The Ugly House isn't actually ugly at all. This unusual cottage is constructed from huge boulders and is home to a characterful tearoom and, upstairs, the Honeybee Room, with displays devoted to the beleaguered insect. Visitors can wander through the grounds and gardens, even when the house is closed.
The origins of the house are steeped in folklore. One yarn suggests it was built in 1475 by two local bandits as their hideout; according to another, there was a Welsh law that allowed any man who built on common land after sunset and had smoke coming out of the chimney by daybreak to stake a claim for the freehold as far as he could throw an axe around the property.
The Snowdonia Society, a charity working to protect and enhance Snowdonia's heritage and wildlife, rescued the property from dereliction and turned it into its headquarters in 1988 following painstaking renovations by a team of dedicated volunteers. It's located half a mile past Swallow Falls on the A5.
