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29 Snowdonia National Park
Snowdon Sherpa at Llanberis Pass (Photo: © Crown Copyright 2011 Visit Wales) When New Zealander Edmund Hillary was choosing equipment and personnel for his ultimately successful ascent of Everest in 1953 he chose north Snowdonia as his ideal training ground and decamped to Pen-y-Gwryd, an old inn set at a road junction amidst the mountains. The bar here has relics and souvenirs of these heady days; the nearby Pen y Pass is also a focal point for the Snowdon Sherpa network of buses, which whisk climbers, ramblers and visitors to and through some of the most beautiful countryside that Wales has to offer. From this high eyrie, routes sweep down the Llanberis Pass, beneath the very skirts of Mount Snowdon herself, highest point in all of Wales and England, to the captivating little old quarrying town of Llanberis. Allow oodles of time to explore the wonderful National Slate Museum; the Electric Mountain underground power station or the narrow gauge railway creeping beside Llyn Padarn, as it did a century ago when slate for Port Dinorwic (Caernarfon), not tourists, was the cargo. Sherpa also strings along past Llyn Gwynant and the Sygun Copper Mine to pretty Beddgelert, in extraordinary countryside at the head of the Pass of Aberglaslyn. Perhaps take a trip on the newly reopened Welsh Highland Railway here, or use connecting Sherpa services to reach Caernarfon and its fabulous castle or Porthmadog, tucked in at the corner of Tremadog Bay. Lovely, sylvan Betws-y-Coed, with its waterfalls and forest walks is another location easily reached on this enterprising network. Together with other services, the heart of Snowdonia really is within reach without a car, and daily Red Rover tickets cover all bus services here for £5.40. www.eryri-npa.gov.uk See also - North Wales Rover Tickets. Services and fares are subject to change. Some services are seasonal. Remember to always check bus times and days of operation before travelling. |
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