Meadow Springs Country & Leisure Park

Forty acres in the Trannon Valley

Meadow Springs Country & Leisure Park sits in the Trannon Valley at Ffinnant, near Trefeglwys, between Llanidloes and Newtown. It runs to forty acres and it is open all year round, which in this part of Wales is unusual. The park is built around its own lake, with lodges and holiday homes looking out across the valley from their own decking.

The touring pitches

Every touring pitch is hardstanding and all-weather, and they are laid out in three areas. One is adults only, for people who want it quiet. One is an accessible section, with a level approach and facilities built for it. The third is the general area, and it takes mixed groups, motorhomes and first-timers alike. All the pitches are fully serviced. Being hardstanding rather than grass is what lets the park stay open through the winter, when a field would be unusable. There are lodges and holiday homes here as well as touring pitches, so ask what is free when you ring.

Eating, drinking and the lake

Arthur’s Restaurant and Bar is the social centre of the park. It serves freshly made cakes daily, coffee and tea, and a lunch and evening menu, with soft and alcoholic drinks. Jesse’s Bar is the newer of the two and serves lighter food, and dogs are welcome in it. The spring-fed lake sits in the middle of everything and is used for paddleboarding, kayaking, wild swimming and water polo, with picnic spots round the edge of it.

For families

The adventure play park is large, with a zip line, a climbing frame, foot golf, football and badminton. All the equipment hire is free, which is worth knowing before you pack the car.

Llandinam and David Davies

Six miles east, in the village of Llandinam, a bronze statue stands by the bridge, and the man it shows is worth ten minutes of anyone’s holiday. It is of David Davies, who was born there in 1818, started work as a sawyer, and became the first great industrialist Wales produced. His first job was the foundations of Llandinam bridge itself. From there he went on to build railways, sink pits in the Rhondda, and — when he fell out with the Bute estate over the cost of shipping coal through Cardiff — to build a whole new dock at Barry, which opened in 1889, the year before he died. By 1913 Barry was the biggest coal port in the world. The statue was made by Alfred Gilbert, the sculptor who did Eros in Piccadilly Circus, and there is a matching one outside the dock offices at Barry.

Getting here

The turning is off the B4569 at Trefeglwys. Llanidloes lies seven miles south-west and Newtown eleven miles east; each has a supermarket and a chemist. Caersws, six miles away, is the nearest railway station, on the Cambrian Line to Shrewsbury.

Good to know

Is it open in winter? Yes, the park is open year-round.

Are dogs allowed? Yes, and they are welcome inside Jesse’s Bar.

Is there an adults-only area? Yes, a separate quiet section, fully serviced.

Can I swim in the lake? Yes. The lake is spring-fed and used for wild swimming, paddleboarding, kayaking and water polo.

Is there anywhere to eat on site? Yes, Arthur’s Restaurant and Bar and Jesse’s Bar.

Is there an accessible section? Yes, with a level approach and facilities built for it.

Is the play equipment free? Yes, all the hire is free, including the zip line and the foot golf.

Is there boating on the lake? Yes — paddleboarding, kayaking and water polo, with picnic spots all round the edge.

How do I get a price? Meadow Springs does not publish a tariff online. Ring reception on 01686 430654 and they will quote you.