¶ Exploring North Wales by Public Transport
Welcome to the UK Travel Planning Podcast . Your host is the founder of the UK Travel Planning website , tracy Collins . In this podcast , tracy shares destination guides , travel tips and itinerary ideas , as well as interviews with a variety of guests who share their knowledge and experience of UK travel to help you plan your perfect UK vacation .
Join us as we explore the UK from cosmopolitan cities to quaint villages , from historic castles to beautiful islands , and from the picturesque countryside to seaside towns .
Hi and welcome to episode 52 of the UK Travel Planning Podcast . This week , doug and I are actually sitting in a hotel in York , england , because Doug has just joined me in York from a five-day trip to Wales and I thought it would be a good opportunity in this episode to talk to Doug all about his trip to north Wales .
So , doug , should you , would you like to introduce yourself ?
Hello , yes , great to be on again . I'm so excited . I had a fantastic week in north Wales Beautiful weather and lovely people And the week is actually flown by by the most fantastic week .
So , yes , so this is actually the first podcast episode that we've actually had a chance to talk about Wales And I thought , because Doug's just spent five days there exploring it , trying out a lot of public transport and trying out lots of the trains and exploring it and obviously the logistics of planning it all took some time , So it'd be a good chance to
actually just say go through what he did , where he went , how he planned it And for those of you who are considering a trip to north Wales in your visit to the UK , So let's start off I guess basically would you like to give everybody an overview of your trip and where you went and what you did .
Yeah , okay . So first off , I went through our Facebook group and seen where comments or questions have been posted , and the last questions about the many heritage railway lines in north Wales , so that seemed like a good start in place . So once I'd all myself with a list , i found myself a map of Wales and found out where all these heritage train lines run .
And then naturally , what I thought was where am I going to base myself ? So I came to the decision I would stop in Banggood , in Gwyneth , that's north Wales . But going further , i just need to point out my apologies for any Welsh speakers . My pronunciation is probably very , very poor And I do apologize , but I'll do my very best .
It's better than mine , that's for sure .
So yes , so once I've all myself with the services I wanted on , that included the Snowdonia Mountain Railway and the Langdothlin Railway and the Festinnog Railway and Welsh Highlands Railway .
So once I found where they were and when the service is run and whether it should have been diesel or steam I'll come to that later on It was a question of finding a , whether available that day , whether there was still spaces those days and how they all fit in together . So I want to do one area then to another area and to another area .
So once I found those , it was a question of well , can I then book them ?
Yeah .
And so we completed all that . We did that together and then I thought we're doing to find a hotel to stay in . So on this trip I decided I was going to do all with public transport , didn't I ?
Yes , absolutely yes .
That was a decision rather than hiring a car , because obviously we just know the sort of questions that we get in the Facebook group And also we've have done it in re-consult with people who have been intending to go to North Wales and I know some people have asked us before about public transport And because we do like to look into the use of public transport
around the UK . We did the Lake District last year . We based ourselves in Windermere to see about how you could get around . We felt that it would be a really useful thing to do for actually for you to actually plan your trip using public transport only .
Yeah , that's right , and obviously it's slow because you then got to start looking at bus timetables and in North Wales I found different bus providers as well , so it was a question of finding which bus service covers which area . For example , i found the Gwynfor coaches .
They provide the bus service to Snowdonia , so you have to find one to Lambertis , which is a little town there , a beautiful town So . But once I found all the correct buses , then it was a question of finding the bus tickets And I did find and I was very impressed . I was telling you about I'm very impressed with Arriva coaches , arriva buses .
They have some very good day passes day bus tickets And they were incredibly helpful . The bus drivers are very friendly , very helpful . You know you're getting off a bus from Nubian somewhere before and you ask them where the bus stop is for the return journey and it's just over there . I'll point you down there And I was really impressed with them .
Can I just rewind ? I just want to rewind a bit , actually , because I know you said so .
When you were deciding on the places that you want to go to , there were the four different railway lines that you wanted to do , those kind of heritage railway lines But also what about actual destinations , as in places in North Wales that you wanted to go to and see , because obviously people talk to us about those railway lines but there are other things to do
in North Wales , so I guess they were included in your itinerary planning .
That's right . No visit to North Wales . But we're complete without looking at the castles . There's such a concentration of castles in North Wales And so I've mixed the days up . I also wanted to do one particular tour that appealed to me , a three castles tour , and is also visiting the Snowdonia National Park for a viewing point . It wasn't natural .
The railway , the viewing point was absolutely spectacular . So I was really privileged to be on this tour as well at the same time . And we also went to Landidno for the Great Orm , which I'd already done another day . So lots of information there . Let me go through my day , shall I ?
I first arrived into Bangor and the hotel I chose , or we chose together , was a hotel called the Trax Hotel T-R-A-X , and that was literally across the road from the train station And value for money . I was impressed with it , the lady who was running that , the lady by the name of Wendy there's a few challenges along the way , but she was absolutely fantastic .
I can't thank her for enough and how kind she was to me . So that was perfect for me . And then , believe it or not , the buses I needed to catch . I could also catch the seconds from there . So on that very first day I arrived I also caught the train from Bangor to a place name . It's the second longest place name in the UK , the second in the world .
I'm not going to try and say it , but it is known locally as Fanfare PG And it's 58 letters long . Wow , and it's just an amazing place . So it's a photo opportunity .
And you've got a photo with yourself at the sign . I did notice that , so we'll definitely put that in the show notes so everybody can see you standing at the sign of the second longest .
UK place name . UK place name , i think there's a place in New Zealand that .
I think is the longest . So it's the longest in the UK but second longest in the world .
World , that's great 58 letters long , wow , yeah . So I did it on the first day , because that's only six minutes on the train from Bangor , which was absolutely fantastic , and that's just across on the Isle of Anglesey . Oh , okay , yeah . So that was the first day , and then on the second day I bought the early morning bus from Bangor to Snowdonia .
Yeah .
And I went upon the Snowdonia mountain railway on a beautiful , hot , sunny day And the views are absolutely breathtaking .
So I'll just say this was obviously the beginning of June that did this trip , and the weather in most of the UK has been absolutely fantastic over the last week , but particularly in the West Coast and Wales was amazing , oh that's beautiful And it was really really lovely weather , which made it even better because I know the views were spectacular with beautiful
blue skies , beautiful views .
You don't know where to look .
Yeah .
And honestly , the photos and videos do not do the place justice . Um , And it was one of , unfortunately , the train , the cog rally doesn't go all the way to the summit at the moment , until 24th of June , i believe , because of I think it was the work isn't completed from over winter , i think .
Yeah , so that was a good chunk of the day , and then I was going to catch the bus to place called Betsa Coward Again , apologies , say I said that wrong and then I was gonna join the main train line to Blayno Fest in the train station , but we'd ordered on that week before , yes , so I returned by bus to Bangor and then caught the train again to clanded
no , and from there I caught the tramway to The summit of great , the great home , which is the headland at clanded no , okay , and such a lot of history involved with that . There's a bonds mine there as well , and it's absolutely fascinating . Now my plan was to Go one way to the summit on the tramway and then return by the cable car .
Yeah , but unfortunately that afternoon the wind had increased in speed , so Unfortunately the cable car was not running so they don't run it when it gets too windy , which I guess is like safety issue . Yeah , so I was supposed to come back down on the tram , which was an absolute hardship really was .
That's worth bearing in mind . I guess if anybody's plan to do that is that obviously Bearing on the weather can impact on whether you can do the cable car .
Yeah and that was You can buy a return ticket for that one . If that's what you plan on doing this , really nice , it's a very pleasant place . One interesting thing I found about clanded no , which I didn't know at the time , was the Clanded no was the birthplace of Lewis Carroll . All right , the right to all .
Yeah so there's about 1340 wooden statues there and There's also locally that the start in a free walking tour .
All right . So what are the statues of all the characters ? Oh right , one like the rabbit , and oh yeah .
Those places . So that was that first date Absolutely fantastic in Snowdonia . And then the second day I went on the Tour and that that covered Conway Castle , can often Castle , but also went again to the Great Horn And lots of all the little places to stay along the way . Absolutely fantastic .
So with that turn , did you , did you go and meet the turn a particular place ? How did that work ?
Yeah , we met the tour at Just outside the train station at clanded no , and then I think that's it .
¶ Welsh Railway and Castle Adventure
We left about half a state in the morning , returned about half past five .
Okay , and that was a I know that was it with adventure to a snowdonia , so we will put a link in and the show notes that took us . I know you absolutely loved it . You were raving about it . After that , data said how excellent it was . Yeah .
I hope they get back to the young chap . The tall guy was a guy called Freddy , who was absolutely , i said , his enthusiasm was , you know , it's warmth came across to everybody . Yeah you know he's absolutely marvelous . So including that was the Conway Castle Dove bed on castle .
Probably saying that wrong as well can often castle class Mauer , which is the Grand Hall and In Conway and the world's so the smallest house in Great Britain , which is absolutely amazing . It was a tiny tunnel house and can you believe it ?
It was a six-foot three Fishermen who used to live in there really and I've seen the photos of how small it is is really tiny , and do you have to pay to get into that ?
Yeah , it's about what is one pound fifty , but that is cash , only that one .
Okay , yeah , that's good to know Yeah .
And so that was a whole day there . And then the following day I went by train again to Rue Abon , i think I said that's just outside Rexham , yeah , and then I caught the bus to Langlothlin for the railway . So from there and that's 10 , 30 to 12 And it absolutely amazing , went the full length . So what does that go to ?
so that I come on the name of the call when I go . Oh , special word there for one of the , the conductor there , a gentleman by name of Ross , who kind of consented to a little video for myself You can include yeah , yeah , yeah , that was brilliant And I will include that and their show notes actually , because he gives took a little interview .
Outstanding a game . You know the face of the company . You first thing you walk in he's welcoming . It was kind , considerate . And again his energy was just abounding .
Yeah , so good views on that with that train trip .
Yes , it was because I was gonna say this later , i'll say it now . I , this day and the following day there should have been there were scheduled on the timetable for steam train services , but because of the prolonged hot weather , the risk of lion's-hired fire is quite huge . Yeah , and yet on the day before there had been a little fire .
So it was diesel trains running , but in no way did it sort of dampen the experience you know , and it was That was just his enthusiasm was abounding . So it was two heritage diesel units or DMU's if you , if you're in the know and Both outward journey and return . I sat just behind the driver , so I've got lots of photos that I did share .
Someone the on the On the group . Yeah , Yeah so , but a wonderful day . Everything for start to finish and walking in like a lot of our station to leave , and it was an absolute job , particularly to a train person like myself . Yeah , absolutely again , the weather was absolutely beautiful . Yeah , it really was .
So I returned them by bus to the banger or that day and Yeah , and then I had a walk around bangle that night as well , down to the yeah , down to the pier , and for some beautiful views of the men eyes straight and the men eye bridge . And it was really really beautiful evening , but there's a lot of those .
Um , that's over to angle , see .
I should just say yes , that's right , cost of angle see , and the little island they're called Puffin Island . All right , you can get the boat boats out too . So that was that day , and then the following day I Had a very long day . This day I caught the the bus to Can , often for the Best in New York and Welsh Island's railway .
Again , this should have been a steam train . It's get time tail was a steam train , but unfortunately it wasn't . And Again , especially mentioned to the conductor on that train , a young lady by the name of Becky , who was Against such warmth and helpfulness to walk up and down the train answering questions , just wonderful .
And I also sat next to a family , absolutely very engaging in a lovely family day out , and it was just so friendly . So then after that I caught the bus back to can , often and And yeah , i have another quick look around Bango , and , and that was that really .
Yeah , so obviously you've done that . You did the four railways and they were really exciting and you enjoyed all of those , obviously met some fantastic people on the trains and the staff were in the trains , so that was great . Um , what about ? I know you visited some of the castles , so I just want to talk about what .
How did you feel about some of the castles that you visited ?
What would the idea of a favorite I Probably prefer Conway Castle , because the town has such a lot to offer as well . There's not a lot to choose between Conway and Canaven Castle . They're both Absolutely fine history and a lot of story to tell . On their own , yeah , but probably Conway just does it for me as a town .
Yeah .
I also went . I have missed that entirely . I went to Anglesey one evening and I it was bit late because the castle was already closed at bone Maris or boomerous I'm not sure the pronunciation of that that's across an angle , see itself Mm-hmm .
That overlooks basically the men I straight and Bangor , puffin island and It could just see because it's getting a bit hazy was a landing , no , in the , in the , in the distance , but yeah , but boomerous , absolutely lovely little place as well .
You can catch various across there off in Ireland and also boat trips on Through the men I straight okay , bridges and things like that as well . I think that's the most marvelous fish and chips there as well .
I was gonna ask you about food . Actually that was something I was gonna ask us . I know that's something we have been asked before about kind of recommended places to eat . So What did you do for food for those days They were away It ?
wasn't exactly the healthiest . I have two lots of fish and chips on the commendation ships were good . I ate in a public cafes as well , but the fish and chips at And boomers were absolutely delicious . Now , one place I didn't try apparently in London notes , instead of fish and chips It's gonna like chisholm fits or something of that nature .
All right , and that was been recommended as well by the family I was on the train with on the The galette explorer that was on the first Indian Welsh Harlins railway . Yeah , so look , some lovely food .
Yeah , and so you . I know you had beaten sandwiches in the morning before , cuz I know you .
I did put a picture on the entire day . on Bangor station There's a travel cafe They call this Snowden Cafe and I had this bacon sandwich in a cup of tea or copper And it was absolutely delicious . I did put a picture on the internet .
Yeah , you did , and I will share those again , so so okay , so you've given us a kind of good overall view kind of how you went and how your days were . How did you find it logistically because obviously you plan this with the Buses and how did it work ?
Yeah , the buses . I was very impressed with the ARIVA buses . What I did before I Went on the trip was I looked at all the different buses and what would have been the best tickets , because I did find the .
You can pay by cash or card on the buses , but what I opted to do was apply to M tickets as mobile tickets and you activate them on the day That you use them and then you just scan in the QR code on the bus . But I was relying on Wi-Fi on the buses So I was having to wait until I was on the bus to be able to access the QR code .
But the drivers every driver
¶ Tips for North Wales Transport
are evil was absolutely outstanding and really helpful .
Yeah , and patient is wrong to be fair . Yeah , yeah , that's good to know . So have you got anybody , any tips that you could give to anybody that would consider in this trip ?
I would First out after I've written this up as a post on the website .
Yeah .
I use that as a good guide , but I would point out that the The Vowys themselves do take up a big chunk of the day and you've got logistics to get there And I did see some of the car pass get quite full . So if you are driving you've got to allow yourself plenty of time to park your car .
Right , that's good Some of them were not all a car or cash that it makes you . But there's one I think was at Snowden and it was said it was Card only .
Okay .
But yeah , the other thing is if the train departs , say , at 10 , 30 and a couple of them , you have to be arrived 30 minutes before to plate your tickets . Even if you've bought online , you've got to go and present it 30 minutes before the train departs . It's just for logistics , to get everybody on board .
Okay , so they know . So you know when it comes to actually do these sell out . So you can't just turn up on the day , you have to book ahead some you do that .
The Snowden railway one , there's only a small one or two , coach lot , coach long , so you have specific seats booked on there as well . So they do get booked up . I was on the first one and The first one of the day and it was it was full . Yeah , there's no seat .
There's no standing room allowed because they have to have a clear view right There's a is a climbs .
Oh , yeah , and he sent .
Yeah , but no , they'll take it on it . I think there was on the plane got and I think there was some tickets available .
Okay , so that's good .
The only thing that I would always arrive as much time as you can , particularly if it is a steam train , or you won't take photos of the coaches or the the locals .
Yeah .
Yeah , it's worth it .
So is there any other tips that you could share that with anybody that's considering to say this sort of this sort of trip to north Wales ?
I would definitely do the one of the tour as well . It's a Public transport works but it pays to do your homework first and be sure and clear which buses you want to catch , because I did found and I did talk to this on another couple in Anglesey there's some of the online bus times . I don't always marry with the bus stop times .
There's electronic displays and some paper and some printed timetables , but they don't always marry up . I was always looking at both , but I was always arriving 10 minutes before buses just to be double the show . I was going to catch them , particularly on Sunday , when there was obviously going to be less buses travelling .
OK , now , that sounds good .
The Aviva bus is also very good on board Wi-Fi .
OK , so that's good to know , so that people can use it as well . Yeah , so I think obviously you're going to write up your itinerary from the last week . So your entire itinerary , including the bus times that you took , the trains that you took , will actually be available in a blog post on the website .
I'm not sure if it will be ready by the time this podcast episode gets out , but a dub will be working on it And as soon as it's sorted , it will work on that . So have you got any kind of final tip that you'd give share with our listeners ?
I would say public transport is doable , but shop around for the best deals with the bus tickets and be sure of what you're paying , because I did find that there's also the bus tickets called a one bus ticket and that covers a lot of all the different operators in Wales .
I did not know about that , i did not read about it anywhere , but that was one of the drivers that told me that . So it pays to shop around and make sure you get the right bus tickets .
OK , great . Well , thanks for chatting to us this week about your trip to Wales . Obviously , you know , it's the first time I've seen you for five days since we're in Edinburgh , so it's good to chat with you about what you've been up to in Wales for the last few days as well .
I've got so much to say about it . I'm sorry it's a bit disjointed everybody listening to that . There's just so much I want to say about it .
Well , obviously , if anybody's got questions that they want to ask Doug about this trip around Wales , please join the Facebook group and you can come in there and ask Doug questions about the logistics , about what he enjoyed about this trip . But , as I say , this is going to be written up as a Bob person . It will be available on the website .
Yeah , one thing I will find few times I had to be a little bit more flexible with my times and buses and keep checking
¶ Doug's Trip to Wales
and that sort of thing . So it's about flexibility with the itinerary . So I always happen to talk to anybody about trains and tickle in North Wales . And finally , thank you everybody . I came into contact with your my trip in North Wales . Everybody was so friendly and helpful , Thank you .
That's great to know . So you can find all the everywhere that Doug visited and more information , Obviously a link to the upcoming post about his trip to Wales on the website that UKTravelPlanincom forward slash episode 52 . But all that leaves us to say for this week is , as always , happy UK travel planning .