Its distance from England and its historical position in the heartland of Welsh nationalism should make DOLGELLAU (pronounced "dol-geth-lye") the most Welsh of towns, but the town's granite architecture draws more from nineteenth-century England, with a dour series of small neo-Georgian squares all bearing English names. Victorian tourists came to marvel at Cadair Idris and the Mawddach Estuary - still the best policy, as the town has little to offer beyond the Quaker Interpretive Centre , above the tourist office (Easter-Oct daily 10am-1pm & 2-6pm; Nov-Easter Mon & Thurs-Sun 10am-5pm). This details the lives of Quakers forced by persecution to seek a better life in Pennsylvania, where some towns still bear Welsh names: Bangor, Bryn Mawr and others.

Dolgellau has no train station but is well served by buses , all of which pull into the central Eldon Square, close by the tourist office (Easter-Oct daily 10am-1pm, 2-6pm; Nov-Easter Mon & Thurs-Sun 10am-5pm; tel 01341/422888). Central accommodation is best found at the Ivy House , Finsbury Square (tel 01341/422535; £40-50), and the good-value Royal Ship Hotel , Queens Square (tel 01341/422209; £50-60). Outside town, the eighteenth-century Tyddyn Mawr Farmhouse , Islawrdref (tel 01341/422331; £50-60), stands on the slopes of Cadair Idris at the foot of the Pony Path, while the superb seventeenth-century George III Hotel , Penmaenpool (tel 01341/422525; £70-90), overlooks the Mawddach Estuary, two miles west of Dolgellau. There's a decent town-centre independent hostel in the shape of Plas Isa on Lion Street (tel 01341/440666 or tel 01766/540569; under £40). The tent-only Bryn-y-Gwyn   campsite , Cader Road (tel 01341/422733), is less than a mile southeast of town. There's a fair choice for eating in Dolgellau: the best bets are the creative and moderately priced Bwyty Dylanwad Da , 2 Smithfield St (tel 01341/422870), and the Tyn-y-Groes Hotel , Glanllwyd (tel 01341/440275), four miles north of town in the Coed y Brenin forest, with good beer, fine bar meals and à la carte dinners. Back in town, the Tafarn Caetanws , Smithfield Street, is a great pub for food and occasional music and comedy. Dolgellau's Sesiwn Fawr folk and rock festival in mid-July ( ) has rapidly grown into one of Wales' finest.