4 nights in Conwy - itinerary thoughts?

That boat ride sounds epic fun.
If in Llandudno you might happen across the Llandudno Monkey Man.

The Transport for Wales Manchester to North Wales trains leave from Manchester Pic.

But there is also an hourly Leeds to Chester through train at 43 minutes past each hour which takes 2 hrs 15 minutes Leeds to Chester and calls at Manchester Victoria.
Advance train specific fares on that train from Leeds to Chester are normally around £12. So if you booked an advance Skipton to Leeds (between £2.30 and £3.90), Advance Leeds to Chester, Advance Chester to Conwy £9 or a bit more that whole journey should be about £25.

Richard, I hope so!

Isn, I’ll be in the UK for almost 3 months, splitting my bases, so I intend to buy a BritRail Flex pass. Does that make a difference in which train I take? When I Googled it a couple of weeks ago, I thought going through Manchester would save me some time….but I’m not sure now.

Thank you!

If you're on Britrail take any train.

11 May 2025 is a Sunday so engineering work may affect things. Assuming not-

0834 arrives 1411 change Leeds and Chester, 0912 arrives 1411 change Leeds, Newton le Willows and Chester;
1030 arrives 1551 change Leeds and Chester or the same train arrives at the same time change Leeds, Man Vic and Chester;

Personally I'd leave a few minutes earlier on the first connection and avoid the extra change, but that is just personal preference

ISN, oh absolutely - a few minutes is very much worth not having that extra change

What do you think about my itinerary? On another board, someone suggested I dump the tour as it’s likely going to be just in and out of the bus to take photos. Which…I’ve done these kinds of small group day trips before, I know how they work. But I don’t know when or if I’ll return...

If I did scratch the tour despite it being non-refundable, and replaced it with ultimately going to Llechwedd or The Welsh Highland Railway, I’m either going to miss out on seeing much gorgeous scenery, or I’m going to see it through a train window.

I will say that Llechwedd could be a unique experience …

Thank you so much!

The question on tour or not is a personal choice.

If I couldn't squeeze an extra day in, then looking at the itinerary I personally would very much choose to stick with the tour you have booked.

Others mileage may vary on that score, but I really like the tour itinerary. If it gets good reviews then all the better.

If you really want to do Llechwedd there must be a Stasher or similar at Llandudno J.
I would leave my bag there on departure day, go to Llechwedd then a late train back to Skipton.

You can leave Blaeneau F as late as 1735 for a 2313 Skipton arrival or add half an hour to the change at Llandudno Junction and arrive Skipton at 2338.

Or if you did the Welsh Highland bus T22 links Porthmadog and BF hourly so you could do WHR, bus to BF then train back to Skipton.

ISN, thanks!

Yeah, the days are long by by then, so getting a late-ish train to Skipton is not a big deal. I was going to always pretty much leave my luggage at the hotel, but I didn’t know if I could easily do either of the options from BF. Since I can, I may wait and see what the tour adds in place of the National Slate Museum - either way, it’s a win-win

Thank you so much!

Be sure to check if the Britrail Pass works out cheaper than actually buying train tickets. Test some of your proposed journeys on the following sites. (Vary the dates to see if it makes any difference).
https://www.traintickets.com/?/
https://www.scotrail.co.uk
https://trainsplit.com

Consider purchasing a Railcard if not using the Britrail Pass:>https://www.nationalrail.co.uk/railcards/

I fully support the idea of using Britrail for it's flexibility.

It is easy to obsess over saving the odd £ or two when the big ticket costs of the trip are air fare and hotels. Transportation is a relative incidental.

The first and third sites given above send you out on the 0917 Skipton to Lancaster. But of course that binds you to that route. And Skipton to Lancaster only runs every 2 hours or so. So if the 0917 is cancelled for any reason you have to wait for 2 hours, but can't try to make up time by re-routing via Leeds. Don't get me wrong- I like the Skipton to Lancaster route for scenery- it's the limitations of it you need to know.

The first site then sends you on a route which is changes at Lancaster, Preston and Crewe just to save not very much at all.

The third site is £20 cheaper than the first but sends you on changes at Lancaster, Manchester Oxford Road and Chester, and achieves savings by having a split fare on Flint. That sounds enticing until you know that if things have gone wrong earlier you then have to be on a later train which calls at Flint- which fairly few on the line do.

The huge benefit of routeing via Leeds and on a flexible ticket like Britrail or a full price ticket is flexibility. Service from Skipton to Leeds is frequent (if the Leeds route is having issues you can even cut a corner by diverting via Bradford, walking between the stations- takes 10 minutes, if that), there are then multiple routes from Leeds to Manchester (so if one route is having issues use another) and equally several routes between Manchester and North Wales. Also at a pinch on a flexible ticket get a fast train to Llandudno Junction (far more frequent, everything stops there) and it's a 10 to 15 minute walk, or 5 minute bus or taxi ride over the bridge into Conwy.

In short a tiny bit of extra money buys you huge benefits.

James, I was already going to get the Network Railcard that covers the South East since I’m staying in Tunbridge Wells for a month before I head to Yorkshire

It looks like I’m going to need to often take a combo of trains and buses to get to most of these places (ex: Hever Castle, Chartwell, Sissinghurst Castle Gardens, Ightam Mote, etc…)

Is there a site where I can possibly get a discounted bus pass?

I’ll definitely plug in some trips for when I’m in Yorkshire (Skipton and Knaresborough as base/s), as well as when I’m in London my last week (I’ll be doing several day trips)

Thank you!!!!

ISN, that’s brilliant

I believed this anyway, but I remember Rick saying (paraphrasing) that there are times when convenience is more valuable than cutting costs. I would much rather spend a few extra pounds of it meant fewer changes and/or more options

You’ve reminded me that when I was initially planning this, I was intending to stay in Llandudno …so I had plugged in Llandudno when deciding that Manchester made more sense. I suspect that even now that I’m staying in Conwy, it still makes more sense to get off at Llandudno Junction and then just make my way to Conwy since it’s so close

Thank you so much!!!

For Chartwell the best day to go there is on a Sunday. You take a train to Bromley North or Bromley South then the London Bus #246 to Chartwell. This is at the normal London bus price of £1.75 contactless or Oyster even though Chartwell is well outside the London limits- a delightful oddity.
http://www.londonbusroutes.net/times/246Sum.htm#3_T

For Igtham Mote you take the train to Sevenoaks and then the app based Demand Responsive Go2 van service. https://www.go2now.co.uk/
The journey is just under 6 miles each way so £9.20 each way

Sissinghurst is difficult as the NT website is correct in saying you need a taxi from Staplehurst. Otherwise it is bus #5 hourly from Staplehurst Station to Sissinghurst Village then a 1 1/4 mile walk partly on country roads without pavement/sidewalk. The bus fare is a flat fare £3 each way. In the other direction the bus also goes to Maidstone for more frequent trains. So I suppose you make your choice as to what you do there. I'm a tight wad and would do the bus, but on the theme above of 'let the moths out of the wallet/pocket book' probably the taxi is more sensible.

Hever Castle- hourly train to Hever then a pleasant one mile country walk. No bus gets there. Otherwise train to Edenbridge Town then a 3 mile taxi ride- pre booked. The website gives numbers to call for the taxis. Lets say £10 each way as a ball park taxi cost.
If it's a nice day I would vote the train route. If it's iffy the taxi route.

ISN, this is SO helpful - thank you!

I’d be doing Chartwell from Tunbridge Wells - does that info still apply? If I weren’t planning 4 day trips from London, it might be different, but as of now (nothing definite) I plan on doing day trips to Hampton Court Palace, Oxford, Cambridge and Highclere. Just as an FYI - I wasn’t planning on the latter as I’ve never seen Downton Abbey, but in this behind the scenes show, I was blown away by how stunning it is. It IS expensive because it will be a special guided tour - the regular Summer hours won’t be in effect until July

That van service is fantastic - thank you!

With Sissinghurst, yeah - I’ll definitely take the taxi…

Hever Castle, I agree with you - if it’s nice, I’m fine walking …

Thank you SO much!

From Tunbridge Wells to Bromley South, on a Sunday, there is a train every 30 minutes, change at Orpington- 53 minute overall journey time, then pick up the #246 at Bromley South. So yes the advice stands.

Surprisingly there are Advance (Train Specific) Advance Fares for that journey, on every train. Not a very likely flow to have advance fares on, but there we are- £5.20 each way minus 34% with your Network Card, becomes £3.50. So, including the bus fares, £10.50 all in before the fare rises next March.

Ok, great - I’ll plan Chartwell for a Sunday

Advance tickets would be convenient - especially if I know I’m going to do Chartwell on a Sunday, which there are only 4 of, lol. I haven’t looked too closely at the other sites, but I’m assuming that for most of them it doesn’t matter what day of the week I go

Thank you!!!

It's a nice itinerary and with the day tour you will see a good chunk of North Wales! Brief comments:

Day 2 - getting to Menai Bridge for the RibRide (which is fun!) will take at least an hour by public transport each way (bus + bus or train and bus) so factor that in. An alternative would be a jet boat ride in Llandudno around the Great Orme - a lot shorter but would give you your fix!!! They should be running in May. Especially as you are going to Llandudno anyway? Menai Bridge is pleasant but there is not much else there per se apart from the view of the suspension bridge and a good food scene.

Day 3 - Plas Mawr in Conwy is impressive and big but will only take a few hours so bus to Bodnant Garden is a good idea and an afternoon there is well worth it

If you did have a free afternoon then a train ride down the Conwy Valley is great - stops that are worth it are North Llanrwst (for a 20 mins walk to Trefriw for the woollen mill and Fairy Falls waterfall), Betws-y-Coed (cute but touristy village) and Blaenau Ffestiniog for Llechwedd / steam railway to Porthmadog - the latter would be a whole day probably once you get to it. Trains are not that frequent though down the Conwy Valley so plan with military precision!!!

Looking at the tour and where it goes it sounds like the route will take you through most of the mountains to Llanberis and Caernarfon so really will have seen most of the 'greatest hits' by the end :-)

Brandy Bob, wow - thanks!

That’s a good point about the extra time to Menai Bridge - but I Googled Llandudno Jet Boat rides, and they don’t have a website. That is, it links to a general Llandudno website, so there’s no way to find out about this company & their rides.

I’ll keep them in mind, though!

Wow, Plas Mawr is that big? That could be a great day - do Bodnant early, than Plas Mawr …the history buff in me is excited already!

Oh, I hadn’t considered staying on the Conwy Valley Line - it looks wonderful, with several interesting stops. I now really want to visit that woolen mill - so many beautiful products I want to bring home, lol

I had read about the Fairy Falls - gorgeous, but apparently the walk is very slippery, and I’m a klutz, lol…

This link is from a hotel site that has good info on the Conwy Valley Line - are the correct in that getting off at one stop means staying there for 3 hours? There’s no real website for this line, so it’s hard to tell…but even if I switched this to another day (When I’m not departing for Skipton), that makes it a bit difficult. I would want to stop at North Llanrwst and maybe Betws-y-Coed )

https://theroyalvictoria.co.uk/journal/journey-to-the-heart-of-snowdonia-on-the-conwy-valley-railway

Thank you!!!!

This is the Timetable for the Conwy Valley Rail Line- https://tfw.wales/sites/default/files/2024-11/9_Llandudno-Blaenau-Ffestiniog_December-2024_V1.pdf

The buses up from Llandudno to Llanrwst and Betws y Coed and across from Betws y Coed to Caernarfon are run by Llew Jones- see here- https://llewjones.com/bus-timetables/

Yes the Llandudno Jet Boat rides operate in good weather through the summer but it is not the kind of thing you can book in advance - just turn up if they are running! Very informal. RibRides from Anglesey are more 'organised' in that you book in advance!

The Fairy Falls in Trefriw are just behind the woollen mill and it is a very short path to reach them, absolutely fine in all weathers!

As for the Conwy Valley Line itself it would be just a case of working out which places you wished to visit on it and working out the times as the trains are not that frequent, so you could say get a train to Betws-y-Coed for a look around, get a local Llew Jones bus which isn31c kindly linked to to Trefriw (only 5 miles) and then have a nice walk over to North Llanrwst station for a train back, but for all of that it would be a case of going for a specific train there and back rather than 'wing it' otherwise you could have a long wait! That would be a nice morning or afternoon out. This site has some good info if you click on each station name:

Conwy Valley and North Wales Coast Community Partnership

ISN - thank you so much!

I’m going to take a look at this - I should be able to make something of this day

If I go to the woolen mills, is there anyplace to have a quick lunch there?

Thank you!!!

Brandy Bob, thanks!

I really want to go the RIB, so I think I’ll move that to my departure day, since I plan on leaving later in the afternoon anyway

This way, I’ll have a full day at Plas Mawr/Bodnant, the Conwy Valley line and the day tour. I’ll work in Llandudno….

Oh I’m glad to hear that about Fairy Falls!

Isn’t that a great site? I found that last night!

Thank you so much!!!

If you go to the woollen mill then Cafe Doti is a few steps away (open every day) - a lovely warm welcome there. The Old Ship pub in Trefriw is a proper, cosy Welsh pub for a more substantial lunch - open (at the moment) Thursday to Sunday.

Brandybob,
That’s just perfect, a lovely day

Thank you!!!