All aboard for a ride through the stunning Snowdonia scenery! (Welsh Highland Railway)

Member Name: nixtee

Product:	Welsh Highland Railway
Date:	07/01/09 (298 review reads)
Rating:

Advantages: Stunning scenery, a number of walks in the surrounding area, plenty of refreshments available

Disadvantages: It can get cold and windy in Snowdonia!

The Welsh Highland Railway runs from Caernarfon to Rhyd Ddu in Snowdonia, this is currently being extended to Portmadog and final phase should be completed this year (2009). Of course, you don't have to start in Caernarfon, you can board the train in Rhyd Ddu or one of the stations inetween if you wish.

We started our journey in Caernarfon. The Welsh Highland Railway begins beneath the town's castle and is easily found using the brown tourist signs. There is a small car park at the train station, but you can also use the car park just a couple of minutes walk away (which we did) - this is situated by a habour below the castle. Toilets are available in a portacabin at the station or you can find some opposite the other car park.

The litte railway station has a shop in which you can buy your train tickets, but you can also book in advance by telephoning 01286 677018. We bought our tickets on the day (prices below), arriving early to ensure we would be able to travel. Upon buying our tickets we were given a little card each which gives us 10% discount on the Ffestiniog Railway (Porthmadog) when we go there.

Fares as of December 2008:

Third Class (Return) All Day Rover
Caernarfon to Rhyd Ddu (or vice-versa)
Adult: £17.50
Concession £15.75

Children under 3 travel FREE. One child under 16 years can travel FREE with each adult or senior citizen paying ordinary 3rd class fare. Additional children can travel at half fare.

You can upgrade to First Class should you wish for a few pounds extra. Just board the First Class Carriage and Observation Carriage and pay on board.

There are also other fares if you wish to only travel in one direction (e.g. when walking or cycling back) or only wishing to go halfway.

The shop also sells refreshments (although we could only see ice creams, which weren't appropriate on a very cold New Year's Eve!), toys, clothing, souveneirs, puzzles, books, DVDs etc. They also had many leaflets for other attractions in Snowdonia and the surrounding areas (ideal if you are holidaying in the area), we found a couple with discount vouchers for various places, so they'll come in handy for our next trip up to North Wales (I live in Mid Wales).

As the steam train pulled into the station, everyone headed to the platform. Our train was the Beyer-Garratt NGG16. It's one of the most powerful narrow gauge locomotives in the world and is needed to pull up to 12 coaches up some of the hard gradients in Snowdonia. While the engine was being moved to the other end of the coaches, we boarded the train. I didn't feel the engine coupling up to the carriages, which surprised me (as you usually get jolted on the mainline trains!).

Despite our carriage being "Third Class", it was warm and comfortable. The 3 of us sat at a table for 4 and the only problem I had was Dad's knees hitting mine if he moved. It was a little cramped but not so it was uncomfortable, however I'm only 5ft 7inches, I'd imagine it would be best for somebody taller to sit in an aisle seat rather than by the window.

The steam train departed Caernarfon and headed towards Rhyd Ddu ("Black Ford" in English) in the Snowdonia mountains. Tickets were checked and the refreshment trolley made its way through the carriages.

I was quite surprised at the amount they carried in their little refreshment trolley (it's narrow as are the carriages!). It holds hot drinks (such as tea, coffee & hot chocolate), juice, fizzy drinks and even alcohol (including local real ales, wine, sherry, whiskey etc), as well as crisps, chocolate, biscuits and more. Dad chose a bottle of the local real ale, they only had the "dark" one on the trolley, but one of the staff (volunteers) went and fetched a "light" ale for Dad and it was nice and cold. We found all the staff members friendly, helpful and knowledgable. The refreshment prices were quite reasonable as we'd been expecting the same kind of prices you get on mainline trains, so we were pleasantly surprised.

On it's way to Rhyd Ddu the steam train goes through Bontnewydd (this is a request stop), Dinas, Waunfawr, Plas-y-Nant (request stop) and Snowdon Ranger (also a request stop). Along the way there are stunning views of the Snowdonia landscape, including the wonderful view over Llyn Cwellyn ("Llyn" means "Lake").

Getting off the train at Snowdon Ranger will enable you to walk up Snowdon via the aptly named Snowdon Ranger path.

However, if you stay on the train until Rhyd Ddu you can walk up Snowdon via the Rhyd Ddu path. This path will take you along the edge of Bwlch Main which is safe in normal conditions, but can be very dangerous in snow and ice conditions.

Other walks can be found along the way and you can see details of these at http://www.welshhighlandrailway.net/walks.htm

As the train approached Rhyd Ddu we could see a number of photographers stood taking photos of the train. In fact, we could see a handful along the whole journey, including one man who seemed to be "chasing" the train in his car!

Alighting the train at Rhyd Ddu, you can take in the stunning scenery and walk or visit the nearby tearooms or real ale pub. There is also a car park here, so you can start from Rhyd Ddu rather than Caernarfon, if you like.

We were on a tight schedule, so we stayed on the train and headed back to Caernarfon. The train had only been half full on our New Years Eve journey to Rhyd Ddu, but it was full to the brim on the way back (no standing though, not like on the mainline trains!).

The journey took us around an hour and 15 minutes, each way. While we initially thought the fares were a bit steep, but considering the views and the fact that many of the staff members are volunteers, I think the trip was well worth the money. Next time I go on the Welsh Highland Railway, I'm going to make sure I've got plenty of time for a wonder around at Rhyd Ddu!

You can also hire a bike in Caernarfon and cycle one way and ride the train the other. The trains have a carriage especially for the bikes to go in. I fancy having a go at that sometime... although I think due to the train climbing uphill from Caernarfon, I think I'd ride the train up and cycle back down!

The Welsh Highland Railway runs in the summer months, but you will also find the trains running at Easter and Christmas.

Summary: A wonderful train ride through beautiful Snowdonia.