If you’re looking for places to visit and things to do during the school holidays and the Easter Bank Holiday Weekend, March 29 – April 1, look no further than Mid Wales.
MWT Cymru (Mid Wales Tourism) has put together a round-up of events in Mid Wales to put a spring in your step this Easter.
Powys
Gregynog Easter Trail
Tregynon, Powys, SY16 3PL
Good Friday, March 29 to Easter Monday, April 1, 10am – 4pm
Gregynog is a 750-acre estate in the heart of Mid Wales filled with history, culture, nature and stories. Pick up your trail sheet from the Courtyard Café and follow the trail of eggs to find the clues to the magic word. Trail sheets cost £6 which includes a crispy cake and hot chocolate. No need to book.
More here: https://gregynog.org/whats-on/gregynog-easter-trail/
Easter adventures at Powis Castle and Garden (National Trust)
Welshpool, Powys, SY21 8RF
March 23 – April 5, 10am – 3:30pm.
A medieval castle rising dramatically above the celebrated garden. Hop, skip and jump along the trail and discover the fun, interactive activities along the way. Collect your bunny ears and trail sheet from the castle’s friendly team and have a go at each activity.
Once you’ve completed the trail, collect your chocolate or vegan and Free From egg (made using Rainforest Alliance Certified cocoa) in the garden cafe – and remember to get your trail sheet stamped too.
**Please note that the trail will start at 11am on March 24 due to the Welshpool 10K run (more about this event here: https://www.visitmidwales.co.uk/whats-on/welshpool-10k-run-p2095241)
Things you need to know before visiting the Powis Castle Easter Trail:
- Trail costs £3 per child, including a trail sheet and chocolate egg.
- Normal admission prices do apply (NT members enter for free, trail prices still apply)
- Dogs are not allowed in the garden at this time of year.
- There are some steps in the trail, but alternative routes are available.
- The trail is suitable for wheelchairs and pushchairs.
Elan Valley Dam Open Days
Elan Valley, Rhayader, Powys, LD6 5HP
March 26, 1pm-4pm and April 2, 1pm-4pm
Don’t miss an exclusive chance to venture into Pen y Garreg Dam and up the central tower. A ranger will be on hand to answer all your questions.
These short, self-guided tours are a perfect addition to your day’s itinerary at Elan Valley. Walk through the dam at your own pace before emerging onto the central platform where you’ll enjoy a bird’s-eye view of the dam wall and learn about the feat of engineering that made Elan Valley.
Booking ahead recommended, either online or from the Visitor Centre shop. Please bring the receipt from the shop if you buy on the day. They can take walk-ins at the dam, but you must have the correct change for your party. £5 per adult, £1 per under-18 (half the proceeds go to WaterAid).
Easter Carrot Express at Welshpool & Llanfair Light Railway
The Station, Pool Road, Llanfair Caereinion, Powys, SY21 0SF.
March 30-April 1.
Take a steam train ride and meet the Easter Bunny. Egg Hunt, family entertainment and lots more included in their standard ticket price. Child passengers receive a Chocolate Easter egg to enjoy.
Montgomery Antiques & Collectors’ Fayre
Montgomery Town Hall, Broad Street, Montgomery, Powys, SY15 6RA.
Sunday, March 31, 11am-4pm and Monday, April 1, 10am-4pm
The first Montgomery Antique & Collectors’ Fayre of 2024 is taking place over Easter in Montgomery Town Hall with a number of sellers offering a wide selection of antique, vintage and collectable items for the home and garden. Refreshments available.
Ceredigion
Easter adventures at Llanerchaeron (National Trust)
Aberaeron, Ceredigion, SA48 8DG.
March 25 – April 1, 10am-4pm.
Explore the beautiful farmyard, gardens and grounds of Llanerchaeron in Ceredigion this spring. Treat your little ones to a world of adventures around the grounds at Llanerchaeron on their Easter adventures in nature trails.
Make your way along the trail and find nature-inspired activities for the whole family. The trail is £3 per child and includes a trail map and an egg. You can choose from either a dairy or a vegan and Free From chocolate egg – both are made from Rainforest Alliance Certified cocoa.
Mr Balcombe’s Easter Chocolate Challenge
Silver Mountain Experience, Llywernog Silver-Lead Mine, Ponterwyd, Aberystwyth, Ceredigion, SY23 3AB.
March 26 – April 11.
The Silver Mountain Experience is preparing for a choc-tastic new event this Easter. This exciting experience will give visitors the chance to meet Mr Balcombe, the mine manager, who is diversifying into chocolate making!
Included in the visit will be a tour with Mr Balcombe himself, as he explains how he is embarking on the challenge of making chocolate and shows visitors around the mine equipment he is repurposing into chocolate producing machines.
Undertake your own chocolate challenge, a quest to help Balcombe produce his ‘Balcombe Bar’ and sell it in his sweet shop. To win the reward, you will need to find all of the silver tickets to complete the challenge.
There will be some scrumptious surprises too… maybe even a chocolate fountain and marshmallows in the onsite Miner’s Rest Café – a small extra charge applies.
As well as the Easter activities, visitors will be able to join a choice of guided and actor-led tours. Families with young explorers can enjoy the interactive ‘A Dragon’s Tale’ tour, an adventure to find Silver Mountain’s shy and secretive dragon, Grotty.
There are also a variety of other attractions included within the price of the entry tickets. Children will love running wild in Woo Hoo Woods, having fun in the play areas and taking part in the various trails and puzzles.
The Miner’s Rest Café will be serving a delicious range of snacks, cakes, lunches, hot drinks and tasty Easter treats. The café is open to visitors even if they are not visiting any of the attractions and delicious, freshly prepared afternoon teas can be pre-booked.
Meet the Easter Bunny & Eggstravaganza Hunt
Cae Hir Gardens, Cribyn, Lampeter, Ceredigion, SA48 7NG.
Monday, April 1, 11am – 2pm.
Come and meet the Easter Bunny himself at Cae Hir Gardens. Every child will be able to sit with the Easter Bunny, have a little chat and be given a Cadbury’s Easter egg by the Easter Bunny himself.
It’s all part of the fabulous Easter EGGstravaganza Hunt where visitors are sent on a hunt around the garden looking for all manner of things from Easter eggs to bunny tracks, spring flowers to playing cards.
If you need a rest before, during or after you complete the EGGstravaganza Hunt, then the tearoom will be serving all things Easter and delicious. From crispy chocolate nests to simnel cake to hot cross buns to the Easter Bunny’s favourite meal – deliciously warming carrot (and coriander) soup.
Please be aware that the Easter bunny himself will be at the garden from 11am- 1pm only. Between 1pm and 2pm, his son, the Easter Bunny in Training, will be taking over!
Booking is essential for this event as the Easter Bunny needs to know how many Easter Eggs to bring along in his basket.
Gwynedd, Southern Snowdonia
Dragons awake at King Arthur’s Labyrinth from March 23
Corris Craft Centre, Corris, Gwynedd, SY20 9RF
The underground dragons wake from their winter hibernation on March 23 and King Arthur’s Labyrinth reopens! 2023 prices are currently frozen and bookings are now live for 2024.
King Arthur’s Labyrinth is an underground storytelling adventure and a fun day out for the whole family. Corris Mine Explorers also reopens 23 March.
Bala Lake Railway Easter Egg Hunt
Llyn Tegid, Bala Lake Railway, Llanuwchlyn Station, Llanuwchlyn, Bala, Gwynedd, LL23 7DD,
March 29 – April 1.
Join in the fun at the Bala Lake Railway this Easter. Can you find all the Easter eggs that are hidden along the line and at the station and solve the puzzle?
There’s a chocolate prize for every child and you might even get to meet the White Rabbit. The Easter Egg Hunt is included free with a normal train ticket.
Stations at Stations, Rheilffordd Talyllyn Railway
Talyllyn Railway, Gorsaf Wharf Station, Tywyn, Gwynedd, LL36 9EY
March 29, 4pm-9pm.
An event open to everyone to attend which will enhance understanding about the journey that Jesus Christ made on his way to the Cross.
The Rev. Phil Jump, North West Baptist Association regional minister, will be leading this spiritual pilgrimage. Biblical readings and prayers will be read at each station stop along the railway, following the traditional pattern for Stations of the Cross.
The event will take place on Good Friday, starting at Tywyn Wharf Station at 4pm, followed by a steam train journey which will return by 9pm.
Tea and coffee will be available at Quarryman’s Caban at Abergynolwyn station. Donations would be gratefully received in aid of a charity of the Archbishop Emeritus of Wales’ choice.
For more information about visiting Mid Wales this Easter, see www.visitmidwales.co.uk
