The off-the-beaten cafe was once a slice of heaven for its owner and her customers. Now she says it’s become a living hell
05:19, 28 Feb 2026Updated 10:12, 28 Feb 2026
Cynllwyd Mawr on the shores of Llyn Crafnant has a cafe and a holiday let. In summer, customers can sit outside and soak up the views(Image: Llyn Crafnant Lakeside Cafe)
A quaint cafe in one of Wales’ most beautiful locations is embroiled in an unseemly row over its lease. Its tenant Caroline Edwards counts herself lucky to live there – but is now desperate to leave.
A decade ago she and her Llanrwst-born husband sold their house in Hertfordshire and upped sticks to Cynllwyd Mawr, a Victorian property on the shores of Llyn Crafnant above the Conwy Valley. It was the stuff of dreams: views of the Eryri mountains from the head of the lake are regarded as among the country’s finest.
The couple paid £167,000 for the lease and business rights, which include a cafe and a trout fishery on the 63-acre lake. Initially Caroline quickly embraced her new lifestyle and became renowned for her generous homemade cakes.
In this respect she was following in illustrious footsteps. Long before it was a formal cafe, Cynllwyd Mawr was occupied by a 19th century boat builder whose wife became famous for her homemade bread, known as Bara Crafnant. Whenever visitors passed, Mrs Williams offered freshly-baked slices with a welcoming cup of tea. If anyone declined, she was slightly offended.
“It’s such a wonderful place,” said Caroline, 58. “Totally unique. Being here is a lifestyle that can’t be surpassed – that few people can ever dream of having. From my bedroom window I can look out across the beautiful lake. In the years I’ve been here, I’ve seen more rainbows here than in the rest of my life.
“People love my cakes and I love to cook – that’s my thing. But now I’m desperately worried. I just want to leave but I can’t. I feel trapped by a situation over which I have very little control. The thought of losing everything and being made homeless is very scary.”
The charming cafe lacks pretense(Image: Llyn Crafnant Lakeside Cafe)
During the Covid pandemic, the couple’s idyllic life began to unravel. Caroline required surgery, which led to a nasty fall, a back injury and a major mental health episode. The couple separated and the mum-of-four was left to run the business by herself. At the same time, lease troubles were brewing.
Cynllwyd Mawr is managed by the Crafnant Trust, a charity set up by Llanrwst Town Council in 1895 to oversee the lake after it was donated to the town. Llyn Crafnant served as Llanrwst’s water supply until the mid-1980s, when management reverted fully to the Town Council. By this time Cynllwyd Mawr had evolved into a seasonal tea room and fishery, operated via 15-year leases.
When Caroline and her husband moved in a decade ago, just two years were left on the lease. “We were confident it would be renewed,” she said. “As protected tenants, it meant we were secure, had a fair rent and couldn’t be evicted.”
But she says that eight years after the lease expired, it has yet to be renewed. Now on her own, and with her health and finances continuing to decline, Caroline says she is unable to assign the lease and the cafe business – which she owns – to a new tenant at the going rate. Without agreement, she worries she could lose everything.
She blames an impasse with the Crafnant Trust. “Some time ago we met the Trust to discuss the lease. They offered to renew it, providing we signed away our protected tenancy. It meant they could evict us if we failed to pay the rent they chose to set. It also meant we couldn’t sell the business, which would effectively pass to the Trust. It’s not theirs to have, so we refused.”
In response the Trust says it has “no objections” to her selling the business and cannot understand why Mrs Williams claims she could not reassign the new lease to a new tenant.
Caroline says the location is incredible but she’s become disillusioned now her circumstances have changed(Image: Llyn Crafnant Lakeside Cafe)
Protected tenancies, which are now rare, give tenants the right to remain in the property for life. They are also able to chose who to pass it to. It was the reason the couple invested heavily in a property they didn’t own.
“We were responsible for maintaining and repairing the house,” said Caroline. “Before we separated, we replaced lead flashing and paid for a new bathroom and a new kitchen.
“It was difficult, as the property is backed by hills and would flood two or three time a year. Water would run through the house and kitchen. A year or so ago the Trust arranged for a drain to be dug at the back, and that made a big difference – we haven’t had a major flood since.”
Each year the Crafnant Trust makes charitable donations to people and organisations in Llanrwst. It disputes Caroline’s claims, saying a revised commercial lease was offered in May 2025. This followed an original offer in 2019 which was rejected by the couple as they disagreed with the terms.
Trust administrator Lyn Jones said: “During a meeting last April with Mrs Williams, the Trust was informed she planned to sell the business by the end of September and she requested a copy of the revised lease to be sent to her solicitors. A letter was sent by our solicitors during May 2025 to her solicitors.
“This detailed the changes to the lease that the Trustees had agreed to, from the list of changes she had requested, prior to the signed new lease being sent to her solicitors. The Trust has been advised by our solicitors that they are still waiting for a reply to the aforementioned letter.
“The Trust has no objections to her selling the business and cannot understand why Mrs Williams claims she could not reassign the new lease to a new tenant.” In a letter to the Trust dated February 25, Caroline’s solicitor said he had yet to receive the relevant details.
Caroline is famed for her huge variety of homemade cakes(Image: Llyn Crafnant Lakeside Cafe)
World’s ‘most tranquil cafe’ with ‘endless possibilities’
In 2013, Llyn Crafnant Lakeside Cafe was named among the Guardian’s “best places for tea and cakes in the UK”, as suggested by readers. Backed by stunning scenery, where Gwydir Forest meets the mountains, it has an undeniable charm. As one walker put it, the cafe is the ideal spot for “daydreaming”.
Caroline’s homemade soups, sausage rolls, scones and cakes are part of the appeal. Despite this, the cafe remains relatively undiscovered, partly due to the twisty drive up from Trefriw to park at the lake or nearby Llyn Geirionydd.
Those prepared to make the effort are richly rewarded. A Betws-y-Coed foodie reckons it’s the “most tranquil cafe in the world”. In a review, a visiting couple called it a “gem” that doesn’t need to rely on touristy gimmicks.
They added: “We stumbled across this quaint little cafe and left with a very large smile on our faces. If you’re wanting a high street cafe with the latest mod-cons and marble decor, this place isn’t for you. If, however, you want to combine home comforts with beautiful surroundings, then make sure you give this place a visit.”
Caroline knows that, with the right investment and marketing, the business could be a goldmine. Except that she doesn’t expect to be the one at the helm. She gets help from her youngest daughter, who is renting the attached holiday let with her two children. Friends also chip in, one loaning money to pay for the next quarterly rent. But she’s had enough.
“I’m not well enough,” she said. “Physically and mentally. I’m getting PIPs (Personal Independence Payments) for my physical condition and I’m due to have surgery for a bowel tumour. Financially, things are difficult too: the boiler broke down before winter and I can’t afford to get it renewed, let alone buy in gas.
“We are desperate to move but there’s no housing available unless I can sell the business and buy a small home somewhere.”
Llyn Crafnant is not the easiest to reach but the views are incredible. Near its dam is a 1896 obelisk saluting local solicitor Richard James for gifting the reservoir and surrounding 19 acres to Llanrwst(Image: Ian Greig/Wiki)
Usually the cafe closes in winter when the fishing stops, then reopens in March when the new fishing season starts. Caroline said this is unlikely to happen this year.
“I have little money coming in and I don’t want to rely on charity,” she said. “The business needs new people with new ideas and a bit of money who are willing to manage the fishing permits. Someone who will wake up everyday and throw open the bedroom windows realising how lucky they are.
“It just needs small changes – re-plastering some of the walls, fixing the roof, things like that. I often get people coming into the cafe asking me to let them know if I’m selling up, they’d love to take it on. One potential tenant has been interested for a long time: he wanted the tenancy back in 2016 when we took it on.
“It’s a wonderful opportunity, a chance to bring it back to capacity like it was before my circumstances changed. No matter who runs the cafe, people will come because it’s such a beautiful place. Providing you are mindful of the National Park, the possibilities are endless.”
Mired in anxiety, Caroline struggles to leave her Cynllwyd Mawr home. Her slice of heaven has become a living hell. She said: “All I want to do is to get away from this place, and for that I need my protected tenancy renewed. I’ve always paid my way, been secure, but now I’m racking up debts I have no way of repaying without a new lease that I can assign. I’m in a crippling situation.”
Lyn Jones said the Trust is sympathetic to her plight. “The Trustees are well aware of Mrs Williams’s current situation and appreciate that the separation from her husband has unfortunately only added to her ongoing issues,” he said.
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