Clock ticking in £1m Trust campaign to save traditional hill farm in Snowdonia

THE National Trust has raised £750,000 in 100 days to save a beautiful Welsh hill farm, it said as it made a final push to meet the £1m target to buy the estate.
By The Newsroom
Published 6th Jul 2011, 08:00 BST

The campaign to buy Llyndy Isaf, a 614-acre farm in Snowdonia’s Nant Gwynant valley which includes the Llyn Dinas lake, is the trust’s biggest countryside appeal since its drive to save Snowdon over a decade ago. The organisation fears that if it does not buy Llyndy Isaf the estate could fall into commercial hands, threatening its future.

According to the trust, the farm has been untouched by intensive farming for decades and is home to a wealth of wildlife including choughs, pied flycatchers, willow warblers and peregrine falcons.

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The trust’s campaign to buy Llyndy Isaf has been backed by Hollywood actress Catherine Zeta Jones, and was launched by Welsh actor Matthew Rhys, who stars in the US TV show Brothers and Sisters.

Rhys said the clock was ticking. “The farmer has given us until the end of the year, and if we don’t raise £1m by then the farm will be sold on the open market.”

The National Trust says that if is successful with its appeal, walkers and campers will continue to have access to the farm and land around the lake, the basic campsite and bunk barns will be open to everyone and there are plans to start improving the network of footpaths.