Snowdonia and the Brecon Beacons: Touring the Welsh Uplands

Eryri in the north

Snowdonia, or Eryri, is the sharper of the two ranges, built of old volcanic rock with genuine mountain shapes. The Llanberis Pass runs beneath the highest ground with scree slopes coming almost to the roadside, and the Ogwen valley beyond gives the classic view of Tryfan rising straight out of the lake. Betws-y-Coed sits at the wooded eastern gateway and makes the natural base for touring, with the Swallow Falls a short distance up the valley. Beddgelert to the south west is smaller and prettier and gets very busy in summer.

The parking problem at the trailheads

Pen-y-Pass, at the head of the Llanberis Pass, is the main starting point for the mountain paths and its car park is small enough that it fills long before dawn on fine days. Roadside parking in the pass is prohibited and enforced, and a shuttle bus service operates instead. This is the single biggest practical constraint on a Snowdonia day. Being set down at a trailhead and collected from a different one turns a linear walk into a simple arrangement rather than a logistical problem.

Castles, railways and rainy-day options

The north Welsh castles built by Edward the First form a World Heritage group, and Caernarfon, Conwy, Beaumaris and Harlech are all within a day of each other. Conwy is the most complete walled town in Britain and takes an hour and a half. Narrow gauge railways run from Porthmadog and Llanberis, Portmeirion offers an Italianate village on a wooded estuary, and the slate caverns around Blaenau Ffestiniog give an indoor option that is genuinely memorable. All operate to seasonal timetables that need checking.

• Conwy Castle and the town walls, easily walked in a morning
• Portmeirion, best in low season when it is quiet
• Ffestiniog and Welsh Highland railways, seasonal timetables
• Blaenau Ffestiniog slate caverns for a wet afternoon

Bannau Brycheiniog in the south

The Brecon Beacons, now more often called Bannau Brycheiniog, are smoother and greener, with long whaleback ridges of old red sandstone. Pen y Fan is the high point and the path from the Storey Arms on the A470 is the popular route, with the same roadside parking pressure as Pen-y-Pass. Waterfall country around Ystradfellte in the south of the park holds a series of falls in wooded gorges, including one you can walk behind. The paths are steep, rooty and slippery, so footwear matters more than in most day-trip terrain.

Driving in Wales and the towns between

The A470 is the spine road connecting north and south, and it is scenic, slow and largely single carriageway. Built-up areas in Wales have a lower default speed limit than in England, which is straightforward but worth knowing. Hay-on-Wye on the eastern edge is a town of second-hand bookshops and hosts a major literary festival in late spring, when the town and its approach roads fill entirely. Abergavenny to the south has become a food destination, and Brecon itself makes a practical lunch stop.

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