breaking up a Snowdonia to Cambridge Drive
 

Hello - after spending two days in Wales we had planned to depart the Snowdonia region (Beaumaris, specifically) on a Sunday morning for our drive back to Cambridge. Google maps sets the trip at about 4 1/2-5 hours, but we have plans in Cambridge that afternoon and It seems like a lot to drive in one day. Was wondering if it might be wiser to get on the road in the late afternoon or early evening on Saturday to get part of the drive out of the way. If anyone here could suggest a pleasant town (not city) midway (or even 1/3 way), for a stopover between Snowdonia and Cambridge it would be much appreciated. Interesting sites in the area would be a plus but not necessary. We tend to go the Airbnb route but its not a necessity. Any road/route suggestions would be welcome as well. Thanks in advance

>>Google maps sets the trip at about 4 1/2-5 hours<<

t would take longer -- more like 5.5-6 hours on a good day. And that is via motorways . . .

If you went more south via Oswestry and Wrexham you could stop in/near Shrewsbury. But Shrewsbury to Cambridge would still take 4+ hours.

Thank you, Janis - will look into that route. I'm always a bit leery of the drive time estimates listed on Google maps - wondering if they may be a bit ambitious...

>>wondering if they may be a bit ambitious...<<

Yes - ambitious is a good description . . . :)

You generally have to add between 25% and 50%+ to just about every journey.

Warwick Castle -one of Britain's most famous and popular could be a possible stop on that route it seems or Stratford - a lovely city even if not time to track down all the Shakespeare Properties.

Thanks again, Janet and Palen--
My son did agree to break up the trip a bit, and chose Shrewsbury as an overnight point. It may have been nice to cover a bit more ground, on the way back, but at least this will get a bit of the trip under our belt. Also, thank you for the suggestion re: Warwick. We're going to hit the road very early Easter morning, so that might be a nice place for a break.

Warwick castle will likely be a zoo (!) on Easter Sunday, ESPECIALLY if the weather is decent. It is very popular and gets crowded. I'd plan something different.

You are better of keeping north of Birmingham rather than heading down to Warwick in my opinion. It's actually about 5 to 5.30 hours drive at most from Beaumaris to Cambridge, but it could be less. Head for the A55 then towards Nantwich on teh A51, down to Stoke, get on the M6, use the M6 Toll, then the A14, and the M11.

Shrewsbury is a nice old town but yes not that far towards Cambridge. But the next day you could easily hit Iron Bridge Gorge to see the iron bridge that is a symbol of the first widespread use of iron - take a drive around the various points of interest. It calls itself 'the Birthplace of the Indusrail Revolution - we took a bus there from Shrewsbury and was not fa - don't have to go in all the several museums toget a quick appreciation of it all and at least see the Iron Bridge which still stands.

https://www.ironbridge.org.uk/

Oh well just a thought.