Plan your trip

WALK HERE

The Snowdonia Way was devised by mountain leader Alex Kendall, whose guidebook, Walking the Snowdonia Way

(cicerone.co.uk/the-snowdoniaway), has details for both the main and mountain routes. Also see snowdoniaway.com.

For a gorgeous mix of high and low we’d recommend seven days on the trail, taking the main route from Machynlleth to Dolgellau on

day one (perhaps detouring to climb Cadair Idris); day two on the main route to Trawsfynydd;

day three on the main route to Beddgelert with the option to climb Cnicht; day four on the mountain route to Pen-y-Pass, climbing Snowdon; day five on the mountain route to Capel Curig, climbing Moel Siabod; day six on the main route to Bethesda, with the option of climbing Tryfan; and

day seven on the main route to Conwy. Or turn to Walk 23 in this issue for a day-long taste of the trail at Trawsfynydd.

GETTING THERE

Machynlleth’s Maengwyn Street car park is available for long stays if you apply for a permit

(powys.gov.uk). The town has good public transport links, with the X28 from Aberystwyth

(lloydscoaches.com) and the T2 between Bangor and Aberystwyth, which also stops at Porthmadog and Caernarfon (trawscymru.info).

There are direct trains from Birmingham via Wolverhampton, Shrewsbury and Newtown, and on along the Cambrian Line to Pwllheli (www.tfwrail.wales). co.uk) takes you from Conwy to Bangor, from where the T2 (see above) takes you all the way back to Machynlleth. For those heading home, rather than back, there’s also a rail station at Conwy with direct trains to Birmingham.

WHERE TO STAY

There are accommodation options at all of the stops listed in the Walk Here section above.

Country Walking stayed at YHA Snowdon Pen-y-Pass (0345 3719534; yha.org.uk), which has private rooms for around £50-£70pn and serves generous portions in their restaurant. We also planned to stay at The Rocks at Plas Curig in Capel Curig (01690 720225; therockshostel.com) with twins and doubles from around £60, and at Caban Cysgu Gerlan bunkhouse in Bethesda (01248 605573; cabancysgu-gerlan.co.uk) starting at £14pppn, until Conwy closed its borders.

WHERE TO EAT

All the stops mentioned above have food options. A few not to miss are TH Roberts Coffee Shop

in Dolgellau (01341 423552) – set in a former ironmonger’s and full of character and great food; Glaslyn’s

famous ice cream in Beddgelert (01766 890339; glaslynices.co.uk);

Moel Siabod Café in Capel Curig (01690 720429; moelsiabodcafe.

co.uk) which welcomes walkers with open arms; and Tower Coffee House in Conwy (towercoffee

house.co.uk), situated in one of the town’s medieval towers.