Why this ride
A 272 km round trip from Deganwy - roughly 4 h 58 in the saddle. It goes by way of Beaumaris Castle, The Slate Landscape of Northwest Wales, Gorseddau and Prince of Wales Slate Quarri and Ffestiniog: its Slate Mines and Quarries.
CURVESCOUT / MOTORCYCLE RIDE
Conwy Castle and Town Walls and Ffestiniog: its Slate Mines and Quarries
Plan this ride
- Recorded distance
- 272 km
- Riding-time estimate
- 4 h 58
- 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
- 24 km
- Named road
- Snowdonia Llanberis Pass
Snowdonia Llanberis Pass
For about 41 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
- 41 km
- Named road
- Snowdonia Llanberis Pass
- Pass
- Pen y Pass
Waypoint introductions and full write-ups
1. Conwy Castle and Town Walls
Edward I built Conwy Castle in just four years, from 1283 to 1287, as part of his campaign to subdue the Welsh, and the result is one of the most impressive medieval fortresses in Europe. Designed by the master mason James of St George, it stands on a rock above the estuary of the Conwy river, with eight massive towers and high curtain walls, and the town below is still enclosed by its original walls, with twenty-one towers and three gateways. Walking along the walls gives superb views of the town, the castle, the estuary and the mountains of Snowdonia. The castles and town walls of King Edward in Gwynedd were inscribed on the UNESCO list in 1986.
Read the complete Conwy Castle and Town Walls write-up.
Recorded stop-planning note
May refer to an earlier itinerary; verify against your selected route before riding.
Planning note
Conwy Castle and Town Walls is where the day begins. Next is Beaumaris Castle.
2. 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 comes up about 40 km into the recorded legs. Next is The Slate Landscape of Northwest Wales.
3. 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
about 64 km into the recorded legs you reach The Slate Landscape of Northwest Wales. Next is Gorseddau and Prince of Wales Slate Quarri.
4. 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
Gorseddau and Prince of Wales Slate Quarri, about halfway. Next is Ffestiniog: its Slate Mines and Quarries.
5. Ffestiniog: its Slate Mines and Quarries
Blaenau Ffestiniog is a town built on, among and out of slate. Great grey tips of waste rock tumble down the mountainsides around it, old quarry inclines climb the slopes, and the houses, chapels and walls are all made of the same dark stone. For a century and more this was one of the slate capitals of the world, roofing houses from London to Melbourne, and since 2021 it has been part of the UNESCO-listed Slate Landscape of Northwest Wales. It is not pretty in the conventional sense, but it is magnificent, and on a day of sun breaking through rain clouds it can look like a lunar landscape lit by spotlights.
Read the complete Ffestiniog: its Slate Mines and Quarries write-up.
Recorded stop-planning note
May refer to an earlier itinerary; verify against your selected route before riding.
Planning note
Ffestiniog: its Slate Mines and Quarries sits at 85 km, about halfway. Next is back through Gorseddau and Prince of Wales Slate Quarri.
6. back through Gorseddau and Prince of Wales Slate Quarri
Return visit. Read the place description above.
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
back through Gorseddau and Prince of Wales Slate Quarri comes up about 162 km into the recorded legs. Next is back through The Slate Landscape of Northwest Wales.
7. 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
about 204 km into the recorded legs you reach back through The Slate Landscape of Northwest Wales. Next is back through Beaumaris Castle.
8. back through 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 through Beaumaris Castle, late in the day. Next is Conwy Castle and Town Walls.
9. Conwy Castle and Town Walls
Return visit. Read the place description above.
Read the complete Conwy Castle and Town Walls write-up.
Recorded stop-planning note
May refer to an earlier itinerary; verify against your selected route before riding.
Planning note
The route ends here after 272 km.
Leg by leg
Conwy Castle and Town Walls to Beaumaris Castle
Conwy Castle and Town Walls → Beaumaris Castle is 40 km of rhythm rather than effort. Let it flow and let the view breathe.
Beaumaris Castle to The Slate Landscape of Northwest Wales
Beaumaris Castle → The Slate Landscape of Northwest Wales is 24 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 41 km of rhythm rather than effort. Let it flow and let the view breathe.
Gorseddau and Prince of Wales Slate Quarri to Ffestiniog: its Slate Mines and Quarries
Gorseddau and Prince of Wales Slate Quarri → Ffestiniog: its Slate Mines and Quarries is 29 km of rhythm rather than effort. Let it flow and let the view breathe.
Ffestiniog: its Slate Mines and Quarries to back through Gorseddau and Prince of Wales Slate Quarri
Ffestiniog: its Slate Mines and Quarries → back through Gorseddau and Prince of Wales Slate Quarri is 28 km of rhythm rather than effort. Let it flow and let the view breathe.
back through Gorseddau and Prince of Wales Slate Quarri to back through The Slate Landscape of Northwest Wales
back through 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 back through Beaumaris Castle
back through The Slate Landscape of Northwest Wales → back through Beaumaris Castle is 25 km of rhythm rather than effort. Let it flow and let the view breathe.
back through Beaumaris Castle to Conwy Castle and Town Walls
back through Beaumaris Castle → Conwy Castle and Town Walls is 43 km of rhythm rather than effort. Let it flow and let the view breathe.