Ffordd Cambria The Cambrian Way An epic journey through our mountainous heartland Plynlimon thewalesway.com Where is Wales? Getting here. Wales is accessible to all major UK cities including London, Birmingham, Manchester and Liverpool. Wales is served by its own international airport, Cardiff International Airport (CWL) which has more than 50 direct routes, including major European cities and over 1,000 world wide connecting destinations. Wales is also easily served by Bristol (BRS), Birmingham (BHX), Manchester (MAN) and Liverpool (LPL) airports. 2 hours by train from London 3 hours by motorway from central London, 1 hour by road from Liverpool, Manchester, Bristol and Birmingham. Cardiff Airport has direct flights across Europe and global links via Doha, Schipol and Dublin Airports. cardiff-airport.com Direct ferry links from Irish ports. Whilst every effort has been made to ensure accuracy in this publication, the publishers can accept no liability whatsoever for any errors, inaccuracies, or omissions, or for any matter in any way connected with or arising out of the publication of the information. Please check all prices and facilities before making your booking. When you’ve finished with the guide please forward to a friend or place in a suitable recycling container. 2 Go The Wales Way The Wales Way is one Epic journey, three distinct routes – The North Wales Way, The Coastal Way and The Cambrian Way – that lead you across castle country, along the coast and through our mountainous heartland. The Cambrian Way criss-crosses the spine of Wales for 185 miles/ 300km between Llandudno and Cardiff. We’ve broken the journey into bite-sized chunks as it passes through the various tourism destinations in Wales – Conwy County, Snowdonia Mountains and Coast, Powys, Brecon Beacons National Park, Merthyr Tydfil, Rhondda Cynon Taf and Cardiff. And within each destination we feature places to visit all year under the headings Adventure, Culture and Heritage and Outdoors and Landscape. Please don’t think that this ‘Way’ is set in stone. It has been designed as a framework, with lots of opportunities to go off-route and explore further and deeper. Enjoy the journey What’s inside 04 Conwy County 08 Snowdonia Mountains and Coast 12 Powys 16 Brecon Beacons National Park 20 Merthyr Tydfil 24 Rhondda Cynon Taf 28 Cardiff 32 Adventure details & map 34 Culture and Heritage details & map 36 Outdoors and Landscape details & map 38 Cambrian Way Images Back cover: The Wales Way overview Further information can be found at: thewalesway.com The North Wales Way The Coastal Way The Cambrian Way 3 The Cambrian Way: Conwy County At The Cambrian Way’s northern gateway, Conwy County’s blend of coast and countryside is the perfect introduction to your Welsh journey. With handsome Victorian seaside resorts, mighty World Heritage castles and lush, wooded valleys, the landscape changes by the mile. With a host of unique places to visit, you’ll find plenty of reasons to stop and explore. Llandudno visitconwy.org.uk 4 thewalesway.com 5 Adventure Go Below You don’t need the sea to surf. Nestled in the green Conwy Valley, Adventure Parc Snowdonia’s inland surfing lagoon (a world’s first) serves up perfect swell on demand thanks to its revolutionary ‘Wavegarden’ technology. If you prefer to stay dry, there’s also Adrenaline Indoors, an all-action, all-weather attraction with climbing walls, swings, slides and artificial caves. Adventure Parc Snowdonia Culture and heritage For the finest in contemporary art, head to MOSTYN in Llandudno, where a grand Edwardian façade topped with a gleaming golden spire gives way to a collection of airy, angular contemporary interior spaces. These striking galleries provide a perfect backdrop for a shifting programme of exhibitions featuring work by artists from Wales and beyond. Take to the trees at Zip World Fforest near MOSTYN Betws-y-Coed. Navigate the canopy on a thrilling series of ziplines, nets and walkways strung 60ft/18m above the ground, or swing high over the landscape on the five-seater Skyride. Still want more? Then hop on the high-speed Fforest Coaster, which uses the power of gravity to take you on a twisting journey through the woods. Zip World Fforest Standing tall above the town for over 700 years, Conwy Castle’s sheer battlements and soaring towers still pack a punch. Climb the spiral staircases of this World Heritage Site for superb long-range views of Snowdonia, the Conwy Estuary and North Wales coast, then take a walk along the top of the town walls stretching in an almost unbroken 0.8-mile/1.3km ring around Conwy’s medieval heart. There’s underground action at Go Below, also Conwy Castle close to Betws-y-Coed, where former slate mines have been reborn as a vast subterranean assault course. You’ll traverse dark caverns on ladders and bridges, zipline across yawning chasms, travel by boat over blue underground lakes and abseil to the deepest spot in the UK (an amazing 1,300ft/396m below the surface). 6 Hidden in the hills above Penmachno, the National Set in the heart of the Conwy Valley, beautiful Trust’s Tŷ Mawr Wybrnant has a history that belies Bodnant Garden’s manicured lawns, wildflower its humble appearance. Around 1540, this simple meadows, exotic trees and dense woodlands burst stone farmhouse was the birthplace of William with vibrant colours that shift with each season. Morgan, who would go on to become a bishop Build up an appetite as you explore, then pop into and first translator of the Bible into Welsh, helping Bodnant Welsh Food Centre to take your pick to secure the future of our mother tongue. from a mouthwatering array of local produce. Ty Mawr Wybrnant Bodnant Gardens Outdoors and landscapes See the landscape in action at Swallow Falls The rugged mini-mountain of Great Orme rears in Betws-y-Coed, a famous beauty spot where up 679ft/207m above the waves just a stone’s the River Llugwy tumbles through a narrow, throw from Llandudno’s seafront. Reached on tree-lined ravine. It’s a spectacular sight all year foot, by car, cable car or Victorian tramway, it’s round, but at its most dramatic during the a haven for wildlife (watch out for rare silver- winter months when the waters crash over studded blue butterflies and the population of the rocks in a series of foaming cascades. shaggy Kashmiri goats) and a lofty vantage point for stunning sea and mountain views. It’s also Swallow Falls home to the world’s oldest metal mines open to the public, where you can explore prehistoric tunnels leading to an amazing cavern. Great Orme Bronze Age Mines For further information on things to do and where to stay go to: visitconwy.org.uk 7 The Cambrian Way: Snowdonia Mountains and Coast From the soaring summits of the Snowdonia National Park to dramatic caverns deep beneath the earth, Snowdonia Mountains and Coast's stretch of The Cambrian Way engages at every level. Set off on a journey that includes world-leading adventure activities, immersive industrial heritage, stories from our legendary past and revealing glimpses into our rich cultural traditions. Snowdonia National Park visitsnowdonia.info 8 thewalesway.com 9 Adventure Bounce Below, Blaenau Ffestiniog The distinctive silhouette of Cader Idris, the fabled ‘Chair of Idris’ the giant, dominates the skyline above Dolgellau in the southern reaches of the Snowdonia National Park. Take a closer look with a walk up to its rugged 2,930ft/893m summit, accessible via the longer and easier Llanfihangel y Pennant Path or the short, sharp Minffordd Path. Cader Idris, Dolgellau Culture and heritage Blaenau Ffestiniog is also home to Llechwedd, where you can take a deep dive into our industrial heritage as you venture beneath the mountain on a tour of former slate mines (accessed via a ride on the steepest cable railway in the UK). Then, continue your exploration back on the surface with a bouncing 4x4 truck For thrills on two wheels head to mountain ride through vast, rubble-strewn quarries. bike mecca Coed y Brenin Forest Park. The first and largest dedicated mountain biking Llechwedd Slate Caverns centre in the UK, it lays on a vast range of trails for novices and experts alike – plus bike hire facilities and a cosy café where you can recharge after a day in the saddle. Coed Y Brenin There’s more underground adventure at King Arthur’s Labyrinth in Corris. A magical boat ride carries you into the dark depths where stories from Wales’s legendary past come to life. You’ll discover a mythical world of dragons and giants – and hear tales of Arthur, The historic slate mining town of Blaenau Ffestiniog Britain’s fabled ‘once and future king’. has a new lease of life as a world-leading activity King Arthur's Labrynth hotspot. Take to the skies at Zip World Titan, Europe’s largest zip zone, where you can reach speeds of 70mph/112kph as you fly above the jagged landscape. Then go underground at Bounce Below, an exhilarating network of nets and trampolines strung across enormous slate caverns. 10 Perched on a hillside near Trawsfynydd, the Travel at a different pace on the historic narrow- little farmhouse of Yr Ysgwrn tells a big gauge Talyllyn Railway, which puffs its way from story. The former home of celebrated poet the seaside town of Tywyn to the wooded ravine Hedd Wyn, who died during World War One, of Nant Gwernol, passing through a patchwork it’s both an evocative exploration of Welsh of rolling, hill-studded countryside as it goes. The bardic traditions and a revealing insight into railway takes its name from the glacial lake, one rural life in early 20th-century Wales.