I’ve been hoping to do this trip for sometime. Wales is well-served by Public Transport – despite its challenging topography, and it’s also the home for the Great Little Trains of Wales – only one of which I’d been fortunate to have travelled on, The Snowdon Mountain Railway.
So I spent quite a bit of time planning the best route to take to ensure the I didn’t end up in a destination with no Little Trains running that day, and also to minimise having to double back on myself. Planning accomodtion was also important. I didn’t want to go budget, but neither did I want to pay OTT. I used Booking.com to help in that regard.
For those not familiar with Wales, the map below lays out both the challenges and the excitement of deciding to travel around Wales only using Public Transport. Essentially, the train services operated by Transport for Wales (TfW) run east-west along the coasts north and south, with two cross-country lines from Llanelli to Shrewsbury, and from Aberystwyth to Shrewsbury – I didn’t intend to use either of these as I’d travelled on them before – and the Cambrian Line which goes along the coast from Machynlleth to Pwllheli, and the Vale of Conway line from Blaenau Ffestiniog to Llandudno – which I did want to travel on as I’d never been on these trains before.. But I did want to try out the TrawsCymru (T1) bus service from Carmarthen to Aberystwyth as I believed (and proved to my satisfaction at least) that there was a viable public transport service from Aberystwyth to Cardiff, without any recourse to (wishful thinking) re-instatement of the train line from Aberystwyth to Carmarthen. The TrawsCymru long-distance bus network is operated under the TfW banner and offers a number of cross-country links integrated (to a large extent) with the train network.
In my planning and preparation it helped that I had a TfW Seniors Bus Pass (free bus travel), and I also had a Senior Railcard. What I didn’t realise was how by using the TrainPal app, and by careful planning and choosing Advance Tickets, I could reduce the train costs even more as it utilises split-ticketing.
So what was the itinerary, when did I travel and where did I stay?
Day 1 (Mon – 29 June) TfW Llanishen (10:10) to Carmarthen (Central – 10:25) (Bridgend – 11:10 : Carmarthen – 12:39), TrawsCymru (T1 Bus) Carmarthen to Aberystwyth 13:04 – 15:24 (hourly service). I stayed at The Richmond Hotel on the promenade.
Day 2 (Tue – 30) TfW Aberystwyth to Tywyn (08:27 – 09:23) 9min walk to station. Tal-y-Llyn Railway (10:30 – 13:05). TfW Tywyn to Porthmadog 15:26. [I had planned to go on the Fairborne Light Railway but abandoned that idea as the weather was not inviting for a trip along the dunes to the Barmouth Ferry and back.] I stayed in the Golden Fleece Inn in Tremadog for 2 nights]
Day 3 (Wed – 1 July) Bus (3): 09:18 – 09:29 from Tremadog to Welsh Highland Railway to meet the Porthmadog to Caernarfon (Rtn) run 10:05 -> 16:20. [I had thought of catching the TfW train from Porthmadog to Pwllheli but as I’d been to both Pwllheli and Criccieth on previous trips to North Wales, I decided to chill and not over exert myself – my back pack was beginning to make itself felt!]
Day 4 (Thu – 2) Bus (T22: 10:01 – 10:14) from Tremadog to meet the Ffestiniog Railway (Sin) 10:40 [Again I’d thought of getting off the train at Tanygresiau and walking up to quarry and lake, but that would have been a foolish diversion with my backpack] ). TfW (14:38) to Llandudno arrival 16:01 . I stayed in The Marine Hotel on the promenade.
Day 5 (Fri – 3) TfW Llandudno to Llandudno Junction (15:04); Llandudno Junction to Llanishen (15:26 – 19:53).
Links to the other posts on this trip
Llanishen to Carmarthen, and T1 to Aberystwyth
Down Memory Lane in Aberystwyth
An early start and TfW to Porthmadog
Welsh Highland Railway and Caernarfon
Ffestiniog Railway, and time to kill in Blaenau Ffestiniog
Llandudno, the Pier, Great Orme and the Tramway
How much did it cost?
NB I have a Digital OS Maps subscription and registered to use the API for OS maps. Where ever possible I have embedded the OS map in the blogpost using the OSMap WordPress plugin, but occasionally it has made more sense to do a Screenshot of the map in question and use it. All maps used on the blogposts of this trip are therefore Crown Copyright.