Northern Wales (and more?) in October

Think about a base around Llandudno/Conwy. It is an easy train journey from Liverpool and you could even break journey and spend a night in Chester on the way.

Llandudno is a Victorian seaside town with pier and traditional Punch and Judy show. There is the Victorian Tramway to the top of the Great Orme which also has a Bronze Age Copper mine.

Conwy is just a short bus ride away and is a medieval walled town with a ruined castle. You can walk along part of the walls. It also has a restored and furnished Elizabethan Town house too. Walk across the suspension bridge (long closed to traffic) for views of the river and castle. You can also do a boat trip too. Bodnant Gardens are a short bus ride away and there should be plenty of autumn colour. There is also Betws y Coed a bit further on the bus, or train. You can also catch a bus to Caernarfon, another walled town with ruined castle, or across to Beaumaris on Anglesay with its moated ruined castle and the Old Goal.

Catch the train or bus to Blaenau Ffestiniog, the slate capital of North Wales. The train journey is dramatic through lovely scenery and you go through a long tunnel and burst out into the completely different slate landscape of Blaenau Ffestiniog with the remains of quarry workings, waste tips and and steep inclines which brought the slate down from the hills to the town to be taken to ships at Portmadog and exported round the world. Llechwedd is worth a visit and consider doing the trip down the deep mine to find out what it was like for the Victortian slate miners. (Or if you are into high adrenaline activities, there is a zip wire too!!)

If you wanted another base in North Wales, think about Criccieth or Porthmadog. (Either train/bus to Blaenau Ffestiniog and bus or Ffestiniog Steam Railway if timetable allows to Porthmadog. Criccieth is a short bus ride away. OR catch the bus to Caernarfon and then bus or Welsh Highland Heritage Railway to Porthmadog.)

cont....

If you wanted another base in North Wales, think about Criccieth or Porthmadog. (Either train/bus to Blaenau Ffestiniog and bus or Ffestiniog Steam Railway if timetable allows to Porthmadog. Criccieth is a short bus ride away. OR catch the bus to Caernarfon and then bus or Welsh Highland Heritage Railway to Porthmadog.)

Criccieth probably the nicer place to stay with its ruined castle and two beaches. Porthmadog is larger but more 'workaday'.
Porthmadog is a good base for the 'Italianate' village of Portmeirion (bus to Minfford and short walk, or taxi.) This was the brain child of quirky architect Clough Williams Ellis and is completely unique with brightly painted buildings, fountains etc scattered along the side of the estuary. Porthmadog is alo the termiunus of both the Welsh Highland Heritage Railway and the Ffestioniog Railway. They are both very diffefrent runs and if time allows, it is well worth considering a trip on one or both of them. Check the timetable carefully as they run a variety of different services, usually as out and back returns. You can read more about the trips here and here. Or you could sign up for one of the workshop tours which take you round the workshops at Boston Lodge.

You can always catch a bus to Harlech, a small town with another splendid castle, set high above the sea. The bus drops you off in the centre of the town. The train station is at the bottom and it is a very steep walk up to the castle!

I think there is enough in North Wales for the week, but if you wanted to split the time and go to South Wales then if you went to Cardiff for part two of the week Ryanair have Cardiff to Dublin flights at 1100 on 19 October and 1310 on 20 October.
Those are of course non ticketed connections into whatever carrier you are using transatlantic, but is an option to be aware of.

Aer Lingus fly from Bristol to Dublin which gives the possibility of a ticketed connection if you flew Aer Lingus on open jaw- into Dublin, back from Bristol.
Bristol airport is about 2 hours from Cardiff by direct bus or train/airport bus combo.

Dear wasleys and Is31c, thank you very much for your helpful information. I will share this with our traveling friends. Your ideas seem very workable, including flights from various cities.

All good ideas above. October is a nice time to visit - places are quieter, autumn colours will be everywhere and the weather can be.... ok! Definitely think about transport options when choosing where to stay - you basically have:

(a) train services running along the North Wales coast and down the Conwy Valley - a sort of T shape on a map. Trains will get you to North Wales from Liverpool (via Chester, an easy journey) and once here to more places more quickly! So Conwy and Llandudno are good central options with stations on the coast with lots of accommodations and restaurants etc, and Trefriw, Llanrwst and Betws-y-Coed are all nice places to stay down the valley and are worth considering. There is also a rail line going to places such as Porthmadog and Criccieth but it is not connected to the two above (except via the steam railway) so you have to 'get to it' to use it! Private steam railways are much slower and more of a 'day out'.

(b) bus services, in conjunction with trains, will also get you to more rural areas and towns not on the rail network such as Caernarfon and Beaumaris on Anglesey - the Sherpa bus system runs through the National Park and will allow you to see the best of the scenery, for instance you can go from Betws-y-Coed all the way through the mountains to Caernarfon on it.

Taxis are expensive so public transport is definitely the way to get around, but with a bit of planning you can see the best North Wales has to offer especially in a week eg. one day in Conwy, one day in Llandudno, one day in Caernarfon, one day going through the national park etc.

Thanks, brandybob. These responses are why I like Travel Forum so much. This is very helpful. We’re making these plans with friends from Norway and your comments really advance our plans. Thanks again.

We love Wales! We went the first time and stayed 3 nights in Conwy. Then we went back and ended up with covid (picked up most likely in Switzerland) of all things, and did our recovery in Conwy in an Air BnB and we still love Conwy. Even with "cooties" we could walk in the woods and enjoy a bit of the lovely scenic area. And yes, this year we are returning to Wales hopefully without covid. Conwy is an easy train from Liverpool. Get off at Llandudno Junction and either walk or take a cab to wherever you are staying. Everything in Conwy is walkable. We are as old and older as you guys are by the way. The castle & Plas Mawr are musts. You can grab a beer at the pub and delicious meat pies at the butcher shop and picnic at the quay and walk around and soak up the quaint and ancient. You can catch the train to Snowdonia National Park and we got off at Betws-y-coed, check ned in at the Visitor Center and hiked to a lake and walked a few other easy trails and the new and old church. Lovely train ride. We had planned on doing the canal boat trip/ Pontcysyllte Aqueduct but covid prevented that however that too is possible. We rented an Air BnB inside the old town walls and had a home to ourselves. We lived (and quarantined ) like semi locals and loved it. The people are super friendly if you talk /connect with them. I hope you have a lovely time!

Love this latest response. You hit it on the nail for us. We love fitting in like the locals and enjoying nature and local culture. We were already looking at Conwy and even an Airbnb within the walls. Thanks.