Gorseddau and Prince of Wales Slate Quarri and Castles and Town Walls of King Edward in G

Scenic road chapters

Waypoint introductions and full write-ups

1. 1. 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 is where the day begins. Next is Caernarfon Castle and Town Walls.

2. 2. Caernarfon Castle and Town Walls

   Long before Edward, Caernarfon was Roman, and before that it was legend. The Roman fort of Segontium stood on a hill above the modern town, a garrison post guarding the Menai Strait and the copper of Anglesey, and its foundations can still be seen, with a small museum beside them. The Mabinogion, the medieval Welsh story collection, tells how the emperor Macsen Wledig, the historical Magnus Maximus, dreamed of a beautiful maiden and a fortress at the mouth of a river, and travelled across the world to find them. The place he found, in the tale, was Caernarfon. Whatever the truth, Welsh tradition ties the town to a sense of ancient dignity.

   Read the complete Caernarfon 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

   Caernarfon Castle and Town Walls comes up about 26 km into the recorded legs. Next is Beaumaris Castle.

3. 3. 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

   about 51 km into the recorded legs you reach Beaumaris Castle. Next is Castles and Town Walls of King Edward in G.

4. 4. Castles and Town Walls of King Edward in G

   Edward I built Caernarfon to be unmistakable. Begun in 1283, after his conquest of Wales, the castle rises beside the Menai Strait with polygonal towers and bands of coloured stone that echo, it is said, the walls of Constantinople, a deliberate reference to imperial power. The King wanted a seat of government as well as a fortress, and the town walls were built to enclose a planted English borough, so the whole thing was an act of colonisation in stone. UNESCO listed Edward's castles and town walls in Gwynedd in 1986, together with Conwy, Harlech and Beaumaris, and Caernarfon is the grandest of them.

   Read the complete Castles and Town Walls of King Edward in G write-up.

   Recorded stop-planning note

   May refer to an earlier itinerary; verify against your selected route before riding.

   Planning note

   Castles and Town Walls of King Edward in G, about halfway. Next is back through Beaumaris Castle.

5. 5. 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 sits at 101 km, about halfway. Next is back through Caernarfon Castle and Town Walls.

6. 6. back through Caernarfon Castle and Town Walls

   Return visit. Read the place description above.

   Read the complete Caernarfon 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

   back through Caernarfon Castle and Town Walls comes up about 126 km into the recorded legs. Next is Gorseddau and Prince of Wales Slate Quarri.

7. 7. 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

   Gorseddau and Prince of Wales Slate Quarri closes the day.