Skedaddle,
I hope you have a wonderful trip to Wales. I fell in love with the country on a trip a few years ago. Among the highlights on that trip- a Welsh Mens Choir concert and a narrow boat collision. Memories that will last a lifetime! Try to find a concert or at least a rehearsal- the music is incredible!
L

I take day trips out from Liverpool to North Wales. My families favourite places that I can reccomend to you are
Chester - Roman history, shops within a small area & plenty of restaurants to choose from,
A55 takes you up to Llandudno - sea air, small town of interesting shops & the Great Orme.
Anglesey - Red Wharf Bay -the beach is lovely & Beaumaris for the evening/night.
Holyhead is too busy with the Irish boats & I don't go there for a day trip.
Back down the A5 you get to BetwsyCoed which is a day out for the 5/6 shops, river & miniature train track - watch out for the twins who run the railcar restaurant. Bodnant Gardens is just up the road.
Continue down the A5 to Llangollen which is now very touristy - steam train & station, canal trips, compact shopping area that includes a second hand book shop with 1,000's of books & some other quirky shops and a riverside walk - you are not allowed to feed the ducks anymore, so the signs say. The Dr Who exhibition has closed now & is in Blackpool.
Caernarfon, Pwllheli and Barmouth are other places that might be considered but I haven't been there for a few years now.
The above towns listed are my favourite days out so if you intend visiting N Wales you wouldn't go far wrong with them.
Holywell is a big carpark around a chapel so I wouldn't expect you to spend too much time there.
A lot of the time if I am late leaving for the day out I will always find somewhere nice to stop on the way. Maps are available everywhere - I get a UK road atlas for the previous year for a £1 (-Chester) & that does me fine.

Well guys, I totally forgot to post a trip report! So, here is a brief one to fulfill my promise. . . I'll post in installments to make it a bit more readable.

We arrived in Manchester and took the next train out for Hollyhead. We figured since we were already groggy, we'd just get all of our longer-distance travel finished that day. Upon arrival, it was windy and rainy, so we took a cab to our guesthouse. After we had settled in, the operator offered to give us a lift to South Stack. Our main reason for going to Hollyhead was to try to catch a glimpse of the puffins. Needless to say, they were all sheltering from the wind and rain! We did see many gulls and gullimots though. Remember that British birders are very serious - in the lookout station, I asked if some birds that were winging by were "just gulls." I was informed that there really aren't "just gulls" and subjected to quite a discussion of the various types available. Seriously, the volunteer who was stationed there was very helpful even for "tourist-level birders" like us. They have telescopes and binoculars available for viewing the birds on the nearby cliffs. The lighthouse is situated spectacularly on an island that is just off the shore. We couldn't walk down to it and across the suspension bridge, however, because of the wind. We tramped around a little more to see the foundations of prehistoric dwellings, but we couldn't get too excited about them.

The walk back to the guesthouse was a scenic two miles along dry stone walls punctuated with styles (I've always wondered about them since I learned the nursery rhyme about the crooked man who walked a crooked mile.) and some livestock. We passed through a park in town that had a group of small standing stones on the way back. After we attempted to dry out and took a small nap, we walked into the town proper and checked out the church. We had only planned one night here and that really was fine. If the weather had been better, it would have been a nice place for walking and I would've enjoyed at least two nights.

The following day, we took the train to Bangor, then the bus to Porthmadog. The bus ride was very long and slow, but we did have the opportunity to hear spoken Welsh because most of the passengers were chatting with each other. After dropping our bags at the hotel in Porthmadog, we walked to Portmeirion. It was about a three-mile walk, but we crossed over The Cob with beautiful views over the water on either side. The final approach to the village of Portmeirion is along the hedgerow and through a wooded area that is quite nice.

Now, Portmeirion is an unusual place. It is a collection of real relocated and fake buildings assembled to resemble a Mediterranean village; however, it is in north Wales. It's quite interesting to explore, but I could never shake the feeling that it was a pretty "Disney-fied" place. It was also the setting for the British TV show, The Prisoner. Lots of people who visit are huge fans of the show and there is a gift shop with much memorabilia for sale. If you've never seen the show, I'd recommend viewing a few episodes before you go (often, they can be borrowed from your local library), so that you know why people are walking around muttering, "I am not a number." Because the weather was much better here, we had a nice walk along the beach and through the Woodland Garden. The gardens are very nice in a wild, untamed sort of way.

On our second day in Porthmadog, we thought we’d see a bit of Snowdonia. We hooked up with the Sherpa bus and made our way to the Snowdon Mountain Railway. Once there we were informed that it wouldn’t be going all the way to the summit because of construction and fog. Nonetheless, we enjoyed the cog railway trip up and back, even with hordes of schoolchildren on a field trip.

We Sherpa’ed on over to Caernarfon Castle where we clambered all over the walls. There was a display on the installation of Prince Charles as Prince of Wales and you can see the slate dais where it took place. We changed Sherpa buses in a beautiful little town called Beddgelert. It was an unexpected treasure. There is a burbling little stream with stone bridges arching over it and a nice walk along it. Additionally, it was named the “Tidiest Town in Wales.” All-in-all a very charming place.

The following day, we took the steam-powered Ffestiniog Railway to Blaenau Ffestiniog. For those who have followed my pre-trip inquiries, we were able to stow the luggage in the caboose and ride in the open-air car with benches. It was quite a scenic trip, we passed waterfalls and pretty little stations and had a stop to take on more water.

The town of Blaenau Ffestiniog is dominated by gigantic slate slag heaps from the mines in the vicinity. Most of the buildings in town are made of the local slate; it’s quite handsome, if somber. Our guesthouse was next to the local rugby pitch where 5-6 sheep were cropping the grass. We walked along the road up to the Llechwedd Slate Caverns. This isn’t recommended! The shoulder is very narrow with drop offs on both sides and the road is curvy. The deep mine tour was interesting. We put on hard hats and boarded a yellow tram-thing for the descent. The tour was a little perfunctory and somewhat corny, but it gave you an appreciation for the conditions to which the miners were subjected. To some extent, coal miners in the U.S. still have similar safety and quality of life concerns. Topside, there is a little restored Victorian mining village. The candy store is charming with many varieties of old-fashioned candies that can be bought for modern prices.

The following day, we made our way to Conwy via Llandudno Junction. We waited for almost an hour for the bus to ride about a mile into Conwy. Unfortunately, we didn’t realize that it was so close or we could have walked! We did inquire about a taxi at the station, but were told that it would be about 45 minute’s wait. The castle ruins are very nice to visit as are the town walls. We also saw Aberconwy House, the oldest house in the city. My favorite, however, was Plws Mawr, an Elizabethan townhouse. We had an audio tour and were allowed to wander everywhere in the house while listening. The rooms weren’t cordoned off and we could sit along benches in several of the rooms.

The following day, we had another ramble over the city walls in a light mist. It was really lovely. We took the train and then a bus to get to Holywell for the annual pilgrimage to St. Winefride’s Well. When we got off the bus, we asked in a gas station where the church was. No one was really sure. Now, this is a well-known pilgrimage site in a tiny town; you would think everyone would know where it is! We first went to the church, then back up a hill and around the block to the parish house, all while schlepping our luggage! Finally, the nice ladies selling sandwiches and baked goods said we could leave our bags there during the pilgrimage.

The pilgrimage was clearly a local affair, but was quite charming. The group started at the church, then walked up the hill, around the block and down to the well (it was much easier not dragging our bags!). The Bishop of Wexham presided over the mass, then we lined up to visit the interior of the well and venerate the relic of St. Winefride. I think the relic is a finger bone, but it was encased in glass and a little hard to get a look. The well itself has been channeled into an exterior swimming pool-like area with changing tents (no bathing on the feast day) and an interior area where the cold water bubbles up. It was certainly an interesting side trip.

We went on to Manchester to catch our flight the next day. England was playing in the world cup that day, so there were lots of supporters wearing team gear and flying flags from their cars. We caught some of the game in a pub near our hotel. We ate a great dinner in Chinatown that night.

So, that’s the trip report. I hope it helps someone else planning a trip to this area! We really enjoyed the low-key charms of Wales.

What a lovely report (though a little late )

You made it to some terrific places, and all w/o driving. I agree w/ you about Beddgelert - a lovely small place . . .

Thank you for posting a trip report! We're planning to cover some of the same territory in May, so I appreciate reading more about north Wales.

Lee Ann

Thanks for your kind comments, janisj and ElendilPickle! I do think the whole thing would have been easier by car, but my husband gets so stressed out driving on the left and on really small roads (notice, however, that I'm not volunteering to drive either!). We had no problems on the trains, of course. The buses were ok, too, but I do have a word of caution about them. Because we were going to be moving around so much, we just packed carry-on-size bags and a day pack. These were fairly easily accommodated on the buses. There's a little platform area for them next to the driver. However, if we had brought larger cases, I'm not sure where we could have put them on these buses.

Incidentally, my husband liked this carry-on form of travel so much that we are leaving today for a week in Germany with only carry-ons!

&quot;<i>we are leaving today for a week in Germany with only carry-ons!</i>&quot;

Ain't it great!

We spent two weeks in Wales two years ago and absolutely loved it. I think Wales is underrated.

Thank you for your report!