The Penrhyn Quarry is a hole you can see from a long way off. For much of the nineteenth century it was the biggest slate quarry in the world, a huge series of grey terraces cut into the mountain above Bethesda, and the roofs of half of Britain and of cities as far away as Hamburg after its great fire came from here. Its owner, Lord Penrhyn, was a rich and stubborn man, and in 1900 his quarrymen began a strike that lasted three years, one of the longest and bitterest labour disputes in British history. The community of Bethesda, named after a chapel, was split by it, and the memories are still sensitive. The whole slate landscape of north-west Wales was listed by UNESCO in 2021.
The town itself is built of slate, with long grey terraces, chapels and a high street that climbs the valley side. Welsh is the everyday language, and you will hear it in the shops and cafes. The quarry is partly still working, and part has been turned over to adventure sports, including a very long zip wire that crosses the pit. It is worth stopping to look at the scale of the place from a viewpoint, and the colour of the water in the flooded levels is a startling blue.
Bethesda sits at the head of the Ogwen Valley, and the road beyond it, the A5, is one of the best in Wales. Thomas Telford built it as the London to Holyhead coach road, and it climbs through the Nant Ffrancon pass, a deep U-shaped valley carved by a glacier, with a view up to the peaks of the Carneddau and Glyderau. The surface is good, the corners long and flowing, and the mountains close on both sides. Tryfan, a jagged rock peak, rises beside the road and draws walkers and climbers. Rain, cloud and sheep are all common, and the wind on the pass can be fierce.
Bethesda has nearly five thousand people, so a petrol station is likely, but Bangor, seven kilometres away, is the safe choice for fuel and food. A cafe on the high street serves a bacon roll and a mug of tea that will see you through the pass. In summer the lay-bys at Ogwen Lake fill with cars, and early morning is quieter. Bring a waterproof, and treat the view as part of the ride.