Betws View Shepherd Hut, Capel Garmon

Above Betws-y-Coed at Capel Garmon

Betws View Shepherd Hut stands in the garden at Pentop Cottage in Capel Garmon, the village on the hillside above Betws-y-Coed. It is a hut for two with its own hot tub. Guests on Booking.com rate it 9.1 out of 10 from 33 reviews, and the reviews single out the hosts.

The hut

Inside there is a kitchenette with a fridge, a microwave, a toaster and a kettle, a dining table and a seating area. There is a shower, and heating for the colder months. Towels, linen and toilet paper are provided, and there is a fold-up bed if you need a third space.

The hot tub and the garden

The hot tub is the thing guests come for. Outside there is a garden, a barbecue and a dining area, with the view that gives the place its name. Parking is free, private, on site and accessible.

Capel Garmon itself

The village sits high enough to look across the Conwy valley, and it is quieter up here than in Betws-y-Coed, which is about three miles down the hill.

A Stone Age tomb on the hillside

Capel Garmon Chambered Tomb is a short walk from the houses. Cadw look after it, so it is free and open whenever you turn up. A passage about five metres long runs into three burial chambers, with a big capstone still sitting over the western one. A ring of kerb stones marks where a mound thirty metres across once covered it. It puzzles archaeologists, because tombs built this way belong to the Cotswolds and the Severn, not north Wales.

And an Iron Age treasure found in a field here

In 1852 a farmer at Carreg Goedog, just outside the village, turned up an iron firedog — a stand for holding logs in a hearth. It dates from the first century BC and its uprights are shaped into heads that are part bull and part horse. It is one of the finest pieces of early ironwork ever found in Britain. You cannot see it here; it is in the National Museum in Cardiff.

Getting about

Zip World Fforest is 4.5km away, the nearest of the big attractions. Gwydir Castle is 8km, Bodnant Garden 19km and the Zip World Slate Caverns at Blaenau Ffestiniog 19km. Yr Wyddfa is 23km and the Snowdon Mountain Railway 29km. Llandudno Pier is 31km if you want a day at the sea, and Portmeirion is 37km.

At a glance

• Pentop Cottage, Capel Garmon, in the hills above Betws-y-Coed
• Rated 9.1 out of 10 on Booking.com from 33 reviews
• A shepherd hut for two, with a fold-up bed available
• Its own hot tub
• Kitchenette with a fridge, microwave, toaster and kettle
• Shower and heating
• Garden, barbecue and outdoor dining area
• Free private parking, with accessible parking too
• Non-smoking throughout
• Zip World Fforest 4.5km, Gwydir Castle 8km, Yr Wyddfa 23km

Good to know

How many does it sleep? Two, with a fold-up bed available as a third space.

Is there a hot tub? Yes, and it is what most of the reviews talk about.

Is there a kitchen? A kitchenette, with a fridge, a microwave, a toaster, a kettle and a dining table. There is a barbecue outside.

What does it cost? From £120 a night for two. Check the button on this page for your own dates, because the hut is often booked well ahead.

Where exactly is it? Capel Garmon, a village on the hillside about three miles from Betws-y-Coed, with the Conwy valley in front of it.

Are dogs allowed? The listing does not say either way, so ask when you book.

Check dates and book using the button on this page.