Easter weekend in Snowdonia, Wales

View of Harlech castle

This Easter, we had a relaxed 4 day vacation in and around the Snowdonia National Park, in North Wales. This was one of those vacations where all we did was book a place to stay and rent a car. The rest, we just decided as we went along. And it went perfectly well. We did end up doing a lot of activities, and explored a lot around the park. But we did it at a pace which made it feel that we were not rushing towards anything. And that’s what a perfect vacation is, right?

We stayed in the village of Harlech and explored the area around. Over the 4 days, we

• Spent some time in Harlech 
• Visited the Harlech and Shell beaches
• Explored the villages of Porthmadog, Portmeirion, Tremadog, and Dinas Mawddwy nearby, and 
• Trekked up Mt. Snowdon

The weather surprisingly was warm and sunny, and the spring greenery all around Wales made it the perfect place to have a nice time.


Getting there

We spent most of the first day driving in from London to Harlech. It took us about 5.5 hours to get there, longer than the 4.5 hours we were expecting. There was more traffic than we expected, all the way till Wolverhampton. Till then, the drive was mostly through highways and quite average. Though there were some sarson ke khet and cherry blossoms on the side providing some relief. But overall, nothing to write home about

Sheep and their lambs

Once we entered Wales, the drive became more scenic. It passed through small roads with bright green trees on the sides, and grass covered rolling hills everywhere, full of sheep and their lambs grazing next to them. The green was a bright shade as spring was just starting. And it felt very different than all the highways drive earlier.

The last part of the drive from Barmouth to Harlech was the topping on the cake. It was right next to the sea and breathtaking all the way. The road was lined with small villages on the narrow land patch between the mountains and the sea. The mountains were all full with yellow flowers dotting their one side and the bright blue sea was on the other. It also got sunny on the way and the views became even more stunning, especially when sunset time came. During this part of the drive, the train line also ran all along the sea and I am sure, the views from the trains must be even more fantastic. And it was the best way to ease into the relaxed life we were about to encounter the next three days. With picturesque views and a relaxed pace of life.


Harlech

Even though we were staying in Harlech, we went into town only once. The main village is located up a hill and it looks stunning. Especially its highlight, the Harlech Castle which sits atop the hill and is lighted at night. We saw the lighted Harlech castle every night while driving back and it looked heavenly.

One day we drove up and had a bit of an episode. Our car had weak brakes and the hand brake also got stuck on the drive up. So we ended up blocking the road up for a bit and stopped traffic. Anyways thanks to some helpful passersby, we were able to solve the problem, but didn’t drive up again 😜.

Castle at night

The castle had closed by then but we walked around the small town, and sat at a cafe which had the castle in the background, all lighted up during sunset. It was one of the best coffee backgrounds I have ever had. The castle on one side, and the flat lands below, against the sea which extended forever. It was definitely one of the lasting views from this trip. It felt nice to be there, as if time had almost stopped. And I loved the pace of life in that moment. You feel you are so far away from everything. In your own happy world…


Beaches

North Wales is known for its beaches. There are many around this area. The beaches are not really known for its warm waters, but this easter was so warm, that a lot of people were out on the beaches, and even in the water! If we had known, we would have planned accordingly too. We still went to a few of the beaches around but spent only a little time going into the water.

Shell Beach

The first day, we visited Shell Beach which was about 15 mins away from Harlech. The beach is a bit removed from the main road and is a huge establishment for campers. All around were people camping, fishing, kayaking, looking for shells and taking their dogs out for walks. It felt like a big mela. We drove into the area and walked to the beach which had small dunes next to the water. On one side were mountains with white houses dotted. And the water was full of waves. The water was coldish but not too bad. You could definitely put your feet in. We spent a few hours just chilling on the beach. And given the weather was bright and sunny, it felt amazing to sit there doing nothing. Even ice cream felt good at that time.

Harlech Beach

The last day while leaving for London, we drove to Harlech beach which was again full of people and a good place to hangout. We also drove to Barmouth beach which was a biggish town on the way. But since it was Easter and a sunny one at that, it was extremely crowded. We couldn’t even find a place to park our car and so left without getting out. But I think that may be a good place to hangout and shop too.


Nearby villages

There are tons of small villages and towns to explore nearby. They are nothing out of the extraordinary. Just cute little places to enjoy having a nice leisurely walk and meal in. Our first day, after checking in to our airbnb, we drove to to Porthmadog as it had a Tesco store there (and the only big supermarket around). It felt like a nice little town. It had a maritime museum and a small little river flowing through it, giving it a nice vibe. We walked around it a bit. And the drive from Harlech to Porthmadog was also interesting, narrow roads next to the sea. Always fun to drive at night 😜.

Random church in a village

One of the days, we went to the village of Portmeirion which is a fake village built in a picturesque Italian architecture style. It has been turned into a resort now and may be a good place to visit. We visited Portmeirion to go to one of the restaurants but they close by 5pm, so we couldn’t go in. But it may be something worth a visit. It also had a small castle right next to it which is a restaurant now. But that was also closed by the time we reached.

Tremadog

We also visited the village of Tremadog for dinner one night. It was a very small little charming village, nestled among high mountains on all sides. And offering great food options. Driving through all these villages is always a trek. The roads were all very narrow, some with stone walls on the sides. It was fun driving on small single car bridges, with bright green trees on both sides. On the way, there were lot of beaches next to the road. All very picturesque all the way.

Dinas Marwddwy

Our last day while coming back from Harlech to London, we stopped at Dinas Mawddwy, a small charming village on the way. We had lunch there and also spent some time near its river, soaking our feet in the cold running water. That's the thing with villages in UK. So many of them are picturesque, and perfect for spending a leisurely time. Not always offering a lot to do, but perfect for a nice relaxed sunny day. When all you want to do is nothing...


Mt Snowdon

My Snowdon is the highest mountain in Wales, and the park is named on it. We kept one day just for trekking Snowdon. This was my second attempt to go up Mt Snowdon. The first time we had come down as we had limited time that day. But this time, we made it.

The way up

We drove an hour, from Harlech towards the town of Llanberis. The drive was beautiful, through green valleys all the way. There are about 6 routes to go up the mountain, we took one of the easier ones which starts at Llanberis. This is the most touristy and crowded of the lot, full of people and and their dogs. And also has a train going up the mountain from the base. The total ascent on this route is about 950 metres, and the path is the least steep ones of the lot.

The path up

From Llanberis we started our trek up. It was steep initially, then a lot easier to walk up to the halfway point. And the second half of the trek was again quite steep, all the way till the peak. Throughout, we had stunning views of the dried mountains all around, and lakes dotting the landscape here and there. We also passed the Snowdon rail going up and down, ferrying passengers who didn’t want to walk up 😁. It took us about 3.5 hours to reach the summit. And then we sat for some time at the peak, just taking in the calmness of being at the top.

Lakes up the way

Overall, the weather was gorgeous that day, it was sunny and hot all the way up. Which made it tough as well as easy at the same time to trek. It definitely made for some gorgeous views of valleys and lakes on the way. And so the route was quite crowded, full of people making full use of the good weather to go up the mountain. And along with them were tons of dogs, running all the way up. It took up about 2.5 hours to walk down, and we were tired by the end of it. Given our brakes didn't work too well, we hurried back soon after the trek to reach home before dark. And this was the best day of the trip.

My Snowdon is definitely one of the easier treks to do, not too long and not too steep either. A definite must-do if you ever visit the park.


Our accommodation

We were staying in an airbnb in the town of Harlech. Unfortunately, it wasn’t on the town hill but on the flat lands in a holiday homes areas. The place was beautiful and well maintained. And it had a garden outside, where it was sunny and hot in the mornings. And it felt lovely to sit there having a leisurely breakfast. The weekend was surprisingly hot for an Easter weekend and it felt luxurious just to be able to eat outside every morning.


Eating options

We mostly cooked and ate food in our airbnb except one day when we ate at Y Sgwar in Tremadog, a small village where we had gone exploring. We were pleasantly surprised by the food, it was like fine dining in the middle of nowhere. And I would recommend it anytime.


Map




The weekend spent in North Wales was an extreme delight. Totally unplanned but still turning out to be a very active holiday. I loved the variety of options there were of things to do - beaches, mountains, castles, eating, trekking etc.. A great find, and I can see it as a place I can go back to again.