Dramatically situated at the base of a steep sided rock face, Tremadog is a small village close to the Snowdonia National Park, with wide streets and majestic buildings. Tremadog was created in the early nineteenth century, as part of a visionary idea, from the mind of Williams Madocks. His plan was to create a staging …
Llanberis
The Llanberis Pass is the narrowest, steepest and craggiest of the Snowdonia passes. It slices its way beneath the sheer flanks of Mount Snowdon and Glyder Fawr, passing through slopes littered with huge boulders and slabs. This inhospitable terrain, once feared by intrepid travellers, is now easily traversed by the modern A4086, which passes through …
Llan Ffestiniog
Llan Ffestiniog, known locally as Llan and sometimes shown as Ffestiniog on maps, is a close neighbour of larger and better known Blaenau Ffestiniog. Akin to the terraces of South Wales, rows of dark stoned houses give the village a robust appearance. The village stands amongst some dramatic scenery; to the east there is the …
Caernarfon
At the mouth of the River Seiont where it empties into the southern end of the Menai strait, stands Caernarfon, the county town of Gwynedd and the mighty Caernarfon Castle. Building of the walled town and its castle, began in 1283, shortly after the defeat of the native Welsh prince, Llywelyn the Last, by the …
Blaenau Ffestiniog
Looking at a map of the Snowdonia National Park, there is an obvious circle highlighting the fact that Blaenau Ffestiniog has been, (most would say unfairly), deliberately omitted from the national park. The original thinking was that because of its industrial past and the heaps of splintered slate surrounding the town, Blaenau Ffestiniog was a …
Bethesda
At the foot of the Ffrancon Pass, alongside the A5 and the River Ogwen, lies the old slate town of Bethesda. The town comprises sombre, grey stone quarrymen’s cottages, roofed in slate, clinging to the hillside in irregular terraces. Paradoxically, for the size of the town, there are a disproportionately large number of public houses …
Beddgelert
Awe-inspiring beauty surrounds Beddgelert, making it one of the most memorable villages in Britain. Set at the meeting point of two rivers, the Glaswyn and the Colwyn, Beddgelert nestles in the heart of a majestic landscape with the Snowdon range rising steeply to the north and the craggy Moel Hebog (2569ft), to the west. The …
Bangor
Situated at the Eastern end of the Menai Strait and within close proximity to its neighbour, The Isle of Anglesey, Bangor is perfectly placed for further exploration of North Wales and is easily accessible by the modern road network Bangor can trace its roots back to 525AD, when Saint Deiniol a Celtic missionary arrived with …
Abergwyngregyn
Abergwyngregyn, (mouth of the River Gwyngregyn), or Aber as it’s locally known, is a quiet village situated just off the A55, close to the northern end of the Menai Strait. A footpath from the village leads through a delightful valley to the village’s best known asset, the Aber Falls, a pair of spectacular waterfalls in …
North Snowdonia
his mainly mountainous region of Gwynedd, from its border with Anglesey (Ynys Mon), south to the Traeth Bach estuary and east to Llan Ffestiniog is endowed with extraordinary beauty, both natural and man-made. The landscape of high mountains, deep glacial gouged lakes, waterfalls and forests was so accurately depicted by the romantic artists and poets …