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.

Snowdonia National Park in Wales

This summer, we spent a long leisurely weekend in Snowdonia National Park in a cottage in the town of Dolgellau. Getting to Dolgellau wasn't as easy though, as there are no car rentals available at night at any of the train stations nearby. So we took a train to Birmingham and then drove about 2.5 hours to reach Dolgellau.

Park landscape

Snowdonia National Park is huge, covering half the length of Wales. The highlight of the Park is the Snowdon Mountain, apparently the highest mountain in Wales and England. Other than that, there are green hills, beaches and quaint villages dotting the Park. There are many activities to do in the Park: trekking, water-sports, castles, relaxing on the beach or just enjoying a nice meal in any of the little road-side inns.

We did a little bit of trekking near Dolgellau, half the trek up Snowdon Mountain and some timepass at one of the beaches near Dolgellau, so all in all a relaxed weekend with some activity here and there (and a lot of driving!).

Park landscape

The weather for 2 of the 3 days we were there was not sunny but the area looked just beautiful when the sun came out! Pristine green hills all around dotted with white sheep and rivers and lakes. But the sun was so rare, we saw very few of those Kodak moments!

The first day, we spent half the day in Dolgellau looking for something to eat!! It would be wrong to call it a town, its actually just a small village with very limited eating options. Finally, a breakfast place offering burgers and pizzas saved us! Thankfully they had a Spar superstore in the village too which saved us from hunger for the rest of the trip!!

Precipice trail

Near Dolgellau, we did a short 2 hour trek on the Precipice trail. Its a beautiful trail taking you through fields filled with sheep, next to a small lake and finally finishing around a hill with views till afar. You can see the shore and the sea coming inland too, from the top of the trail.

View from Precipice trail

View of Llanberis

The next day, we did half of the trek up Snowdon Mountain. The trek starts from the town of Llanberis and it takes about 4-5 hours to go up and come down. Due to a time limitation, we did only part of the trek. Be aware though, the first part of the trek is very steep but it gets a lot better as you move on. The mountain was bare with limited vegetation, so nothing much to see while trekking up. The views of Llanberis and the lake were pretty though!

Train up Snowdon

There is also an option to take the train up the mountain (for the lazy ones!). I would suggest that its better to walk up as its not too tough, though the train ride does look cute and romantic! Also, the train has very limited runs during non-peak times, so its always a good idea to check the schedule and book in advance if you still want to use it. Also point to note is its generally much colder at the peak than the bottom, so would suggest all to go up fully prepared.

While we were going up, we ran into multiple people coming down dressed as superheroes. Don't know if there was a superhero convention happening at the peak or not, nonetheless it was an interesting sight. While coming down, we also stopped at the Snowdon inn on the way which offers some tasty Welsh scones for tired souls.

Barmouth

The last day we did some sightseeing, visited the beach at Barmouth, a beautiful little (but crowded) town and then drove upto the Harlech castle which was just ok-ish. We did eat at the best ice-cream shop in town though (in a town of 500 people!) and bought tasty freshly made fudge, the benefits of life in the slow lane.

Harlech Castle

View from Harlech

We drove around a lot in the Park too, taking in the sights of green fields filled with sheep (yet again!) all around, running into lakes every few miles. We drove through the Hay (?) valley which looked very beautiful and worth visiting and staying in sometime in the future.

Park landscape

We landed up in the town of Betws-y-Coed while trying to catch a train to London and it seemed very romantic and lovely. I guess its a good place to stay if you visit Snowdonia, was so lively and well decorated! We also landed in the town of Shrewsbury just outside the park, and ate at Saffron, a "renowned" Bangladeshi restaurant. Even that tasted good when you haven't had Indian food for a couple of days. (Also, would definitely advice anyone going to Wales to check the train schedule carefully as they have very limited services on Sundays. We ended up having to drive around a lot to catch a train!)

Other than the places we visited, there are many other treks to explore, cycling tracks to cycle on, coasteering to do across the cliffs and beautiful castles to visit. There is a Go-Ape site also located near Dolgellau which was closed when we visited it but might be an interesting activity.

Park landscape

The rest of the time, we just spent in our cottage which was a beautiful two-storeyed house overlooking the town with a glassed skylight room to sit and enjoy the view. This was my second time staying in a cottage and I loved it. Feels so homely and cosy, definite way to go vacationing in UK.  After the relaxed three days, we drove back to Birmingham and then to London, leaving all the green fields behind. Even a weekend in the countryside relaxes you so much, should do it more often!

London Weekend Getaways

(P.S. This post is specially for all those friends of mine who love to hate London and the UK!!)

Inspite of what most people like to say, there are quite a number of nice places to visit in and around London, enough to keep you busy for years at least. Given how small the country is, thats not too bad would say?!! And there is the entire gamut of options, beaches, mountains (small ones for sure), islands, castles, history, architecture, rural English life (I love it always),English culture (whatever there is, that is!!), nice drives, adventure sports, party places, actually a lot of change to get away from mundane city life....

Anyways here are a couple of places I visited over the last few years.. All day trips, too short and always with the intention of visiting again, but that never happens, does it :)?

BRIGHTON

Brighton is a beach town to the south side of London, about 1-2 hours by train or bus. There are regular buses and trains from London, so quite easy to reach.

It apparently used to be where the elite in old England used to relax and have balls and party during the summer, but somehow I did not find the place as regal as I expected it to be (at least that's how it sounded in all the novels!)!

The Brighton beach is a rocky beach, and the water is warm enough to swim only sometimes of the year.

The riverside road is a good walk though. Then there is the Brighton pier on the sea, which has some joy rides, jugglers, games rooms etc. There is this one ride on the pier, where you are in a car, and the car turns only just before the end of the pier! Quite an experience, as you get the feeling you are about to fall into the water

Then there is the Brighton palace, which actually is built in the Arabian style! Its just next to the beach.

There is also an aquarium if you want to spend time there. Otherwise, don't think that much to do here, I actually did some mast shopping in Brighton though, its cheaper than London for sure:). Rest was just walking around a bit. All these beach towns in the UK are actually quite similar. You see the same thing everywhere, and while during the day is full of activity, the town gets all empty very soon in the evening, and then feels completely dead!

BRISTOL

Aha, now that was one interesting trip! Bristol is to the West of London, again a 2-3 hour bus journey if I remember correctly.

Its like any other English town I guess, only difference for me was that we landed up there, on a Friday night with a gang of about 7-8 friends, and that too on St. Patricks Day! I can vouch for one thing, being a University town, the people there really party! and there are hajaar places for that too!

Well, don't remember too much of what we did there actually, other than party crazily the whole night till 5 am!!

There were a couple of places we went too, all of them were full of people in green, partying and making a LOT of noise. Most of the places we went to were all near the waterways, next to the sea.

Not sure if much to do in the city otherwise, there is this one bridge which people go to have a look.

And a Concorde kept as an exhibition. Its actually surprising, how one of the most unimpressive of towns turned out to be the best party time I ever had in UK!

BATH & STONEHENGE

These two places are done by people together mostly, as Stonehenge is on the way to Bath itself. Stonehenge is about 1-2 hours drive from London. The drive is good, bright green meadows, interspersed by small houses and lot of sheep. And in the middle of nowhere, from far away, you will see this Wonder of the World: A group of stones just standing on a hill-top, in what seems to be a random manner, but when you go close, you can see the pattern in the randomness.

The stones in each of the circles are of different varieties brought from across the oceans (they are not available in UK), and arranged in 3-4 concentric circles.

They would have been on the same height but as of now, some are broken and some are fallen. The use of this structure is not known to anyone, except a lot of guesses. You can actually go near the stones, but you are not allowed to touch them. Also, you can get the audio guide to give you more details about the structure.

Am not sure if most people would like this place or not, but I did. Actually went there thrice! Its a very different kind of monument (if you can call it that), something have never seen elsewhere.

Its location is also quite picturesque, a look at the view around is enough to make me happy. So not sure if you would like it or not, at least I loved it. If you like such kind of historical places, only then you should go there!

Bath however is a different ballgame altogether. I actually love this old Victorian type of town. Given that London has become so cosmopolitan now, its this town where you actually get a glimpse of the world that Jane Austen has written about and we've read for ages. Is a town, where I wanted to stay at least once, but never got a chance to!

In Bath, you can visit the Roman Baths, which exist from 2000 years ago.

They are hot springs, which are still active and were built by the Romans in the BCs when they overran the country. Its been renovated now, with Roman statues all around, and the undergrounds remains of old temples etc. Worth a visit. There are some other baths also still functional nearby, where people go even now for medicinal purposes.

The Bath cathedral is also just next to the Royal Baths. Its a huge cathedral and similar to most of the other cathedrals you would see in England. There are street artists there quite often, showing off their arts.

The Bath market is interesting too to walk around, and generally walking around in the town is fun too. There is a museum also, showing British costumes over the ages, but we did not see it. The Royal crescent is also quite impressive.

Otherwise you can just roam around in the city, and take in the old English royal air.
Would recommend this place to everyone who goes to UK, its a completely different experience!

BOURNEMOUTH

Bournemouth is a couple of hours away from London, another of those relaxing beach places near London. Its another of those south England beach towns, and similar to Brighton.

We went there, ate dinner, walked around, saw a movie and came back. Saw a marathon happening on the beach though, with people running in costumes! That was a different sight. Otherwise, its just similar to all the other beach towns in the south of London, to have a good relaxing weekend, walking on the beach, swimming and generally exploring the town.

ISLE OF WIGHT

The first thing you need to know, is that there are many ways to reach Isle of Wight from London, so please plan to go there by the most efficient route! saves a lot of time:)

Take a train from London to Portsmouth and a ferry from there to Isle of Wight. If I remember correctly, the same ticket works for the ferry and the train.

Also remember before you go there,

that all the tourists you would find in the island are 50 or more years old, and enjoying their old life! It actually shocks you the first time you see this, only old people around you. There is a beach there, where you would find tons of old people, hotels are full of them, and that's about it. We went there on a weekend, had a lazy time there, and did nothing. Frankly, that's all I remember of this trip, nothing more. There are a couple of places to visit, castles, beaches etc, maybe you can catch those. Else just enjoy a lazy weekend like the rest of UK is doing there:)

LEEDS CASTLE

Dunno why this castle is sooo famous, but anyways went there to tickmark before leaving UK:).

Its a small castle, with a long history of having passed through interesting hands over the years, and the castle is one of the still preserved ones. Its in the middle of a small lake and with gardens all around. Apparently there are some black swans there, which we did not see. The grounds around are beautiful though, well groomed, with a small zoo with exotic animals and birds kept there. When the weather is good, they even have bird shows there! Going there isn't the easiest though, for one, its NOT located in the town of Leeds (as most people would think!). You need to take a train and then a shuttle from the station to the castle. Its about 2-3 hours from London.

OXFORD and CAMBRIDGE

Oxford and Cambridge are the two famous university towns of UK.

They are awesome to walk through, the atmosphere is completely different. Both have multiple colleges, libraries etc which can be visited.

Cambridge has the river flowing through the town where you can punt in the raft which Cambridge students would be glad to oblige. The whole atmosphere of the place is so calm and slow, of the days as a strudent when having enough time wasn't as rare, as it is now.. These places remind you of days long past.

WALES:ST DAVID AND SWANSEA

Wales is awesome! Sad though, I din get to travel there too much.

We drove from Bath to Swansea,

on a summer weekend and it turned out all the hotels were booked! There is a row of hotels on the beachfront there, amazing location and lots of options too (still always a good idea to book early!). There is a light house where you can drive to. And a pier with the same rides etc. Beautiful.. Calm..Serene..

There on, we drove till St David, which is the end of Wales.

There is a very old church there, here is the photo.On the way. there was a lot of camping sites, as well as adventure sports possible (which as always I wanted to go back to and never did!).

WINDSOR

Windsor is famous for the Windsor castle and is about an hour or so from London.

This is the castle where the Queen and her family still reside (other than the Buckingham Palace). You can see some of the treasures collected over the years by the Royal family, as well as the royal rooms. If lucky you can also spot the Queen having tea in the gardens.

And being photographed next to the Red soldiers is a must-do too! You can also visit the Ascot race course as well as the famous Eton school here. Very small English town life again:)

YORK

A town, very similar to Bath in one way, that it was English for one! Another town I just loved! The York cathedral is huge, and one of the most famous ones of UK.

The cathedral has actually been built thrice in history, starting from the Roman times.

It still retains three separate levels underground, showing the three different periods of its history.

The York market is fun.

Walking in the narrow streets of the market, selling all kinds of stuff and not just branded shops on both sides.

You can even walk on the wall surrounding the city, which gives a view of how it would have been earlier. The York museum is good too, I loved this the most, a view of how the Victorian street must have looked like ages ago!

OTHERS

There are a couple more of places I visited or heard of which I would like to share with you.
- Dover on the south coast, for the cliffs (the view as shown in some movies is spectacular)
- You can actually hire a houseboat and travel along the waterways of UK, staying on the boat itself and exploring the country interiors.
- Cotswald is the village county, near London and supposed to be the best way to experience the rural English life
- Liverpool has the old port, which was the lifeline of the city,

as well as the birthplace of the Beatles. You can check out the Beatles museum. Liverpool is also the Cultural Capital of the world for 2009.
- A trip to Birmingham and Leicester to see the Indianised parts in UK:)


In all these places, it would be advisable to stay at the bed and breakfasts. They have very good homely service, and the rooms are generally very well kept also. Its a good way to interact with the locals too, except all the owners are old Englishmen and women! Also, you should definitely eat the English breakfast at these places: scrambled eggs, mashed potatoes, bakes beans, hash brown and half tomato. Yumm!