Such a beautiful place to visit! (Snowdonia National Park)

Member Name: SusanLesley

Product:	Snowdonia National Park
Date:	26/10/08 (658 review reads)
Rating:

Advantages: Beautiful scenery, lots to do, lovely towns and villages

Disadvantages: Sometimes it rains but who cares?

I was born in the West Midlands and lived there until 2002 when we all moved to Llandudno in North Wales. My husband, Dave, and I bought a large Victorian house and mom and dad came to live with us so that I could be their full time carer.

We have now sadly lost both of them and Dave and I have moved to a small cottage on the Great Orme here in Llandudno as our old house was far too big for just two of us.

The view from the front of our cottage is of the sea and the Snowdon Mountains beyond and it got me thinking that it was about time I wrote a review about this beautiful part of the world.

The Snowdonia National Park stretches from Llandudno in the north to Machynlleth in the south and from the west coast of Wales inland as far as Bala.

I don't intend to go into minute detail in this review but rather to give you a flavour for the area and its attractions. Where I have written a separate review on a particular subject I will put (R) for your information. I am not touting for reads but if there is something that you are particularly interested in you can take a look.

Beginning where I live - Llandudno (R) is a typical Victorian seaside resort with two large sweeping bays separated by The Great Orme (R). This is a headland which was formed in prehistoric times and affords some lovely walks with beautiful views. There is a cable car or tram (R) to take you to the top or you can walk if you are fit! There are also some Bronze Age Copper Mines (R) which are well worth a visit too.

Moving west along the coast we come to the walled town of Conwy with its imposing castle and pretty shops. You can still walk almost all the way round the town on the top of the walls - a really interesting walk I might add.

West again takes us to Bangor, the home of Bangor University which has quite a well known research facility. The town has an up to date shopping centre and a large out of town shopping areas with a huge Tesco's, B & Q, and Focus DIY etc.

Caernarfon is next as the coast dips southwards. Again there is a castle well worth a visit and a decent little shopping centre too. You can catch a boat here to cruise along the Menai Straits.

Staying with the coast we now move directly south from Caernarfon across the base of the Llyn Peninsula, as this does not form part of Snowdonia, to Porthmadoc. This is a pleasant enough little town with a main street of gift shops and a pretty harbour.

Just outside Porthmadoc is the Italianate village of Portmerion where the 1960's series The Prisoner was filmed. You have to pay to visit Portmerion but it is so unusual I thought it was worth the money although I can't remember now how much we paid!

As we move south again we find yet another superb castle at Harlech, a traditional seaside town at Barmouth and a small town with lots of caravans at Tywyn.

Moving inland Machynlleth and Dolgellau are lovely little towns - great if you fancy mooching round some nice gift shops.

Well, that's the outskirts of the area covered so now we'll move into the main area of the mountains for which Snowdonia is famous.

The highest of these mountains is of course Mount Snowdon which gives the park its name. Snowdon is the highest mountain in Wales and the second highest in Great Britain and you can reach the top by climbing up one of the many marked paths or by travelling on the Snowdon Mountain Railway (R) - an amazing ride! By next year the new café at the top of the mountain will be open too.

The town at the foot of Snowdon is Llanberis - again with some nice gift shops. There is a lake here with a narrow gauge railway along the side and boats to be hired. There is also an amazing place called Electric Mountain (R) where you can go on a tour into the Elidir Mountain to visit the Dinorwig Power Station built inside the mountain.

Beddgelert is a lovely village in the Snowdonia National Park with some really nice shops and some lovely walks along the river. The home made ice cream shop is not to be missed!

Blaenau Ffestiniog is the centre of one the main slate mining areas and tours are available into the now disused mines.

Another really pretty town in the area is Betws y Coed. There are some really nice gift shops here, together with shops selling walking and mountaineering equipment and lots of tea rooms and restaurants.

Just down the road from Betws y Coed is the famous Swallow Falls which for those of you who don't know is a stunning waterfall and is well worth a visit.

So there you are, I have described the various places to visit within the Snowdonia National Park but of course the whole area is famous for its outstanding scenery. There are walks for every level of fitness from an amble along a flat path next to the river at Betws y Coed up to a climb up Snowdon or Cader Idris.

There are rivers and lakes for canoeing and white water rafting via various clubs and activity holidays.

Obviously I haven't covered everything about the area or you'd be loosing the will to live by now - if you aren't already!

If you want to find out any more you could always visit www.snowdonia-wales.net which is a really informative website.

Basically I am saying that my new home is beautiful and is well worth visiting whatever the weather so who needs to go abroad?

Summary: I am so glad I live here!