Why this ride
A 140 km round trip from Beaumaris - roughly 2 h 36 in the saddle. It goes by way of The Slate Landscape of Northwest Wales, Gorseddau and Prince of Wales Slate Quarri and back through The Slate Landscape of Northwest Wales.
CURVESCOUT / MOTORCYCLE RIDE
Beaumaris Castle and Gorseddau and Prince of Wales Slate Quarri
Plan this ride
- Recorded distance
- 140 km
- Riding-time estimate
- 2 h 36
- Journey
- Recorded itinerary
Distance and timing basis
Ordered leg totals agree within rounding. Stop distances are approximate sums of rounded legs. Stops, delays, approach and any separate return travel add time. Basis: producer-declared routed record.
Reading history stays on this device. My road watch requires a separate selection; opening it does not subscribe this ride.
Distance and riding time are measured on the routed road. Check local closures and conditions before you ride.
Scenic road chapters
Snowdonia Llanberis Pass
22 km through ground somebody thought worth listing. The road passes it rather than bypassing it — speed drops and stays down. Park rather than crawl through.
Chapter facts
- Length
- 28 km
- Named road
- Snowdonia Llanberis Pass
Snowdonia Llanberis Pass
For about 42 km this is Snowdonia Llanberis Pass, a road with a name of its own and a reason for it. Expect company on a summer weekend. Early is better than fast.
Rider note
Check the pass is open before you commit to it.
Chapter facts
- Length
- 42 km
- Named road
- Snowdonia Llanberis Pass
- Pass
- Pen y Pass
Waypoint introductions and full write-ups
1. Beaumaris Castle
Beaumaris is often called the most perfect castle never finished. Edward I began it in 1295 on the shore of Anglesey, at the northern entrance to the Menai Strait, as the last of his great chain of fortresses built to hold down Wales after his conquest. His architect, Master James of St George, designed it as a perfectly symmetrical concentric castle: an inner ring of high walls and towers, an outer ring of lower walls, and a moat linked to the sea so that supply ships could sail up to a dock at the gate. Money ran out, the Scottish wars took priority, and the towers never reached their planned height. Even so, it is a masterpiece of military design, and with the castles of Conwy, Caernarfon and Harlech it is listed by UNESCO.
Read the complete Beaumaris Castle write-up.
Recorded stop-planning note
May refer to an earlier itinerary; verify against your selected route before riding.
Planning note
Beaumaris Castle is where the day begins. Next is The Slate Landscape of Northwest Wales.
2. The Slate Landscape of Northwest Wales
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.
Read the complete The Slate Landscape of Northwest Wales write-up.
Recorded stop-planning note
May refer to an earlier itinerary; verify against your selected route before riding.
Planning note
The Slate Landscape of Northwest Wales comes up about 28 km into the recorded legs. Next is Gorseddau and Prince of Wales Slate Quarri.
3. Gorseddau and Prince of Wales Slate Quarri
High above Porthmadog, in the empty upland between Cwm Pennant and Cwmystradllyn, two abandoned slate quarries sit like ruined castles on the hillside. Gorseddau and the Prince of Wales quarry are part of the Slate Landscape of Northwest Wales, which UNESCO listed in 2021, and they tell a story of big hopes and quick failure. Gorseddau in particular was developed in the 1850s with money and ambition, a tramway and a grand multi-storey mill at Ynys-y-Pandy whose roofless stone shell still looks like an abbey. The slate turned out to be poor, and within a couple of decades the whole enterprise had wound down.
Read the complete Gorseddau and Prince of Wales Slate Quarri write-up.
Recorded stop-planning note
May refer to an earlier itinerary; verify against your selected route before riding.
Planning note
about 70 km into the recorded legs you reach Gorseddau and Prince of Wales Slate Quarri. Next is back through The Slate Landscape of Northwest Wales.
4. back through The Slate Landscape of Northwest Wales
Return visit. Read the place description above.
Read the complete The Slate Landscape of Northwest Wales write-up.
Recorded stop-planning note
May refer to an earlier itinerary; verify against your selected route before riding.
Planning note
back through The Slate Landscape of Northwest Wales, late in the day. Next is Beaumaris Castle.
5. Beaumaris Castle
Return visit. Read the place description above.
Read the complete Beaumaris Castle write-up.
Recorded stop-planning note
May refer to an earlier itinerary; verify against your selected route before riding.
Planning note
Back at Beaumaris Castle. That is the ride.
Leg by leg
Beaumaris Castle to The Slate Landscape of Northwest Wales
Beaumaris Castle → The Slate Landscape of Northwest Wales is 28 km of rhythm rather than effort. Let it flow and let the view breathe.
The Slate Landscape of Northwest Wales to Gorseddau and Prince of Wales Slate Quarri
The Slate Landscape of Northwest Wales → Gorseddau and Prince of Wales Slate Quarri is 42 km of rhythm rather than effort. Let it flow and let the view breathe.
Gorseddau and Prince of Wales Slate Quarri to back through The Slate Landscape of Northwest Wales
Gorseddau and Prince of Wales Slate Quarri → back through The Slate Landscape of Northwest Wales is 42 km of rhythm rather than effort. Let it flow and let the view breathe.
back through The Slate Landscape of Northwest Wales to Beaumaris Castle
back through The Slate Landscape of Northwest Wales → Beaumaris Castle is 28 km of rhythm rather than effort. Let it flow and let the view breathe.