Why this ride
149 km from Porthmadog to Porthmadog, about 2 h 41 of riding. The stops in between: Ffestiniog: its Slate Mines and Quarries, The Slate Landscape of Northwest Wales and back through Ffestiniog: its Slate Mines and Quarries.
CURVESCOUT / MOTORCYCLE RIDE
Gorseddau and Prince of Wales Slate Quarri and The Slate Landscape of Northwest Wales
Plan this ride
- Recorded distance
- 149 km
- Riding-time estimate
- 2 h 41
- 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
Expect company on a summer weekend. Early is better than fast. For about 28 km this is Snowdonia Llanberis Pass, a road with a name of its own and a reason for it.
Rider note
Check the pass is open before you commit to it.
Chapter facts
- Length
- 28 km
- Named road
- Snowdonia Llanberis Pass
- Pass
- Pen y Pass
Waypoint introductions and full write-ups
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 Ffestiniog: its Slate Mines and Quarries.
2. 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 comes up about 28 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 75 km into the recorded legs you reach The Slate Landscape of Northwest Wales. Next is back through Ffestiniog: its Slate Mines and Quarries.
4. back through Ffestiniog: its Slate Mines and Quarries
Return visit. Read the place description above.
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
back through Ffestiniog: its Slate Mines and Quarries, late in the day. Next is Gorseddau and Prince of Wales Slate Quarri.
5. 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 at Gorseddau and Prince of Wales Slate Quarri. That is the ride.
Leg by leg
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 28 km of rhythm rather than effort. Let it flow and let the view breathe.
Ffestiniog: its Slate Mines and Quarries to The Slate Landscape of Northwest Wales
Ffestiniog: its Slate Mines and Quarries → The Slate Landscape of Northwest Wales is 47 km of rhythm rather than effort. Let it flow and let the view breathe.
The Slate Landscape of Northwest Wales to back through Ffestiniog: its Slate Mines and Quarries
The Slate Landscape of Northwest Wales → back through Ffestiniog: its Slate Mines and Quarries is 47 km of rhythm rather than effort. Let it flow and let the view breathe.
back through Ffestiniog: its Slate Mines and Quarries to Gorseddau and Prince of Wales Slate Quarri
back through Ffestiniog: its Slate Mines and Quarries → Gorseddau and Prince of Wales Slate Quarri is 28 km of rhythm rather than effort. Let it flow and let the view breathe.