About Park Hall
Situated in the charming and peaceful valley of the Afon Ffynnon Ddewi, Park Hall offers large self catering accommodation in Wales for either family or friends. It stands in its private large grounds surrounded by farmland and is just 300 metres from the beach and cove at Cwmtydu or Cwmtudu (two common spellings) in Cardigan Bay. The tranquil setting and country surroundings make a huge difference to the quality and feel of a stay at Park Hall, as can be seen from the comments of our guests –
“We felt like the Lord and Lady of the Manor! Fabulous week in a beautiful part of Wales.”
Park Hall, built in 1912 as a gentleman’s country residence, is spacious and comfortable. The house has been sympathetically refurbished to provide elegant, well-equipped and very comfortable group accommodation with open fires and a wonderful feeling of space.
Set in two and a half acres of grounds, this large country house enjoys outstanding views of Cardigan Bay and is an unforgettable venue for large family and group holidays, special birthdays, anniversaries and reunions. And, to make your gathering complete, we would love to welcome your dog(s) or other pets to our holiday rental house.
“A perfect venue for family members to celebrate Mum’s 80th birthday. It has been the ideal place where so many of us can sit around a table and talk – lovely conservatory.”
Our aim is to provide our guests with the highest quality service, as well as very good value for money. Living in the adjacent cottage, we believe that by meeting your individual requirements, we can enhance your stay, making it a truly enjoyable and memorable experience.
“Fabulous house, great views. Spotlessly clean, comfy beds.”
We strive to ensure you arrive to a spotlessly clean, wonderfully warm house full of character and atmosphere. There are wonderful walks from the door of Park Hall, along the Ceredigion Heritage Coast. A wealth of activities for all ages are available locally. Park Hall is a perfect base for exploring Snowdonia, Pembrokeshire or the Gower Peninsula which are all within easy driving.
“Very many thanks for a brilliant holiday. The house is superb and the location wonderful. Everyone is very keen to return next year.”
“We have had a magical Christmas at Park Hall – the conservatory looks beautiful lit by candles and the Christmas lights. Opening Christmas presents in front of a roaring log fire is something the children will always remember.”
A short history of Park Hall Country House
Park Hall has reached its centenary having been completed in 1912 as a ‘Gentleman’s Residence’ for a watchmaker from Aberaeron. His shop, although long gone, was on the corner of Lekel Street and Alban Square; today it is the bakery.
A great deal of the building material for the house was brought in by sea via Cwmtydu cove. At the time this would have been the easiest, and probably the quickest, way of getting what was needed to the site. The house was reputed to be the first in the valley to have its own running water and flushing toilet. The water for which was piped down the hillside through lead pipes from a well above the walled garden. Although we have not located the well we did come across some of the remains of the lead pipe work.
The house was a family home for many decades and had a productive walled garden including many fruit trees. One or two of the locals remember coming and helping themselves to some of the apples and pears!
In the 50s and 60s the house moved away from being a family residence to more of a rented property similar to what it is today, but not with quite the same level of comfort. It was mostly for holiday lets with guests having to collect the key from a lady in the next village.
We have been told about groups of families coming all together in ‘a charabanc’ from the valleys to stay in the house and help the local farmers with the haymaking and any other work that needed doing. They were paid in kind from the farmers for their labours but would buy themselves kegs of ale and cider from the local public house.
Tales have been related to us of in excess of 30 individuals staying in the house at one time, using mattresses laid on the floor for the children to sleep on.
An extensive amount of work took place in the 1980’s to restore the house to its former glory, putting back some of the fireplaces, the pine panelling and etched glass in the hallway door to name but a few. It was also at this time that the en-suite bathrooms were added to the first floor bedrooms and the conservatory – as you see it today – to be used as the dining room for the hotel.
An important visitor during this period, arrived during one springtime, and took up residence, if briefly, in the Scots Pine trees at the edge of the lawn furthest away from the house. They were the Ospreys; a breeding pair that unusually came this far south. It created quite a stir with reporters and photographers descending on Cwmtydu to see the new residents. Today they can be seen in their more usual surroundings near Machynlleth.
Hopefully all of you who come and spend time in the ‘big house’ as we refer to it, will enjoy its atmosphere and tranquil surroundings and maybe come back again to see what other developments have taken place since you were last here.
