do. So here are some of our favourite Oakeley Rainy Day activities:

• Hop over to the Oakeley Arms bar for a delicious pint and some comfort food (had to be top of the list!).
• Write the Oakeley blog. We love keeping everyone updated with all the goings-on here, and locally. If you're inspired, why not try writing your own blog?
• Bake a cake! We need to get practising for the Oakeley Clwb Pwdin, and there's usually no shortage of volunteers to test the creations!
• Snuggle up with a good book and a glass of wine; a rare treat these days, but a lovely indulgence.
• Brave the rain! Who was it who said there's no such thing as bad weather, just bad clothing? We could dig out the wellies and the waterproofs and head out for a walk, but on the other hand, we could just stay on the sofa....
• Hide and seek! Who's up for a game? Don't forget to count to 100, and try a variation on the classic where the "hider" has to try and move from room to room without getting spotted! Just don't leave us locked in the cellar...
• Be a tourist! There are loads of fabulous places to visit locally that we often take for granted and never get around to visit. We could take a trip on the Ffestiniog Railway, visit the slate mines at Llechwedd Blaenau Ffestiniog or get all cultured at the magnificent Penrhyn Castle.
• Just doing nothing! "dolce far niente" is how the Italians put it, literally meaning "the sweetness of doing nothing", and who are we to disagree?? Now if you don't mind, we're off to practise just that!

image by Shirleymar on sxc.hu

Tell us your favourite rainy day things to do! Leave a comment below :)

Self Catering at the Oakeley Arms

4* luxury at the Oakeley Arms Cottages

If you're looking for holiday cottages in Snowdonia, then look no further than the Oakeley Arms! Our lovely self-catering cottages are a relatively new addition to the Oakeley, so many of our customers don't know what lies just behind the hotel building!

Once derelict stables have been lovingly renovated into stunning holiday cottages set in the Oakeley Arms Hotel grounds. These charming self catering cottages in the heart of Snowdonia are enchantingly named after local mountains and rivers (don’t worry we’ll help with the pronounciation!)

Traditional furniture and original features mean that the cottages contain an abundance of charm and period style, but modern and quality fixtures mean that you won't have to compromise on style or practicality.

You’ll be greeted with wine and cakes on arrival and bed-linen and towels are provided. All you have to do is relax and enjoy the fabulous views across the Vale of Ffestiniog.

The cottages are within easy reach of the area’s popular attractions and local towns.

For more details, prices and to book see our website www.oakeleyarms.co.uk or call us on 01766 590 277

Oakeley Arms History - Part 3

Up in Arms

In previous Oakeley Blog posts, we've explored the history and secrets of one of the most well known families in the area - the Oakeley's of Tan-y-Bwlch. And of course, the history of the beautiful Oakeley Arms, is inextricably linked with this influential family......

Today, we'll look at the history of the Oakeley Arms itself, although sadly, not a great deal is known about it.

There are some parts of the Oakeley Arms Hotel that date as far back as the 1600’s and it was originally known as the Tan y Bwlch Inn.

The building as it stands today was built during the 1700’s when it was owned by a local drover and during this time it was used as a meeting place for local businessmen and as a make-shift court house and police station.

Sometime during the early 1840’s it was renamed the Oakeley Arms, in honour of the estate it served.

The Oakeley Arms Hotel was auctioned off from the estate in 1910 along with 1,000 acres of land, and its fortunes too rose and fell during the twentieth century. It was given a grade II listing in 1954 because of its historical importance but by the turn of the new century was in a sad state of decay.

The current owners Ann-Marie and Chris Vanstone acquired the crumbling building in 2003, and have dedicated their working lives to restoring and refurbishing the grand hotel to its former glory.

You can read more about the transformation of the Oakeley Arms on our blog post http://www.oakeleyarms.blogspot.com/2011/09/sleeping-giant-wakes-up.html

The Oakeley Arms today

The Oakeley Arms is proud of its distinctive crest, which has stood loyally as a symbol of the hotel since the nineteenth century. It means “I’m cautious but I do not fear”

You can read more about Plas Tan-y-Bwlch and the fortunes of the Oakeley family at www.plastanybwlch.com or on our previous blog posts

Do you have any memories or history of the Oakeley Arms? We'd love to hear them!

Leave a comment in the box below! Thanks...

Oakeley Arms History - Part 2

Slate Fortunes

 

In a recent Oakeley Arms blog post, we delved into the history of one of the area's most influential families - the Oakeleys of Tan y Bwlch. The Oakeley family's fortunes were built on the lucrative slate trade in the early nineteenth century.

In today's blog post, we explore the end of the Oakeley story, and the sad demise of their good fortune........

They became one of the wealthiest families in Wales in the early 1800's, thanks to William Griffith Oakeley's canny foresight - he rented his land in Rhywbryfdir to a slate dealer from Liverpool, who opened a quarry. The Oakeley quarries eventually became the largest subterranean quarry in the world.

However, the Oakeley family’s fortunes were soon on a downward spiral. William Griffith died in 1835 without heirs, and his wife Louisa Jane managed the estate for over 40 years. She improved much of the town of Blaenau Ffestiniog, where the quarries were situated. In 1848, she built a hospital in the town for all the miners at the Oakeley quarries.

But gradually her interest ebbed away and in 1879 the estate passed to the eldest son of her late husband's cousin. William Edward Oakeley continued to expand the mines and built much of the village of Maentwrog to house his workers. It is thought he was a benevolent employer, often providing day trips and small luxuries for his workers. However, a series of bad decisions and tragic accidents at the quarries led to their demise.

Slate Quarry

Picture by: Dan Crow

William Edward was soon deeply in debt and the land that had once provided vast fortunes and a lavish lifestyle for the Oakeleys was now the cause of their near bankruptcy.

When William Edward died in 1912, the estate was split between his son Edward de Clifford and his daughter Mary. Apparently Edward had no interest in running the estate and reputedly spent the last of the Oakeley fortune on gambling.

Edward sold his part of the estate to his niece, Mary's daughter Margaret, who sadly soon died and so Mary's other daughter Hilda took over. She died a spinster, and her part of the estate was left again to her mother Mary, who now owned it in it's entirety. Mary lived at Plas Tan-y-Bwlch until her death in 1961, but much of the once vast estate had already been sold over the years to raise money.

In 1969, the house and grounds at Plas Tan y Bwlch were bought by a local council, and by the 1970’s was run by the Snowdonia National Park Authority. Today, the grand house is home to a study and eco-centre. It underwent a vast and exciting renovation project in 2005 so that the grand house could be opened up to the public.

You can find more information about Plas Tan-y-Bwlch at www.eryri-npa.gov.uk

Did you know?? Plas Tan-y-Bwlch is thought to have been the first house in North Wales to be lit by electricity, produced from a hydro-electric source at the lake (Llyn Mair) above the house.

Llyn Mair

Do you know anything of the Oakeley family history, or indeed anything of the Oakeley Arms history? We'd love to hear your memories! Leave a comment in the boxes below.....

Oakeley Arms History

Slate Expectations

We've been the proud owners at the Oakeley Arms now since 2003, but we've often wondered about the history of this magnificent Grade II listed building.

After doing some research we've found, of course, that the Oakeley's story is inextricably linked with that of the renowned Oakeley family of nearby Tan-y-Bwlch estate.

So, in the first of our series about the story of the Oakeley Arms, here's a short history about the Oakeleys, and the rise, and fall, of their fortunes.......

From a distance, the quiet mountains that surround the Oakeley Arms stand calm, proud and magnificent, but dig a little deeper and you’ll find a noisy industrial and destructive history; one that was defined by Wales’ grey gold – the valuable Welsh slate that was dug from the quarries around Blaenau Ffestiniog in thousands of tonnes and exported all over the world.

The story of slate holds the key to how a local family became one of the wealthiest families in the country; all thanks to an underground treasure trove. The family would remain one of the most important and influential in the area for almost 200 years. 

Towards the end of the eighteenth century, the daughter of wealthy local landowners and heiress to the estate of Plas Tan-y-Bwlch (which had originally been built by her predecessors around 1630) married a business man from Staffordshire named William Oakeley.  

Plas Tan-y-Bwlch

Photo: David Medcalf

William Oakeley, known as “Oakeley Fawr” (Great Oakeley) was popular and soon became well-loved by local residents and the tenants on his land. As farming provided the main sources of income for local people, he made important improvements to the pastures below Plas Tan-y-Bwlch. He built embankments to save the land from the tidal waters, and created much more land for the farmers and their families.

Although this work was appreciated by local communities, it wasn't until the estate was passed to Oakeley Fawr's son, William Griffith Oakeley in 1811, that the fortunes of the family were cemented.

William Griffith spotted the potential of farmland he owned at nearby Rhiwbryfdir. In 1819 he rented it to a slate dealer from Liverpool and within three years the land had been transformed from a small hole that employed three men, to the largest subterranean slate quarry in the world.

The hungry demand for the best slate in the world was growing quickly as the industrial revolution gathered speed and vast quantities of building materials were required across the world.  By the end of the 19^th century the Oakeley quarries were producing 60,000 tonnes of slate a year; each tonne transported from the hills down to Porthmadog by the Ffestiniog Railway and shipped across the globe.

Come back later in the week for the end of the story.... What happened to the Oakeley family? And did their good fortune survive the dawn of the 20th century? And what of the fate of the famous Oakeley Arms?

Cemetery Junction

Some "grave" goins-on at the Oakeley

Ok, so Halloween has been and gone, but we're staying with the Halloween theme for this blog post as we venture into the spooky cemetery in the Oakeley Arms garden. Yes, you read right - a cemetery at the Oakeley..... a dog cemetary, of course!!

The little dog graves in the far corner of the garden often attract quite a lot of attention from visitors and passers by, but they've been part of the Oakeley for as long as we can remember.

None of our faithful hounds are here yet, thank goodness, but some of the graves are more than 100 years old!

There's a similar Dog Cemetery at nearby Portmeirion, though of course it's much larger than our small patch. It was started by Adelaide Haigh, the eccentric tenant of Aber Ia (the manor house that became Portmeirion's Hotel building).

She absolutely adored her dogs, and they all slept in luxury in one of the manor house bedrooms. Apparently she read sermons to them in the belief that they were as religious as she was. When her beloved dogs died (and she had lots of them because she took in any stray that happened to pass), she buried them in the grounds of the estate, erecting grave stones with gushing epitaphs for her loyal companions.

We've yet to spot any spooky canine sightings, but who knows what these days after halloween will bring? Come along to the Oakeley and keep your eyes peeled for some four-legged ghosts!