Places to Visit in the Local Area

CRICCIETH CASTLE – ROLL OUT OF BED AND OFF YOU GO!

Criccieth is truly a castle to capture the imagination. Crowning its own rocky headland between two beaches it commands astonishing views over the town and across the wide sweep of Cardigan Bay.

No wonder Turner felt moved to paint it. By then it was a picturesque ruin – destroyed by one of Wales’s most powerful medieval princes, Owain Glyndŵr.But it was built by two of his illustrious predecessors. First Llywelyn ap Iorwerth (Llywelyn the Great) created the immense gatehouse flanked by D-shaped stone towers. Then his grandson Llywelyn ap Gruffudd – or Llywelyn the Last – added the outer ward, curtain walls and two new towers.

Still this craggy fortress wasn’t enough to withstand the invasion of Edward I. The English king made a few improvements of his own, equipping the north tower with a stone-throwing machine to deter Welsh attacks.

It was still in English hands in 1404 when the towers were burnt red by Owain Glyndŵr. Without a garrison to protect it, the town became entirely Welsh once more.

LLANYSTUMDWY–

car 6 mins or walk 40 mins

LLanystumdwy

The Lloyd George Museum is dedicated to the life and times of David Lloyd George, the Welshman who was prime minister of the United Kingdom from 1916 to 1922. It is located in Lloyd George’s home village of Llanystumdwy, Wales, where he is buried, and is run by Gwynedd Council. It is normally open during the summer months and by appointment during the rest of the year.

FFESTINIOG & WELSH HIGHLAND RAILWAYS

www.festrail.co.uk

Harbour Station, Porthmadog LL49 9NF- 11 minutes

PORTHMADOG -10 MINS

A harbour town situated on the Glaslyn Estuary, Porthmadog is rich in maritime history. It has a number of craft shops, a marina and restaurants. It is the closest place for supermarkets with Tesco Lidl and Aldi. It is also home to the Welsh Highland railway. The Welsh Highland Railway runs between Porthmadog and Caernarfon with stops at various stations on the way including Beddgelert. Website:-http://www.festrail.co.uk/

PWLLHELI– 15 MINS

Pwllheli’s popular open-air market on Wednesdays and Sundays (in Summer) is held in the square (Y Maes) and is always busy. The town is full of character with its narrow streets which have many independent shops, boutiques, traditional pubs, cafes and restaurants. It is a traditional welsh town and is the birthplace of Plaid Cymru. Pwllheli also has a shipbuilding harbour.

ABERSOCH– 27 MINS

Abersoch is situated on the Llyn Peninsula in North Wales and has become a very popular village seaside resort. Great beaches, internationally recognised sailing waters. It’s where the cools kids go due to the designer/expensive shops.

CAERNARFON AND CAERNARFON CASTLE – 31 MINS

Caernarfon is a royal town with Tesco, Morrisons and McDonalds if the kids are desperate. There is also a marina and of course the Castle.

The present castle building was constructed between 1283 and 1330 by order of King Edward I. The banded stonework and polygonal towers are thought to have been in imitation of the Walls of Constantinople. The impressive curtain wall with nine towers and two gatehouses survives largely intact. Caernarfon Castle is now under the care of Cadw and is open to the public. The castle includes the regimental museum of the Royal Welch Fusiliers.

BETWS-Y-COED-45 MINS

https://www.betws-y-coed.com/

Betws-y-Coed is North Wales’ most popular inland resort and accommodation provider. It is where the River Conwy meets its three tributaries flowing from the West, the Afon Llugwy, the Afon Lledr and the Afon Machno. Much of it was built in Victorian times, then reknowned as an artist colony and it is the principal village of the Snowdonia National Park.

Set in a beautiful valley in the Snowdonia Forest Park, it is ideal for outdoor activity holidays. Numerous Craft and outdoor activity shops are in the village with the popular Swallow Falls nearby- Swallow Falls

The main street, Holyhead Road, has numerous inns and bed-and-breakfasts accommodation. Shops specialise in outdoor clothes and the tourist center provide maps and advice on day trips in the area.
At the railway station is a Museum with a miniature railway, shop and restaurant. The old 14th century church of St Michael’s is one of the oldest in Wales and is worth viewing.

You can also find Tŷ Mawr Wybrnan– National Trust traditional stone-built upland 16th-century farmhouse

Of exceptional interest are the many bridges in the area. Pont-y-Pair (the bridge of the cauldron), built-in 1468, is buffeted by foaming water after heavy rain. A number of sign-posted walks in the surrounding countryside start near this bridge. A mile or so away is the Miner’s Bridge, on the road to Capel Curig, where the miners crossed the river on a steep ladder to their work

Thomas Telford’s iron Waterloo Bridge built in 1815, which carries the A5 across the River Conwy, bears the cast iron inscription “This arch was constructed in the same year the battle of Waterloo was fought”. Also worth visiting are the awesome Conwy Falls off the road to Pentrefoelas and the beautiful Fairy Glen off the A470 where the River Conwy flows through a narrow gorge.

NATIONAL SLATE MUSEUM– LL55 4TY 41 MINS (FREE ENTRY)

www. https://museum.wales/slate/visit/

BEAUMARIS-57 MINS

Beaumaris is a captivating seaside town, with its mix of medieval, Georgian, Victorian and Edwardian architecture. Its name is based on the Norman ‘beau marais’, meaning ‘fair marsh’, a description of the site chosen by Edward 1 for the last of his ‘Iron ring’ of castles, constructed in his bid to control the Welsh.

Beaumaris Castle

Fortress of near-perfect symmetry is an unfinished masterpiece

Beaumaris on the island of Anglesey is famous as the greatest castle never built. It was the last of the royal strongholds created by Edward I in Wales – and perhaps his masterpiece.

Here Edward and his architect James of St George took full advantage of a blank canvas: the ‘beau mareys’ or ‘beautiful marsh’ beside the Menai Strait. By now they’d already constructed the great castles of Conwy, Caernarfon and Harlech. This was to be their crowning glory, the castle to end all castles.

The result was a fortress of immense size and near-perfect symmetry. No fewer than four concentric rings of formidable defences included a water-filled moat with its very own dock. The outer walls alone bristled with 300 arrow loops.

But lack of money and trouble brewing in Scotland meant building work had petered out by the 1320s. The south gatehouse and the six great towers in the inner ward never reached their intended height. The Llanfaes gate was barely started before being abandoned.

So the distinctive squat shape of Beaumaris tells of a dream that never quite came true. Still it takes its rightful place on the global stage as part of the Castles and Town Walls of Edward I World Heritage Site.

Because this castle is special – both for the scale of its ambition and beauty of its proportions. Gloriously incomplete Beaumaris is perhaps the supreme achievement of the greatest military architect of the age.

ABERDARON-54 MINUTES

https://www.visitsnowdonia.inf…

national trust centre and car park porth-y-swnt

Land’s end at its most idyllic. This fishing village was the last stop for pilgrims on the way to Ynys Enlli, the ‘Isle of 20,000 Saints’ otherwise known as Bardsey Island, now a National Nature Reserve renowned internationally for its birdlife.

PLAS MENAI NATIONAL OUTDOOR CENTRE-40 MINS

https://www.plasmenai.wales/

Plas Menai, the National Outdoor Centre for Wales is perfectly situated for the ultimate outdoor adventure.

GREENWOOD FAMILY PARK-42 MINUTES

https://www.greenwoodfamilypar…

Family parks with rides and soft play that has previously won the award for best family attraction in North Wales.

PILI PALAS NATURE WORLD-48 MINUTES

https://www.pilipalas.co.uk/en…

TREBORTH BOTANIC GARDEN-47 MINUTES

http://treborth.bangor.ac.uk/

Treborth Botanic Garden, is a botanic garden in Wales, close to the city of Bangor, Gwynedd. It is owned by Bangor University, and is used in teaching for University students, local schools and community groups. It is also open to the public without charge.

ROMAN CAMP BANGOR- 50 MINS

A steep and short sharp stroll through woodland and you emerge at the mistakenly named Roman Camp by the locals. It has no connection to the Romans at all but there used to be a 12th century Norman hill fort/castle here. There are excellent views at the top. On one side you can see up and down the Menai Straits plus Anglesey and on the other you can see the city of Bangor, Porth Penrhyn and the mountains of Snowdonia.

ABER FALLS- 1HR 10 MINS

http://www.abergwyngregyn.org….

ABER FALLS DISTILLERY-53 MINUTES

Aber Falls, situated in the valley above the village of Abergwyngregyn, is a well-known tourist destination in the Snowdonia National Park. This stunning waterfall attracts over 50,000 visitors a year and is popular in all seasons. From a pleasant stroll along the shore to demanding walks in the Carneddau mountains, Aber has something to suit walkers of all abilities.

CARNEDD LLEWELYN– 50MINS

Carnedd Llewelyn, usually spelt Carnedd Llywelyn in Welsh, is a mountain in the Carneddau range in Snowdonia, north-west Wales. It is the highest point of the Carneddau and the second highest peak by relative height in Wales, 49th in the British Isles and lies on the border between Gwynedd and Conwy.

GLYDER FAWR- 40 MINS

Glyder Fawr is a mountain in Snowdonia, Wales, the highest peak in the Glyderau range at just over 1,000 metres, having had its height recalculated in 2010 using GPS. It is the fifth-highest mountain in Wales and has several walking and scrambling routes leading to its summit.

CWMORTHIN WATERFALL– 29 MINS

cwmorthin falls

CEUNANT LLENNYRCH NATIONAL NATURE RESERVE– 20 MINS

Wikipedia

Ceunant Llennyrch National Nature Reserve is one of several woodland reserves in the Vale of Ffestiniog in Gwynedd, Wales and runs from Llyn Trawsfynydd to the River Dwyryd, near the village of Maentwrog. The reserve’s broad expanse of woodland coats a steep-sided gorge, through which the Afon Prysor cascades.

LLYN TRAWSFYNYDD -26 MINUTES

www.trawslake.com

Llyn Trawsfynydd is a large man-made reservoir situated near the village of Trawsfynydd in Gwynedd, North Wales. With a total surface area of 4.8 km² the reservoir is slightly more extensive than Wales’s largest natural lake, Bala Lake at 4.5 km².

PLAS TAN Y BWTCH GARDENS –

Formal terraces, a water garden and pond are located in the higher parts of these gardens, together with sloping lawns, ornamental shrubs and coniferous trees, some of which were planted in Victorian times. In the Spring and early Summer, species of Rhododendron and Azalea are ablaze with colour.

PORTMEIRION-18 MINS-

please note no dogs allowed

https://portmeirion.wales/

Portmeirion is a tourist village in Gwynedd, North Wales. It was designed and built by Sir Clough Williams-Ellis between 1925 and 1975 in the style of an Italian village, and is now owned by a charitable trust.

HARLECH/HARLECH CASTLE- 25 MINUTES

Harlech Castle | Cadw (gov.wales)

Harlech Beach provides a four-mile stretch of pristine golden sand, with stunning views of the Snowdonia mountain range. The beach is backed by grassy dunes. The Morfa Harlech National Nature Reserve at the north end of the beach is Wales’s only growing dune system and provides a good example of the effects of longshore drift. To the south lies Shell Island, a promontory which, as the name suggests has an abundance of shells.

During the summer months leatherback turtles migrate from warmer climes to feed off jellyfish in the waters off this part of the coast. In 1988 a record-breaking 916kg leatherback was washed up here after becoming tangled in fishing equipment.

13th century Harlech Castle lies around 1000 metres behind the beach. This imposing structure was built as a stronghold by Edward I and played an important role in The War of the Roses and the English Civil War. It is open to visitors throughout the year. When it was first built the castle stood immediately next to the sea, but over the centuries the coastline has shifted significantly.

To access the beach take the Ffordd Glan Mor road from the village of Harlech past the Min-y-don Holiday Park, beyond which is a pay-for car park. From here a 400 metre path leads down to the beach

LLANFAIR SLATE CAVERNS –30 MINS

https://www.llanfairslatecaverns.co.uk/

GLYNLLIFON COUNTRY PARK-23 MINUTES

also very near to Dinas Dinelle beach

Parc Glynllifon

Dinas Dinelle Beach

AIRWORLD AVIATION MUSEUM – 30 MINUTES

www.airworldmuseum.com

NATIONAL TRUST

PORTHDINLLAEN– 27 MINUTES

An old fishing village perched on the end of a thin ribbon of land stretching into the Irish Sea

Here you will also find Morfa Nefyn Beach

PENRHYN CASTLE – 42 MINUTES

Fantasy castle with industrial and colonial foundations

PLAS YN RHW – 36 MINS – NATIONAL TRUST MANOR HOUSE

PLAS NEWYDD HOUSE AND GARDENS-51 MINUTES

National Trust Mansion

BODNANT GARDEN – 1 HOUR 4 MINS

GLAN FAENOL (NATURE RESERVE) – 46 MINS

Glan Faenol wildlife and woodland walk

CRAFLWYN AND BEDDGELERT– 25 MINUTES

Discover the tragic tale of Gelert, the faithful hound that gave the village of Beddgelert (Gelert’s grave) its name.

TRAETH PORTHOR-46 MINS

Porthor and the Whistling Sands walk

TRAETH PORTH MEUDWY– 49 MINS-

small cove at the tip of the Llŷn Peninsula

porth-meudwy

ZIP WORLDS –

WWW.ZIPWORLD.CO.UK

There are 3 zipworlds in driving distance:

17) Zip World LLechwedd LL41 3NB- 29 mins

29) Zip World Fforest LL24 0HX – 46 mins

30) Zip World Penrhyn Quary LL574YG – 56 mins

Snowdon – https://www.visitsnowdonia.inf…

There are several routes to climb Snowdon. The famous Llanberris path is 41 minutes away- see separate info in file for other routes

Beaches

https://www.thebeachguide.co.u…

Criccieth has 2 beaches – Turn left out the front door past Cadwaladers Ice cream parlour, you are half way. The bottom of the hill is the beach should take 2 mins, the beach is a mix of sand and pebbles sandcastles or stone towers. This beach extends out to black rock sands which is a sandy beach probably 40 mins walk.

Turn right out the front door past the old town hall (now visitors centre for castle) past parking and bench at the top of cliff over looking the sea you are over half way. The bottom of the hill is the beach should take max 2 mins, the beach is a mix of sand and pebbles sandcastles or stone towers. This beach follows the coastal path round to Afon Dwyfor estuary which is a 2 hr 4 mile round trip if you follow the estuary right to the main road and follow the road back, passing through Llanystumdwy (See above home of The Lloyd George Museum).

Llanbedrog – Sandy National Trust Beach

Llanbedrog beach

All of the above beaches have some areas of dog restriction Apr – Oct.

However on Llanbedrog – Your four legged companions are welcome on the beach all year round, but between 1 April and 30 September will need to be on a lead until beyond the beach huts.

https://www.thebeachguide.co.u…