Why?
Because winter reveals the essence of this corner of Snowdonia. With summer holidaymakers gone, mountains brood, beaches empty and fires crackle in the grates of a handsome little town that might have gone the full Farrow & Ball were it not the hub of a solid farming community. Dolgellau — pronounced, approximately, Dol-geth-lee — is a place where locals shrug off the weather to embrace the outdoors regardless. So should you.
What you do
First, stockpile provisions: mint cake and OS maps from the Cader Idris outdoors shop, on Eldon Square (cader-idris.co.uk); and Welsh oggies and flapjacks of the gods from the nearby Popty’r Dref bakery. Cader Idris mountain is the classic half-day hike. Pick up the Pony Path at the National Trust car park in Ty Nant, a mile west of Dolgellau.
After 20 minutes, you emerge from the treeline beneath a wall of ragged cliffs. After three hours, you’re on top of the world (well, at 2,927ft), gazing at the Llyn Peninsula and Snowdon dusted in snow. There’s a bothy at the top, and they say anyone who spends the night up there returns either mad or a poet. I opted for a nice B&B.
If two wheels are more your thing, take the Mawddach Trail. The scenery beside its estuary broadens over nine easy miles, with woodcock in the RSPB-owned marsh, the occasional peregrine falcon overhead and the sea unfurling over sand flats. Hire bikes at Dolgellau Cycles, on Smithfield Street (from £13; dolgellaucycles.co.uk).
That panting sound at the trail’s end isn’t you — it’s a half-sized steam locomotive at Estuary Halt, one of six stops on the Fairbourne Railway. You may think you’re too cool to pootle through dunes behind a dead ringer for Thomas the Tank Engine, but you should have seen the grin on my face. For an extra £20, you can ride on the footplate (from £5; fairbournerailway.com).
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In summer, nearby Barmouth is a busy resort with dodgems and donkey rides. But go now and you’ll have its fantastic powder beach to yourself for walks beside a brooding Irish Sea. Warm up with chips from the Carousal fish bar, on King Edward Street. On the day I visited, its broken sign read “arousal”. Your plaice or mine, darlin’?
You’ll find the largest mountain-bike trail centre in the UK at Coed y Brenin, 10 miles north of Dolgellau. Use of the trails, from easy pedals to waterfalls to technical downhills that have more take-offs than Cardiff airport, is free (naturalresources.wales). Bike hire starts at £25 for a half-day (beicsbrenin.co.uk).
The uber-energetic may wish to know that this is also the site of Britain’s first trail running centre: four sumptuously pretty forest routes, with even some night runs organised. No excuses, they rent out trainers (£5; runcoedybrenin.com).
Where you eat
TH Roberts, a cafe on Bridge Street, is ruled by Meg, the queen of cakes, and serves huge wedges of deliciousness in a listed former ironmonger’s (cake from £3.25). Two miles from Dolgellau, Mawddach offers dishes such as pork with cannellini and chorizo stew, served with killer views (mains from £13; mawddach.com). For a post-ramble pint, try the Torrent Walk pub, on Smithfield Street: 18th-century beams, five local beers and a fire. Brilliant.
Where you stay
Y Meirionnydd, the writer Jan Morris’s favourite small country hotel, is both comfy and quietly classy — all stone walls, pale chalky colours and Welsh blankets on the bed (doubles from £79; themeirionnydd.com). Graig Wen, overlooking the Mawddach estuary, has yurts with woodburners, self-catering cottages (from £60; graigwen.co.uk) and the Slate Shed, a stylish five-bedroom B&B (doubles from £80; slateshed.co.uk).
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James Stewart was a guest of Visit Wales (visitwales.com)
