Snowdonia by train

You do not need a car to climb Yr Wyddfa, or to spend a weekend among the woods and waterfalls of Eryri. A train to Betws-y-Coed and the mountain buses from the village get you to the foot of the hills. Here is how it works.

Why go car-free in Eryri

Anyone who has driven to Pen-y-Pass on a fine Saturday knows the problem: the car parks fill before breakfast, the verges fill with parking tickets, and the day starts with an hour of frustration before you have taken a step uphill. Arriving by train and bus avoids all of that.

It is also a nicer way to come. You watch the estuary and the forest go past the window and step off in the middle of a stone village rather than a car park. It costs less than fuel and parking, it asks less of a landscape that takes heavy footfall, and there is no drive home waiting at the end of the day.

Getting to Betws-y-Coed by train

Betws-y-Coed sits on the Conwy Valley line, a single track that follows the river inland from the coast. From most of England and the Midlands you head for Llandudno Junction, on the North Wales coast line out of Chester, and change there onto the Conwy Valley line for the run up the valley. There are connections through from London, Manchester and Liverpool.

The station is about ten minutes on foot from the centre of the village, so you arrive where things are. From there, it is a bus to the mountains.

Reaching Yr Wyddfa and the trailheads

The Sherpa’r Wyddfa bus network runs between the villages and the main trailheads on Yr Wyddfa, so you do not need a car to reach the start of the classic paths. From Betws-y-Coed, buses run through Capel Curig to Pen-y-Pass, the start of the Pyg Track and the Miners’ Track, with connections on around the mountain to Llanberis and the western paths.

Services run roughly hourly, so you can be at the foot of the mountain in the morning and back for dinner. Because the buses loop around Yr Wyddfa, you can go up one path and down another and ride back rather than retrace your steps. Check the current timetable before you set off, and leave room for the last bus down.

What to do without a car

Yr Wyddfa is the obvious draw, but there is plenty for the days you give the summit a miss. The Gwydir Forest rises straight out of the village, laced with walking and mountain-biking trails through oak and conifer, including the long loop once known as the Marin Trail. Swallow Falls is a short way up the road. The old slate country to the west now runs underground tours and zip lines. And on a slow morning the village itself, with its bridges and cafes and the river running through, is an easy place to spend a few hours.

Travelling light

Car-free travel does mean thinking about kit, since you carry what you bring and Welsh weather will find the gaps. A heated drying room gets wet waterproofs and boots usable again by morning. A lockable bike store means you can put the bike on the train and ride the forest from the door. Pack with the weather in mind and the rest is straightforward.