About

The Creation of Bala Caravan Park

Our story begins over 50 years ago when David and Eirian Williams used their life savings to buy the house of their dreams, Plas Moel Garnedd. An old Victorian house in Llanycil overlooking Llyn Tegid (Bala Lake), the largest natural lake in Wales with ancient ties to Welsh mythology. At the time of purchase, there was planning permission to install 28 static caravans on the grounds of the manor house and never being people to say no to a challenge, David and Eirian with three young children at the time decided to take a chance and Bala Caravan Park was born.

It soon became clear they had developed a recipe for success with Bala Caravan Park being amongst the first parks in Wales to win the Visit Wales 5-star grading and the David Bellamy Gold Award for conservation. We are especially proud to be part of a small group of parks that have won both awards every year consecutively since its creation.

Expansion into Bala Holiday Parks

In 1999, David and Eirian’s son, Gareth, married Sioned, a daughter of a nearby farm, and the pair returned to the area and became involved in the family business. They soon had three children of their own, Aron, Rhys and Nel, and in 2009, Hendre Mawr Caravan Park in the nearby village of Llanuwchllyn came on the market and the family decided it was the perfect time to expand the business. After following the same tried-and-tested method, the park soon became unrecognisable to what it was before, and the expansion of the partnership had begun.

With two pristine caravan parks, Gareth was approached by a few industry leaders who mentioned the need for a holiday lodge park of the same standards in Wales. After one rejected bid at purchasing Pen y Garth Lodge Park in 2011, the then owners, Haulfryn Group, approached us again in 2013 asking if we were still interested and soon Pen y Garth Lodge Park became the third park in the business. At this point, we adopted the new name to encompass all 3 of our parks, Bala Holiday Parks.

Having been given a target of 5 years by Visit Wales to upgrade the lodge park from being a 2-star to a 5-star park, we managed to do it within 18 months and soon after, all our hard work paid off when we won the Best Park in Wales Award from Visit Wales.

Recent History

Just before the COVID-19 pandemic, Bala Holiday Parks expanded again and took ownership of a quaint touring park near Llyn Tegid and the town of Y Bala by the name of Pen y Bont Touring Park. Having been on countless family holidays in their own touring caravan, Gareth, Sioned and family knew exactly what they wanted Pen y Bont to be and after the installation of a brand-new toilet block, Shepherd’s Huts, glamping tents and a complete relandscaping of the grounds, Pen y Bont too became a 5-star park and amongst the highest rated parks in Wales on PitchUp.com.

That brings us to the present day. Started with an ambition to create the best holiday park possible using local tradespeople and materials and working in tandem with our beautiful environment, Bala Holiday Parks has expanded into a portfolio of parks and cottages offering a wide variety of options to our guests and prospective owners.

Today and the future

As time has passed, sadly David and Eirian are no longer with us and are still sorely missed. However, their vision and determination are still as strong as ever with the third generation of the Williams family becoming more involved every year. Who knows what will happen over the next 50 years, but one factor is certain, our great founders’ ethos and morals will continue for generations to come, and Bala Holiday Parks will always be firmly in the hands of the same family.