I have always wanted to visit Wales. Welsh folklore, a language found nowhere else, and a dream of walking the Wales Coast Path have been enticing me for years but I’ve never been able to convince Eric to visit…until recently. I snuck it in, actually. Once he said yes to Pub Hiking in the Yorkshire Dales, it was just a matter of “ya know, Wales is just a quick drive over the border” followed by photos of the Llŷn Peninsula and Snowdonia. I even presented him with the perfect cottage and a ready-made itinerary. My methods of persuasion worked: Eric agreed to learn how to drive “on the wrong side of the road” and we added three nights in Wales to our itinerary.
For those who don’t know Eric, he’s a planner and methodical researcher. When we visited Faroe Islands a few years ago, he researched how to drive through undersea tunnels and studied their road signs and rules. So it should be no surprise that he was equally prepared for driving in the UK. But he wasn’t prepared for driving the Llŷn Peninsula!
Driving on the Llŷn Peninsula
Had we researched the Llŷn Peninsula, we would have rented a smaller car rather than the Mercedes-Benz luxury behemoth we got from Turo. Not our brightest moment. The drive from Manchester to the Peninsula was quite pleasant. The road signs in England make it easy for foreign travelers to navigate. The main highways in Wales are easy to drive on as well, the challenge is when you leave the highway and encounter roads that were never meant for modern vehicles.
For example, we stopped at Conwy Castle which had easy to locate parking but we had to traverse through narrow roads that were 2-way traffic but barely fit one vehicle. Between trying to avoid hitting pedestrians and a centuries old castle, we were missing the simplicity of walking from place to place rather than driving.
Back on the road, we headed to the village of Pistyll on the remote Llŷn Peninsula where we spent three nights in a cozy holiday cottage. Our snug was perfectly situated along the Wales Coast Path, which has been on my wish list for years. Wales was the first country to create a dedicated coastal path along its entire coastline. At 870 miles, it covers some impressive terrain and takes you through coastal towns that are equally as charming as they are difficult to pronounce.
We only had one good day of weather to explore, so we spent the morning driving questionable roads all over the peninsula, stopping at any free parking spot we could find and ending the day with a beautiful hike on the Wales Coast Path from Pistyll to Nant Gwrtheyrn. This ranks with one of our all-time favorite hikes. The weather was perfect and the only mammals we encountered were of the 4-legged variety.
It was just enough to convince us to return for a walking holiday on the Wales Coast Path so we can enjoy coastal Wales without a car. Our last full day in Wales was spent relaxing and washing clothes amidst a windstorm that had us thinking we were back in Louisiana during hurricane season. Eric and I love coastal storms so we were perfectly content in our snug.
Unfortunately the bad weather caused flooding, which hindered our plans to drive straight through Snowdonia on our return to Manchester. Undaunted by road closures, we meandered our way through and around different towns in the Snowdonia Mountains, starting in the coastal town of Porthmadog at the base of the mountains.
From there we headed to Tremadog then Beddgelert, my favorite town in the region and where we’ll stay when we return to hike Snowdonia. I can’t adequately describe the beauty of Beddgelert, it’s just a magical place that has to be experienced. It fulfilled every vision I’ve ever had of a fairy tale village.
Because of road closures, we had to take a long circular route up to Caernarfon and back to Llanberis in order to drive through the Pen-y-Pass. We knew this was considered one of the world’s most scenic drives and now we know why. Suddenly, Eric didn’t mind driving through Wales anymore.
We stopped in Betwys-y-Coed, which is truly a beautiful town but we were there on a weekend and it was full of people. We stayed just long enough to pick up some pastries, watch some Welsh football and walk around town.
Then it was back in the car and on the road to Manchester, where we spent the night at Wilmslow Lodge. Dinner at the lodge was excellent and the location was perfect for a quick ride to the airport.
Our side trip to Wales was an extra bonus tacked on to our Yorkshire Dales trip and it was entirely too short. We gained some important knowledge about travelling in Wales, however, which we’ll use when we make a return visit:
- Avoid driving if you’re planning to spend most of your time along the coast. The towns are compact with tiny roads and parking is rarely free. Consider booking with a walking holiday tour operator instead.
- If you do rent a car, get a small one and have insurance.
- Roads that begin with the letter A or B are fine, everything else is questionable.
- Always assume there is a vehicle around the hidden corner and never assume they are going as slow as you are.
- Plan to have data during the trip. If you are driving, a lot of the parking lot payment centers didn’t take bills or credit cards — you’ll need to have coins or use an app.
