For the past few months since the busy period of August both Josh and I have been busy up in the mountains and this blog post runs through what we have been up to and how we maintain Yr Helfa. The weather has started to take a turn, the wind is blowing, the rain is rather heavy at times but thats what makes running a remote accommodation business exciting and it hasn’t stopped us from servicing the off-grid equipment, carrying out upgrades and taking new pictures for our social sites and this very website.

To effectively look after Yr Helfa with the aim to upgrade every year we split the work into three main areas. The first being power. As Yr Helfa is powered by off-grid technology our first and foremost priority is to ensure that the equipment is working effectively, efficiently and any servicing is booked in by our specialist engineers before winter takes hold. The backup generator has now been serviced, the Biomass boiler and underfloor heating has had a pump repaired and is working perfectly and the fire service has visited and

Last week it was announced in The Times newspaper that according to users of Ordnance Survey’s app mapping system, OS Maps, the busiest 1km2 grid square in Great Britain is to the summit of Yr Wyddfa (Snowdon). At at peak times it certainly does get busy, from Crashpad Lodges you can see a colourful rainbow line of walkers making their way up to wales’ highest peak during the day.  When the sunset walkers return back down you can witness the most wonderful lines of lights as the many head torches light the way down.

Last week I listened to a podcast that spoke about how people are re-defining what success means. According to the podcast success as we know it today is measured by what we wear, what car we drive, how many likes on Instagram we have, the career, the house, being able to multitask and have it all.  The list goes on.  The podcast went onto suggest that the measure of success is starting to change with a noted discomfort surrounding ostentatious spending and displays of wealth. Driven by this new outlook growing amounts of people are moving towards smaller culture laden goods that speak volumes, items with provenance, buying local bread and homemade soaps - once seen as humble products into everyday luxuries. In North Wales small artisans have been doing such that for the example Dinorwig Gin, Purple Moose Ale and Heartland Coffi who are all starting to see rapid success due to this new luxury and shift in mind-set.

Every January and February we close Crashpad Lodges.  Not because of the cold weather or because guests don’t want to stay in the depth of winter. And not because we go on holiday. For 2 months at the start of every year we do a health check on the Lodges and do improvements that we have planned and saved up for from the previous year takings.

As I write we are almost finished ‘tending to the roots’ for the up and coming guests of 2019. ‘tending to the roots’ meaning we are working on making sure that the fabrication and the foundations of the lodges are in tip top condition by getting our hands dirty and doing the work that actually no-one can see.

Relaxing by the beach, a cocktail by the pool, room service, it’s the time of year to book your summer holiday.  But what if this year you were to do it different.  What if your holiday didn’t involve a plane but a car trip to North Wales.  North Wales vs the sunny beaches of Kefalonia?! I know it sounds silly but hear me out on this one.

My love of the great outdoors stems from trips to army camp when I was a teenager.  We travelled from our school in the North East of England to the Lakes.  We climbed to the top of a mountain - I had never been so high or seen so far.  Rode mountain bikes across wild terrain and main roads thinking I’d never been so fast or had never had such a sore bottom but laughing the whole way.  Camping with nature in such silence that all I

As Christmas approaches, Crashpad Lodges has had its final clean of 2018 ready for a group of guests arriving for 5 days to celebrate their New Year in the beautiful mountains of Snowdonia.

 I love the run up to Christmas and Christmas day itself but my favourite time is the period between Christmas and New Year.  It’s a time when you can sit back, relax and reflect on the year gone by and make plans and goals for the year ahead.

Last year at Crashpad Lodges we’ve had some great successes and met new and interesting people.  We invested in 2 new low energy

A business is like a best friend, a pet, even a loved one.  When it goes quiet you start worrying,  it can get you wondering “what have I done, or what am I doing wrong” and you ask “how can I make this better”