24 hours between Bangor and London

Chester seems the obvious place, interesting small city with lots to see, on the route from Bangor to London

Chester is an excellent choice, but I would choose Conwy. Just a short ride from Bangor on the train and a very impressive castle. Great place to spend a day.

ETA: If you have a lot of luggage, Chester will be the easier train station. Taxi rank right out front. There are lifts to access the footbridge over the tracks. Conwy has stairs to the platform.

In November when the weather is not going to be reliable and could be horrible I think Chester is the better option. Lots to see and do even if the weather is bad. Conwy would be an easy trip from Bangor when you are there.

You could go by train from Bangor to *Conwy & back as a day trip. (If so desired, you could also take a local bus from Conwy to Llandudno). Then, on your way back to London, have a stay over in Chester - from where you could take a local train for a look at Liverpool.
https://www.avantiwestcoast.co.uk is the train company that runs express trains from London (Euston) to Chester & along the north Wales coast calling at Llandudno Junction (not Conwy which is 1 mile away) to Bangor to terminate at Holyhead - from where ferries go to Dublin.
On the present weekday schedules, direct Avanti Express trains leave Euston at 9am and 15.02 arriving in Bangor at 12.25 & 18.25 respectively. It is possible to make the journey at other times by changing trains - usually in Chester.

Transport for Wales is the other operator of trains in north Wales and they have services through to Manchester Airport (which may be a better option for your trans Atlantic flights) and Birmingham as well all the way down to Cardiff = the Welsh capital.

On some train journeys, it is cheaper to split the ticket at places where the trains calls en route - even though you stay on the same trains. Suggest you check out the following sites to see if splits are cheaper:> https://www.scotrail.co.uk
https://trainsplit.com
https://www.traintickets.com/?/

Your daughter should consider getting a Railcard - perhaps the 16>25 one?https://www.nationalrail.co.uk/railcards/

More on train travel here:> https://www.seat61.com/train-travel-in-britain.htm

https://traws.cymru/en/services are some of the main bus routes across Wales. The ones that start at Bangor go through very scenic areas.

A new long distance coach service is about to start along the more sparsely populated west side of Wales linking Bangor with Carmarthen. (From Carmarthen, it is possible to take trains west into Pembrokeshire (Tenby is nice) or east into more populated south Wales to say Cardiff. More details:>https://tfw.wales/taithcymru

• If you do go to Conwy - retain your train tickets to get 2 for 1 entry into the castle - which can be seen in this photo:> https://tfw.wales/ways-to-travel/rail/savings-and-offers/cadw

We just got home in the past month from Wales, but had a rental car. We got petrol in Bangor, and it seemed like a nice place as we were going to/from the filling station (cheapest gas in the area!), but we were heading to sights in other places, and didn’t linger in Bangor. Maybe next trip…

The two locations mentioned above, Conwy and Chester, were my first thoughts. I’m not clear on the math, though. When you’ve gotten your daughter all set in Bangor, you said you have 24-36 hours before working your way back to London. So, does that mean you don’t need to be back in London yet, just working your way there? Do you have time for a two-night stay, or two one-nighters, before you need to actually be in London?

We stayed at an apartment along the north coast of Wales, between Bangor and Conwy (pronounced Conway). We visited Conwy twice, but as we were turning in our rental car in Chester before taking the train to London at the end of our Wales time, we spent one night in Chester once the car had been returned.

My first thought was to stay in Conwy. One advantage you’d have that we didn’t, is that, as November is a month with an “r,” fresh, local mussels will be available. We had mussels in late July, lots of them, but they were frozen (no “r” in July or August!), and not freshly obtained. If it’s pouring rain, walking atop the medieval town walls, strolling the olde town streets or harborside walkway, or spending much time in the roofless parts of the impressive castle would likely be wetter then you’d prefer. It’s an atmospheric town, and especially if the weather cooperated, Conwy would be worth a visit, and/or an overnight stay.

We hadn’t originally included Chester in our plans, but as we couldn’t conveniently turn in our car in Wales, we picked Chester, and got a night and parts of two days in the bargain. Chester has both a medieval history and an ancient Roman past before that, although we spent our time wandering the streets past half-timbered buildings, seeing The Rows (unique strips of shops in cantilevered buildings that are hundreds of years old), and visiting the remains of the ancient Roman amphitheater. That was all outside, so if it’s pouring rain, you’d be in the same situation as in Conwy. We did have a great lunch inside the Ship Inn pub, and later, dinner in the Salt House Charcuteria & Tapas Bar (which is among The Rows - interesting interior architecture), so there are indoor opportunities.

Do you have time to spend one night in Conwy and another night in Chester, before catching the train to London? Otherwise, if you stayed in Conwy, you’d need to head straight for London, or do a quickie stop in Chester, and once you’d checked in in Chester, I doubt you’d want to backtrack to Conwy before rebounding to Chester for the night.

And do you have a “Two Together” railpass? It gives a couple a big discount, so long as you’re together on the same train in the UK (which I imagine will be the case on all trains you’ll be taking), and it’s not during morning or evening rush hour, which I also imagine you would want to plan for, to avoid the commuter departures. The £35 price of the Two Together pass was a deal; we saved much more than that on our train fares.

All these insights are so helpful, thank you so much!
Our daughter starts in Bangor in mid-September. In early November, she will meet us in London for two nights, and then we will spend two nights together in Bangor. The 24-36 hours is between then and when we’re meeting friends back in London for the final night of the trip.
Really appreciate the guidance!

Sounds like just one night to stay somewhere between Bangor and London, although you could get a little sightseeing time in both Conwy and Chester, if the train schedules allowed.

The Rows in Chester are undercover so whilst they are ‘outside’ if the weather is wet they do provide protection whilst walking in the centre of town. Locals are very grateful for them in the winter!

So, it really is a quickie trip. The following websites should be of use:>
https://visitcheshire.com/locations/chester-attractions
https://www.visitwales.com/destinations/north-wales/llandudno-colwyn-bay
https://nationalparks.uk/park/eryri-snowdonia/
https://snowdonrailway.co.uk
https://www.festrail.co.uk

Thanks again so much!!

Daughter will no doubt also visit Caernarfon Castle - which is just a short bus ride from Bangor. (CADW is the Welsh Government department which oversees most castles in Wales. I see that they are now only using the Welsh version - hence Castell Caernarfon. Earlier this summer, Plaid Cymru - the Welsh Nationalist party won the election to govern Wales).

https://www.nationaltrust.org.uk/visit/wales/penrhyn-castle-and-garden is just outside Bangor. This Victorian Castle is in the care of the National Trust.

This National Trust property is not far on the other side of the Menai Straits:> https://www.nationaltrust.org.uk/visit/wales/plas-newydd-house-and-garden

Bodnant Gardens (NT) is further away and best visited in late May. Train to Llandudno Junction and then bus.

https://www.zipworld.co.uk/locations/penrhyn-quarry is not far from Bangor.

bustlmes.org is good for finding buses anywhere in Britain.