Fellow travelers, in late September, I drive from Llangollen to Menai Bridge/Bangor. What sights en route do you recommend and should I see Eryri National Park (Snowdonia)? Bonus points for tips on where to find Quaker meetings.
Posted by
Lake District, England
12392 posts
For Quakers anywhere in Wales go to https://www.crynwyr.cymru
Then choose the 'North ' tile
You will see they have meetings in Porthmadog twice a month, Holyhead monthly and Bangor 3 x a week. So Bangor is by far the most active meeting in the area.
As I write this I'm taking a break from reading the 18th century minutes book of my local Quaker meeting house!!
Posted by
Surrey, UK
1132 posts
I have just got home today after a driving holiday in that area!
A good way to see Snowdon and the area is the Snowdon Mountair railway, which is a 3 hours return trip to the top of Snowdon and back. At the very top, we had poor visibility as we were in cloud, but below the very top the trip was great.
https://snowdonrailway.co.uk/
Another good railway, several routes is https://www.festrail.co.uk.
Castles - Conwy, Beaumaris and Cearnarfon.
We enjoyed a short canal boat trip across the LLangollen aqueduct - https://www.anglowelsh.co.uk/little-star-trips/
Some of the roads are very narrow, and through many areas there is a 20 mph speed limit (not on the major roads).
Have fun.
Posted by
2985 posts
Be sure to see:>https://www.pontcysyllte-aqueduct.co.uk
Just follow the A5 from Llangollen to Bangor. The route is very scenic.
If you can find somewhere to park at the highest point - you could take a hike to the south to Cwm Idwal.
https://www.nationaltrust.org.uk/visit/wales/carneddau-and-glyderau/cwm-idwal-walk
Posted by
Lincolnshire, UK
3174 posts
Apart from finding Quaker meeting places, what sort of things do you want to see/do on the way?
Pontcysyllte Aqueduct has already been mentioned and you can either do a boat trip over it, or walk across. (This can be a bit scary as it is a long way down!!) Close to Llangollen there is Chirk Castle, a late medieval fortress that is still lived in today. Alternatively there are the ruins of Castell Dinas Bran on a hill top over looking the town. There is also the ruined Valle Crucis Abbey . If you like steam trains, there is a ride on the Llangollen Railway.
The most scenic route is to follow the A5 from Llangollen to Capel Curig. From here you can pick up the A4086 which takes you down the Pass of Llanberis to Llanberis. If you like ruined castles, there is the ruined Dolbadarn Castle on the edge of Llanberis. This was a centre for C19th slate quarrying and you can still see the scars of teh quarries. There are also views of Snowden and one of the paths up Snowden starts from Llanberis.
The Snowden Mountain Railways terminus is in Llanberis. This is popular and you really need to book in advance to be sure of getting a seat. (Coaches don't carry many people and you are crammed in a bit like sardines.) I have to confess I have very mixed viwes of the trip - if the cloud comes down (and it can descend very quickly) you won't get the views. You don't have very long at the summit and will be sharing it with the world and his wife.
Think about a slight detour to Caernarfon, a walled town with a splendid castle, before heading to the Menai Bridge.