Birmingham to Holyhead
 

What is the best way to take the journey through the Lakes, Peaks and other highlights of Wales?
Is there a rail itinerary we should take from Birmingham or do we need to drive ? Thanks for your help.

By train, there is only one route to Holyhead. The line goes through Chester, Conwy, then along the coast to Bangor, and across the Menai Straits to Anglesey.
www.nationalrail.co.uk

Thank you Geoff, I understand that is the route and that the northern Wales coastal section of that route appears to be very scenic as rated by the guide books and maps.

However he real question is, should we take an extra day or two and travel slowly by car or is the train trip a great experience/must do?

This is part of a 6-7 week itinerary around the Globe from Australia so I am trying to prioritise. Thanks again.

Hi GW - Are you saying you want to include the Lake District (Cumbria) and Peak District (Derbyshire) as well as N. Wales?

You really need at least a week for that - and certainly you'd need a car to see the best.

Steve

How long are you allocating to this part of the trip? If you have the option and don't mind driving, you will get to see a lot more. There are many places to visit or stop off en-route that would be more difficult by train. For example Conwy and it's castle, Bodnant gardens, Llanberis and the Snowdon mountain railway, Penrhyn Castle, Caenarvon Castle, Portmerion and on Anglesey Beaumaris castle, Plas Newydd (National Trust property and grounds overlooking the Menai Straits, South Stack (cliffs and seabirds) near Hoyhead - not to mention lots of beautiful coastline and mountain scenery.

The railway journey from Birmingham to Holyhead changes from being ugly, to prettyish really if you like that sort of thing, to drab to well I suppose it's quite nice. It really isn't one of the world's great scenic experiences.

Neither is the direct car journey. If you really are trying to see everything that's interesting going round the globe, I personally wouldn't divert for two days (and it has to be by car) to see the prettier bits away from the main road or even the interesting bits off the road (like Boscobel, where Charles 2 hid up the oaktree to escape the estate owner whose wife, family tradition claims, had been playing rumpty tumpty with him).

But then, if time were scarce, I'd go straight from Oxford, Stratford or the Cotswolds to Birmingham airport and fly straight to Dublin or Cork.

Thank you all for your comments. In years past we have visited Oxford, Stratford, Coventry, Meriden, Solihull, Somerset (Cheddar Gorge) and the beautiful Cotswolds. I remember our stay in Bibury at The Swan some 25 years ago when our daughter was only one year old.

I guess we havent got the time for Lakes District etc, but if there is a way to take 2 or 3 days to get to Holyhead rather than 1 day, then I am greatly interested. This follows 3 day visits to each of Cornwall and Melton Mowbray to follow the tracks of our ancestors.

I do like the sound of the Snowdon mountain railway. Thanks again.

The Snowdon Mountain Railway goes from Llanberis which has a good bus service from Bangor, on the railway to Holyhead.
If you go up the Snowdon Railway, you could walk down the other side of the mountain to get the Welsh Highland Railway to Caernarfon which has frequent buses to Bangor (though Caernarfon's a pleasanter place to stay than Bangor). There are several other interesting railways in that part of North Wales.
www.snowdonrailway.co.uk
www.welshhighlandrailway.net

Thank you Geoff. The good news is that the Welsh Highland Railway Project should be finished before we visit. I will work out the logistics.