A page
dedicated to the tourist use of Public Transport
Compiled by Noel Walley
A day in Conwy is
highly recommended
ALPINE
MOTOR COACH TOURS
This
local company
operates luxury
excursions with the latest touring coaches to all the principal tourist
attractions in North Wales and
they
have booking offices by the entrance to the pier and in Mostyn Street,
near
North Western Gardens. They also operate the vintage motor coach
trips via
the
Marine
Drive round the Great
Orme and the City Sightseeing open top bus tours serving Llandudno,
Deganwy
& Conwy.
Commentaries are
provided on
all these services.
RAILWAY
SERVICES
The ancient walled
city of Chester,
full of
history, a
Cathedral
and excellent shops is about an hour away with a through train every
hour on
the North Wales
Coast Line
from Llandudno Station (see MAP
and Fflint to
Chester and
onwards to Manchester. There are also through train services from
Llandudno
Junction to )
via Rhyl, Prestatyn, Holyhead, Crewe,
Wrexham, Shrewsbury, Birmingham, Hereford, Cardiff and London.
Short
excursions via
Holyhead to Dublin
are also practicable.
Church of Saint
Cybi inside the Roman fort at
Holyhead (Caergybi)
The Conwy
Valley Railway
runs from Llandudno southwards by way of the glacial valleys of
the
Conwy and
Lledr rivers, through ancient Llanrwst, Betws
y Coed, Pontypant, Dolwyddelan
and Roman Bridge to the famous slate mining town of Blaenau
Ffestiniog.
A train
leaves Llandudno every weekday morning at 10:14 and arrives in Blaenau
Ffestiniog at 11:33. The 13:14 from Llandudno arrives at 14:33. Convenient return trains from Blaenau
Ffestiniog at 14:52, 17:37 and 20:04 arrive back in Llandudno at
16:01, 18:46 and 21:12. Do check the train times before you
travel.
Also very
popular is the classic journey on the world famous, preserved, steam
operated,
narrow gauge Ffestiniog Railway
(Rheilffordd Ffestiniog) with its unique Fairlie double engines.
The Ffestiniog Railway train, which connects with the 10:14 from
Llandudno leaves Blaenau Ffestiniog at 11:45 for Tan y Bwlch and
Porthmadog and there is ample
time to make the return trip. Ffestiniog trains
operate daily from Easter to the end of October and on certain days
during the winter - see the FR
timetable.
In LlandudnoRIDE THE TRAMto the Summit of the Great
Orme (Y Gogarth).
PUBLIC
BUS SERVICES
North Wales is
provided with excellent
public bus services, including the following very frequent weekday
services:
From Llandudno via Rhos-on-Sea, Colwyn Bay and Abergele to Rhyl (Ariva
12 - every
10 minutes -
but every half hour on Sundays);
Llandudno to Penmaenmawr,
Llanfairfechan and Bangor
(with its ancient Cathedral
of Saint Deiniol) (Arriva 5, X5 & X9 - four per hour).
Llandudno
to Port Dinorwic (Felinheli), Caernarfon
(Arriva 5, X5 - three per hour). Llandudno to Llangefni on Anglesey
(Arriva X9)
Bodnant Garden
(National Trust) in the Conwy
Valley
Llandudno to Conwy (eight
per hour) famous for Conwy
Castle and the Sychnant
Pass; Llandudno to Trefriw, Trefriw
Woollen Mill and Llanrwst
(two every hour); Llandudno to Bodnant
Garden (hourly); and Llandudno to Betws
y Coed (hourly).
Llandudno
direct to Pen y Pass (the easy gateway to Snowdonia) in the summer only
at 9:45
(see below). Llandudno direct to Corwen
and Llangollen at 10:05 with
three return buses. Express Motors also operate a service (X1)
via the Conwy
and Lledr Valleys to
Glan Conwy, Llanrwst, Betws-y-Coed, Dolwyddelan, Dolwyddelan Castle and
Blaenau Ffestiniog
(65 minutes from Llandudno) on weekdays from Llandudno at 9:15 10:15
12:31 13:31 15:11 16:15 and 17:31.
The notable
triple arch bridge built by Inigo Jones over the River Conwy at Llanrwst
Cheap all-day
rover
tickets (there are several different types, currently at about
£5:50
per day) are sold on all the bus
services. The Arriva 'all day' ticket is valid on all Arriva bus
services but not other operator's services. The 'all
day' Gwynedd Red Rover ticket
@
£5.50 is valid on buses throughout North West Wales (including the
Sherpa services), but not
east of the Conwy Valley, regardless of operator - but
do
check out the details before you buy.
In Llandudno most
buses leave
from Gloddaeth
Street (see MAP)
and also pick up at Marks and Spencers and at North Western Gardens.
Ask at the Tourist Information Office in Llandudno Library
for a bus and train timetable book. There is often an Arriva Bus
Inspector on duty during the summer at the Gloddaeth Street (Palladium)
bus stop.
He will also supply timetables.
The elegant pier on the Menai Strait at
Bangor
The
Caernarfon bus
services
connect (just a short walk, MAP)
with the recently revived Welsh
Highland Railway (Rheilffordd Eryri) running from Caernarfon to
Waunfawr (break your
journey
for a good pub lunch at the Snowdonia
Parc Hotel) and also travel the wonderful scenic section (opened
by HRH The
Prince
of Wales in 2003) onwards from Waunfawr to Rhyd Ddu. Views between Rhyd
Ddu and Waunfawr are particularly fine CLICK LINK and they
are best
seen from the train. Trains operate
for
most of the year – please check the WHR timetable.
Restoration now nearing completion will see the famous Welsh Highland
Railway running through from Caernarfon
to
Beddgelert and Porthmadog in 2009.
No: 143 - The last steam locomotive
built in Manchester
The magnificent articulated steam
locomotive
shown above at Dinas on route to Waunfawr from the Caernarfon Saint
Helen’s
Road Station, below Segontium Terrace at
Caernarfon, is Beyer
Garratt
No. 143. It is one of four such engines on the Welsh Highland
Railway and was built in 1958
and weighs over sixty tons. No.
143 is
the
last
steam engine to have been built at Gorton in Manchester by Beyer
Peacock & Company Ltd,the
world famous locomotive builder.
The Welsh Highland Railway also operate K1 - the World's
first Beyer Garratt also built in Manchester and in steam in 2007
for the first time since 1929. Following a massive restoration
programme, the Welsh Highland train
services will be extended from Rhyd Ddu to Beddgelert at Easter 2009
and from Beddgelert southwards through the Aberglaslyn Pass to Hen
Hafod in late May. The final section to join the Ffestiniog
Railway at Porthmadog Harbour Station will reopen during the Autumn of
2009.
K1 - The
unique compound Garratt - the world's first - built 1909
now in regular service on the Welsh Highland Railway.
The
‘Sherpa
Network’ bus services,
operate throughout the year on most of the Snowdonia
(Eryri) mountain passes (Area
Map) and serve Llanrwst, Betws y Coed, Capel Curig, Llyn Ogwen,
Tryfan,
Idwal, Bethesda, Pen y Pass, Llanberis, Beddgelert,
Waunfawr,
Snowdon Ranger, Rhyd Ddu and Porthmadog – but especially Pen y Gwryd.
Here is the ancient and famous hotel, built on the site of a Roman
Marching Camp, much frequented by climbers of international
acclaim, and offering a very good pub lunch. Here are to be found
the
signatures of the first ever successful climbers of Everest, in June
1953
– Sir John Hunt (leader), Sir Edmund Hilary and Sherpa Tensing – not in
any conventional
and dusty visitors book – rather, with others, written on the ceiling
of
the climber’s bar for all to look up to!
The Swallow Falls
Between Betws y
Coed and Capel Curig are the Swallow Falls
(Rhaeadr Ewynnol) pictured above. With the Sherpa bus service every
half
hour for most of the day, there is easy
opportunity to stop off for half an hour to view the falls or take
refreshment at the Swallow Falls Hotel on the route to and from Pen y
Pass.
TO PEN Y PASS
Regular buses from
Llandudno (weekdays
throughout the year) connect at Llanrwst or Betws y Coed with
‘Sherpa’ buses to Capel Curig, Pen y Gwryd and Pen y Pass. This
service is supplemented in high summer by a very convenient through bus
service
from Llandudno to Pen y Gwryd, Pen y Pass and back. The 9:00 bus from
Llandudno, in high summer, arrives Pen y Pass at about 10:20 and there is a good return
service.
FROM PEN Y PASS
From Pen y Pass
(with
its popular café) the walker has a choice of several famous
mountain routes
including two routes to the summit of Snowdon (Yr Wyddfa). Take the
traditional PYG
track
to the summit or take the Miners track via Llyn Teyrn, Llyn Llydaw and
Glaslyn
(an easy walk as far as the lakes, and the only way to see these hidden
Snowdonian lakes).
The Snowdon Horseshoe from the
Miners' Track
Or take a quiet
and leisurely walk down the
Llanberis
Passvia the Cromlech
boulders to Nant Peris (only three
miles,
then
perhaps a ploughman's lunch at the Vaynol Arms next to the ancient
church
of Saint Peris) or walk on along the shores of Llyn Peris to Llanberis.Walking down hill from Pen y Pass is quite
the best way to see this magnificent valley as view after view opens
before
you.From Pen y Pass with the steep
slopes of Snowdon (Yr Wyddfa) on the left, the Glyders on the right and
Afon Nant
Peris at
the side, its mostly a gentle down hill walk to Nant Peris and
Llanberis with
time to pause and marvel at the grandeur of Snowdonia (Eryri) – yet you
are
never
far from a bus stop.
Or
take the bus from Pen y
Pass at
10:45 11:45 12:45 13:45 14:45 15:50 16:45 or 17:45 (even in winter -
more frequent in high summer), these
take about
10 or 15 minutes to descend the Pass to Nant Peris (Park & Ride)
and Llanberis
(four miles).The Snowdon Mountain Railway
runs a
frequent summer train service from Llanberis to the Summit of Snowdon.Other local attractions at Llanberis include
the Padarn
Country Park, ancient Dolbadarn
Castle, the Llanberis
Lake Railway,
the Welsh Slate Museum, and
the ‘Electric Mountain’.The latter offers
a visit to the world famous
hydro-electric (pumped storage) underground power station, now operated
by the
First Hydro Subsidiary of Edison Mission Energy.
There
are
excellent return bus services. The
through bus to Llandudno leaves Pen y Pass at 16:45 arriving in
Llandudno at 18:00. Or return
from Llanberis to Llandudno via Caernarfon or Bangor.
Very
Important. The
above bus and
train times are given as examples only. Please confirm actual times
carefully
before starting your journey. Free timetables are available
from the Local
Tourist Offices.
Traveline Cymru (phone 0871 200 22 33 ) provides
information on bus, coach & train
services throughout Wales & the U.K.
