Llanberis sits at the foot of Snowdon, Yr Wyddfa in Welsh, beside the lake of Llyn Padarn, and across the water a whole mountainside has been carved into giant terraces. This is the Dinorwic quarry, once one of the largest slate quarries in the world, where thousands of men worked until it closed in 1969, splitting slate for roofs across Britain and beyond. The galleries climb the mountain in steps, with inclines, ruined buildings and waste heaps everywhere, a landscape both scarred and strangely beautiful. In 2021, UNESCO inscribed the Slate Landscape of Northwest Wales, recognising the quarries, villages, railways and harbours that made this region the slate capital of the world.
The National Slate Museum, housed in the quarry's old workshops at Gilfach Ddu, tells the story of the industry, with demonstrations of slate splitting, the giant waterwheel that powered the machinery, and a row of quarrymen's houses furnished from different periods. Inside the mountain next to the quarry, a hydroelectric power station, Dinorwig, was built in the 1970s and 1980s in huge caverns, using water pumped between two lakes. Llanberis is also the starting point of the Snowdon Mountain Railway, which climbs to the summit, and the ruined tower of Dolbadarn Castle stands on a rock above the lake.
The riding here is some of the best in Britain. The Llanberis Pass, the A4086, climbs from the town through a narrow valley between towering crags, with tight bends, steep gradients and spectacular scenery, before descending toward Capel Curig and Betws-y-Coed. The road is busy in summer with tourists, walkers and climbers, and parking is tight, so ride early or late. Other routes through Snowdonia, such as the roads to Beddgelert and Nant Gwynant, are equally beautiful. Weather in the mountains is unpredictable, with rain, wind and low cloud common, so carry waterproofs.
Llanberis has cafés, pubs and shops, and fuel is available in the village or in larger towns like Caernarfon, about eleven kilometres away. Try a hearty Welsh breakfast, a slice of bara brith, a fruit loaf, or a pint in one of the climbers' pubs. Visit the slate museum, look across the lake at the quarry terraces, and then ride the pass. It is a landscape shaped by hard work and natural grandeur, and it is unforgettable.