Why this ride
From Harlech it runs 105 km to Harlech; allow about 2 h 17 of riding. It goes by way of Gorseddau and Prince of Wales Slate Quarri, Ffestiniog: its Slate Mines and Quarries and back through Gorseddau and Prince of Wales Slate Quarri.
CURVESCOUT / MOTORCYCLE RIDE
Harlech Castle and Ffestiniog: its Slate Mines and Quarries
Plan this ride
- Recorded distance
- 105 km
- Riding-time estimate
- 2 h 17
- 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
- 19 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 19 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
38 km in you reach Ffestiniog: its Slate Mines and Quarries. Next is back through Gorseddau and Prince of Wales Slate Quarri.
4. 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.
5. 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
Back at Harlech Castle. That is the ride.
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 19 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 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.