Sun, Sun and more Sun! May has been a glorious month! And where better to enjoy the sunshine than here in the splendour of Nant Gwrtheyrn? It was good to see so many day visitors here during the recent half term break.
People visit Nant Gwrtheyrn from all over the world and as the Summer arrives the bus operators return. Backroads Travel have been visiting us for some years and it is a pleasure to welcome them back this year. Between 15 to 20 visitors from the USA, Australia or New Zealand are the usual crowd – everyone is eager to learn a little Welsh and hear about the unique history of the village before enjoying a traditional Welsh tea at Caffi Meinir.
Two societies visited us during May. The first was an Anglesey Merched y Wawr group from Llandegfan. The second crew to visit came from Llanfairtalhaiarn, Abergele. They all enjoyed a talk, a guided tour and a meal to follow at Meinir Café.
Between the 7th and 11th of May around 45 University of Swansea nursing and medicine students attended a Welsh learning course here at Nant Gwrtheyrn. Carl Clowes, our founder, gave a talk on Tuesday, Edward Morus Jones entertained them on Wednesday and to finish the week off they were entertained by Gwilym Bowen Rhys on the Thursday evening before visiting the local pub Tafarn Y Fic. On Wednesday afternoon they visited a variety of health workplaces that were relevant to their studies such as the home of the elderly, Plas Hafan, the Bryn Beryl hospital, the Allt Wen hospital and the New Bryn Seiont home for dementia patients. Some also visited the Cwrw Llŷn Brewery before everyone met in Caernarfon to enjoy the Welsh atmosphere of the town led by Rhys Mwyn. One of the attendees said at the end of the week “The location of Nant Gwrtheyrn is breath-taking. It is the most perfect location to learn Welsh. You are completely submerged in the language and culture of Wales “. Another stated that the experience had restored “a strong sense of Welsh pride and desire to learn and practice the Welsh language”.