Hello,
We have a day in North Wales in April on which we will be taking the Sherpa bus from Betws Y Coed to Caernarfon. The goal is not primarily to get to Caernarfon but to see what there is to see along the way. We would like to make at least one stop, maybe for lunch or a stroll. Any suggestions of a good place to stop? Thanks!
I'd be very tempted to take the T10 to Corwen.
At Corwen either bus or the preserved (main line size) Llangollen Railway to Llangollen, coming back on the other means of transport.
Or the T3 connection to Bala (a through bus from Wrexham via Llangollen). Take the 2 hour break between buses at Bala (the bus is going on to Barmouth via Dolgellau). Bala is an old market town, in a beautiful location with the lake and a miniature steam train (the Bala Lake railway) then on to Dolgellau for the T2 to Caernarfon via Porthmadog.
Alternatively stay on the bus through Bala and take the lunch stop in Dolgellau.
All those buses are covered by the £7 1Bws ticket/daily cap, same as the Sherpa.
If you did just want to stay on the S1 direct then Llanberis is your break point.
Thanks Stuart
Llanberis did seem the obvious stop but I was wondering if there were any other stops on the line that might be fun to check out.
Katie,
The way I read this, may be wrong, is that this is a one way trip travelling with luggage, which limits what you can do.
Otherwise I might have suggested Capel Curig, or even Pen-y-Gwyrd. There is not a lot at the latter except the scant remains of what was an Roman Army marching camp, and the legendary eponymous mountaineers hotel- a base where Hillary and Tenzing trained for their 1953 ascent of Everest.
If this is a round trip to Caernarfon you could change either there or at Pen-y-Pass into the S4 down into Beddgelert (the current timetable looks scant but the summer one from late March is a lot better) than the S3 to Caernarfon- the latter essentially follows the route of the Welsh Highland Railway through the mountains.
Pen-y-Pass is one of the places to start the ascent of Snowdon
Just outside Beddgelert is the Sygun Copper Mine which may be of interest- the bus will drop you off, then afterwards you can walk the mile or so into Beddgelert on the back road on the south side of the valley.
Stuart
Actually, this is a round trip to and from Llandudno. No luggage. Kind of a round about way to spend some time in Caernarfon in the afternoon and spend the morning seeing some countryside and getting up to Pen-Y-Pass. The plan is to head back to Llandudno in the evening via Bangor. This is a day that is flexible and subject to whim so I will check out your various other routes.
