Setting
Trigonos
Retreat Center
Trigonos is an inspiring retreat centre in the Snowdonia National Park committed to environmental preservation and sustainable land use. There are many secluded places for quietness and reflection. The workspaces and meeting rooms all get excellent natural light. The sitting room with its open fireplace and the library with its comfortable couches are available for writing and relaxation.
Outside
there are benches, a working sundial, a pit for campfires and a path
down to Llyn (Lake) Nantlle where you might try a swim. Trigonos' 18
acres include walled gardens, meadows, woodlands, streams and
magnificent views of Mount Snowdon, the tallest mountain in England and
Wales.
The weather tends to be cooler and damper in than the typical muggy Mid-Atlantic summer, but it's always refreshing. You'll want to pack your "Mackintoshes" and "Wellies" just in case.
Accommodation
Single
and double guest bedrooms are available with lake or garden views. All
of the rooms have twin beds and most have their own private bathrooms.
Rooms will be assigned on a first-come, first-served basis.
Register early to get your first choice!
Dining
You will dine on nutritious, tasty meals with an emphasis on fresh, unprocessed ingredients, whenever possible prepared with vegetables and salads grown at Trigonos without the use of herbicides, pesticides or artificial fertilizers. The dining room with its beautiful handmade furniture looks out on the meadow and the lake, with stunning views of the mountains. A wide variety of teas and coffee are available at all times. Special dietary requirements can be accommodated.
Trigonos in History
From
Trigonos' property, you can see the view made famous by the 18th century
British painter Richard Wilson in "Snowdon From Llyn Nantlle." The
original work is on display in Liverpool's Walker Art Gallery.
Learn more about it.
Trigonos provides an ideal venue for Myth, Mountain & Imagination.
The biggest problem you will face is how to deal with the gorgeous
landscape. It just might be too beautiful to write.
Remember, Trigonos is a Retreat Centre not a Resort
Your comfortable room will be made up with fresh sheets, blankets and towels. Trigonos doesn't have maid service so if you haven't made a bed in a while, better practice ahead of time.
There
are no televisions or radios to distract you, and cell reception is
limited so if you have an international phone or Blackberry, you may not
get a signal. There is a pay phone for incoming and outgoing calls
(we'll give you the number later) and a computer available to get online
for a nominal fee. Remember, this is a get-away. You will be far from
the distractions of your regular life. And that must be appealing to you
if you've read this far.
Most rooms have a chair and table or desk, and the earlier you
register, the more amazing your view of
the lake and mountains will be. View more
interior photos of Trigonos.
About Wales
Croeso i Cymru! / Welcome to Wales!
While Wales is often thought of as one entity with the rest of Britain, it is different in landscape, culture, tradition and language. Most people in North Wales are bilingual, speaking both Welsh and English. The Welsh take great pride in their country's history which consists mainly of fighting to retain their independence. Wales was invaded by Romans, Vikings, Anglo-Saxons, Normans and finally the English.
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Remember Owain Glyndwr (Owen Glendower) who led the Welsh forces in the rebellion in Henry IV, Part 1?Shakespeare didn’t much like him, but he’s a hero to the Welsh and is considered the father of Welsh nationalism. After leading an independent Wales for a dozen years or so, he was defeated in 1412 and disappeared. While his final years are a mystery, I thought I spotted him a few years back operating an amusement ride at Barry Island Pleasure Park near Cardiff, but I can’t verify it. In 2000, celebrations were held all over Wales to commemorate the 600th anniversary of the Glyndwr rising and he has been voted 23rd in a poll of the 100 Greatest Britons. What would George Washington say about those numbers? |
This history of constant struggling against invaders left Wales with more castles per square mile than any other European country. What I realized on a recent trip is that these castles were built to conquer the Welsh (duh!), but they love them anyway. And they are magnificent! Today, tourists from England (but virtually none from the States) continue the invasion.
Consider visiting one of these nearby castles, all different and hauntingly beautiful.
• Beaumaris
Castle ̶ a "concentric" castle on nearby Anglesey Island
• Caernarfon Castle
̶ restored in 1969 when Prince Charles was invested
• Conwy Castle
̶ "one of the great fortresses of medieval Europe"
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Sir Edmund Hillary practiced on Snowdon before conquering Mt. Everest. The English name Snowdon comes from the Saxon Snow Dun, meaning snow hill. J.R. Tolkien is said to have based the Mountains of Mordor [in "The Lord of the Rings"] on the Snowdon range. |
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Stuff to Do
For those wishing to explore the local area, activities and
entertainments within easy reach include mountain and low level walks,
coasteering, pony trekking, swimming and other sports, medieval castles,
slate and copper mines, narrow gauge steam railways, a fine seacoast as
well as museums, theatre and cinema.
Other local attractions include:
• Portmeirion Village and Gardens
• Pili Palas Nature World
• Bodnant Gardens
• Rhyl Sun Centre
• Welsh Mountain Zoo
• Great Orme Tramway
• GreenWood Forest Park
• Llechwedd Slate Caverns
We will offer some optional excursions, but you are free to explore on your own. It’s easy to arrange for a bag lunch from the Trigonos kitchen so you can take off after your morning writing. We will share more details about both with registered participants as the Getaway gets closer.
Writers on Snowdonia
William Wordsworth
DARKNESS surrounds us; seeking, we are lost
On Snowdon's wilds, amid Brigantian coves,
Or where the solitary shepherd roves
Along the plain of Sarum, by the ghost
Of Time and shadows of Tradition, crost. . .
from
"Uncertainty"
***
IN one of those excursions (may they ne'er
Fade from remembrance!) through the Northern tracts
Of Cambria ranging with a youthful friend,
I left Bethgelert's huts at couching-time,
And westward took my way, to see the sun
Rise, from the top of Snowdon. To the door
Of a rude cottage at the mountain's base
We came, and roused the shepherd who attends
The adventurous stranger's steps, a trusty guide;
Then, cheered by short refreshment, sallied forth. . .
from
The Prelude, Book Fourteenth
On Wordsworth's Time in Snowdonia
". . .in his epiphany from the summit of Snowdon at the climax of
The
Prelude Wordsworth moves right beyond the religious preoccupations of
his two predecessors (Petrarch and Augustine) to his triumphant
affirmation of the creative powers of the poet, through memory, to open
up entirely new possibilities for the poetry of the 'single self' in the
future."
From an
article by
Alan G. Hill,
University of London
Alfred Wainwright, British Guidebook Author & Illustrator
"I climbed the mountains, roamed the valleys, visited the castles and
ancient monuments, explored the ruins where men once worked, looked at
the harbours and beaches, hunted for waterfalls in the forests,
travelled in the little trains. Everything delighted me. . . .The
scenery here was more dramatic and of a greater variety [than the Lake
District] and had a wealth of historic and prehistoric interest."
From
Wainwright's book A North Wales Sketchbook
Available in the Trigonos library
Can't wait to attend?
Register today!