The Snowdon Mountain Railway
The Snowdon Mountain Railway is Britain’s only rack-and-pinion railway, completed in 1896. Trains (sometimes pushed by seventy-year-old steam locos) still climb to the summit in just under an hour from the eastern end of Llanberis to the smart summit café (mid-May to Oct).
Inside is a bar and a post office where, for a few pennies, you can enchant your friends with a “Summit of Snowdon – Copa’r Wyddfa” postmark. Times, type of locomotive and final destination vary with demand and ice conditions at the top: to avoid disappointment, buy your tickets early on clear summer days.
Whitewater rafting at Bala
The little watersports town of Bala (Y Bala), on the border of the park, twenty miles southwest of Llangollen, sits at the northern end of Wales’s largest natural lake, Llyn Tegid. Nearby, waters crash down the Tryweryn River, perfect for whitewater rafting.
The National White Water Centre
Water is released on around 200 days a year at the National White Water Centre, crashing down a mile and a half of Grade III rapids where numerous rafting options include the Taster involving two runs down the course: wet-suit hire extra. The two-hour session typically gives you four runs, or you can step up a notch to the Orca Adventure involving two runs down in a normal raft followed by a chance to tackle the rapids in a more challenging two-person inflatable.
Beddgelert
A huddle of grey houses, prodigiously brightened with floral displays in summer, makes up Beddgelert. A sentimental tale fabricated by a wily local publican to lure punters tells how the town got its name. Gelert’s Grave (bedd means burial place), an enclosure just south of town, is supposedly the final resting place of Prince Llywelyn ap Iorwerth’s faithful dog, Gelert. He was left in charge of the prince’s infant son while he went hunting. On his return, the child was gone and the hound’s muzzle was soaked in blood. Jumping to conclusions, the impetuous Llywelyn slew the dog, only to find the child safely asleep beneath its cot and a dead wolf beside him. Llywelyn hurried to his dog, which licked his hand as it died.
Betws-y-Coed and around
Betws-y-Coed (pronounced “betoos-er-coyd”), sprawled out around the confluence of the Conwy, Llugwy and Lledr valleys, overlooked by the conifer-clad slopes of the Gwydyr Forest Park, and centred on the low cataract of Pont-y-Pair Falls, is almost totally devoted to the needs of visitors, particularly walkers – there are seven outdoor gear retailers but no decent grocery shop.
The town has the best choice of accommodation in the region, but after an hour mooching around you’ll soon want to head out into the hinterland. Serious mountain walkers should continue west, but for everyone else there are some delightful and popular easy strolls to the local beauty spots of the Conwy and Swallow falls.
Betws-y-coed biking
Gwydyr Forest Park, just outside town, is one of the top trail-riding locales in Wales. The classic route is the Marin Trail with mostly forest track ascents and numerous singletrack descents of varying difficulty. The scenery is great, with mountain views along the higher sections. For rental, contact Planet Fear, Holyhead Rd.