Why this ride
A 250 km round trip from Harlech - roughly 4 h 51 in the saddle. On the way it passes Gorseddau and Prince of Wales Slate Quarri, Ffestiniog: its Slate Mines and Quarries, The Slate Landscape of Northwest Wales and Beaumaris Castle.
CURVESCOUT / MOTORCYCLE RIDE
Harlech Castle and Beaumaris Castle
Plan this ride
- Recorded distance
- 250 km
- Riding-time estimate
- 4 h 51
- Journey
- Recorded itinerary
Distance and timing basis
The recorded total and the leg detail need reconciliation. Inspect the leg notes before using this record for timing or navigation. 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
19 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
- 18 km
- Named road
- Snowdonia Llanberis Pass
Snowdonia Llanberis Pass
For 19 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
- 19 km
- Named road
- Snowdonia Llanberis Pass
- Pass
- Pen y Pass
Waypoint introductions and full write-ups
1. Harlech Castle
When Edward I built his castles in Wales, he was not interested in subtlety. Harlech, raised between 1283 and 1289 by the master mason James of St George, sits on a rocky crag above the dunes of Cardigan Bay, with concentric walls, massive gatehouse and round towers that still look ready for a siege. It is one of the castles of Edward I in Gwynedd listed by UNESCO, together with Caernarfon, Conwy and Beaumaris. The sea once came almost to the foot of the rock, and a staircase down the cliff allowed the garrison to be supplied by boat; the coast has since moved, and now there is a broad plain of dunes and a golf course between the castle and the water.
Read the complete Harlech Castle write-up.
Recorded stop-planning note
May refer to an earlier itinerary; verify against your selected route before riding.
Planning note
Harlech Castle is where the day begins. Next is Gorseddau and Prince of Wales Slate Quarri.
2. 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 comes up 21 km in. Next is Ffestiniog: its Slate Mines and Quarries.
3. 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
42 km in you reach Ffestiniog: its Slate Mines and Quarries. Next is The Slate Landscape of Northwest Wales.
4. 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, about halfway. Next is Beaumaris Castle.
5. 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 sits at 84 km, about halfway. Next is back through The Slate Landscape of Northwest Wales.
6. 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 comes up 105 km in. Next is back through Ffestiniog: its Slate Mines and Quarries.
7. 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
126 km in you reach back through Ffestiniog: its Slate Mines and Quarries. Next is back through Gorseddau and Prince of Wales Slate Quarri.
8. 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, late in the day. Next is Harlech Castle.
9. Harlech Castle
Return visit. Read the place description above.
Read the complete Harlech Castle 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 250 km.
Leg by leg
Harlech Castle to Gorseddau and Prince of Wales Slate Quarri
Harlech Castle → Gorseddau and Prince of Wales Slate Quarri is 19 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 18 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 25 km of rhythm rather than effort. Let it flow and let the view breathe.
The Slate Landscape of Northwest Wales to Beaumaris Castle
The Slate Landscape of Northwest Wales → Beaumaris Castle is 22 km of rhythm rather than effort. Let it flow and let the view breathe.
Beaumaris Castle to back through The Slate Landscape of Northwest Wales
Beaumaris Castle → back through The Slate Landscape of Northwest Wales is 22 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 Ffestiniog: its Slate Mines and Quarries
back through The Slate Landscape of Northwest Wales → back through Ffestiniog: its Slate Mines and Quarries is 24 km of rhythm rather than effort. Let it flow and let the view breathe.
back through Ffestiniog: its Slate Mines and Quarries to back through Gorseddau and Prince of Wales Slate Quarri
back through Ffestiniog: its Slate Mines and Quarries → back through Gorseddau and Prince of Wales Slate Quarri is 19 km of rhythm rather than effort. Let it flow and let the view breathe.
back through Gorseddau and Prince of Wales Slate Quarri to Harlech Castle
back through Gorseddau and Prince of Wales Slate Quarri → Harlech Castle is 19 km of rhythm rather than effort. Let it flow and let the view breathe.