12 Welsh railways

[TukayAway]

Hello all.

To celebrate my Dad's retirement from the railways, I'm taking him to Wales for a week in July to tick off as many heritage lines as we can muster. We also want to score the Cambrian Coast line as well. I've planned the following, my Dad has approved it and the hotels are all booked. Do any of you have any tips for us?

I've already heard about the The Great Little Trains of Wales Discount Card to reduce the costs, and Dad already gets free travel on the railways. Even it's the name of a good pub/restaurant to visit I'd be grateful. Here's the plan:

Sunday 23rd July
Leave Luton around 6am
Visit Welshpool & Llanfair Railway
Drive to Corris
Visit Corris Railway
Overnight in Aberystwyth

Monday 24th July
Visit the Vale of Rheidol Railway
Take the train from Aberystwyth to Machynlleth and back
Overnight in Aberystwyth

Tuesday 25th July
Drive to Tywyn
Visit the Talylynn Railway
Drive to Fairbourne
Visit the Fairbourne Railway
Drive to Porthmadog
Overnight in Porthmadog

Wednesday 26th July
Visit the Welsh Highland Railway
Visit the stubby bit that seems to be part of the Welsh Highland but isn't
Overnight in Porthmadog

Thursday 27th July
Do the Ffestiniog Round Robin - Porthmadog to Shrewsbury, Shrewsbury to Llandudno Junction, Junction to Blaenau Ffestiniog, Ffestiniog Railway to Porthmadog
Overnight in Porthmadog

Friday 28th July
Drive to Llanberis
Visit the Snowdon Mountain railway - I'd like to do the special steam service
Visit the Llanberis Lake Railway
Drive back to Porthmadog
Overnight in Porthmadog

Saturday 29th July
Drive to Llanuwchllyn
Visit the Bala Lake Railway
Drive to Corwen
Visit the Llangollen Railway
Drive home to Luton

I look forward to hearing from you. Of course there will be a report written, and I'll post pictures on my Flickr page when the time comes. Thanks in advance!

 

[Merthyr Imp]

Would it be possible to do your Ffestiniog Round Robin the other way around? That way you'd get the uphill ride from Portmadoc to Blaenau with the engine working hard.

 

[Greenback]

I prefer the uphill run myself, but maybe the times don't stack up for you, TukayAway?

Also is there any way you can get to Pwllheli? Just for completeness, so you can say you've done all the Cambrian Coast? I made a special trip in 1995, having only made it as far as Porthmadog prior to that!

Have an early start on the 28th and you can fit something else in that day. We took the first train up Snowdon, then did the Llanberis Lake Railway and visited the Slate Museum next door. We then went to Beddgelert afterwards as it was only around 2.30 when we came out of the museum!

 

[GoByThameslink]

If your time in Llanberis allows, you might find an interest to Electric Mountain of interest - see the generators/pumps that the pumped hydro electric scheme has in place

 

[TukayAway]

Would it be possible to do your Ffestiniog Round Robin the other way around? That way you'd get the uphill ride from Portmadoc to Blaenau with the engine working hard.

On that day, the Ffestiniog do an evening trip which Dad would like to do. I like the idea of a sunset trip although my experiences of Wales have taught me to prepare for rain!

 

[TukayAway]

Also is there any way you can get to Pwllheli? Just for completeness, so you can say you've done all the Cambrian Coast? I made a special trip in 1995, having only made it as far as Porthmadog prior to that!

Have an early start on the 28th and you can fit something else in that day. We took the first train up Snowdon, then did the Llanberis Lake Railway and visited the Slate Museum next door. We then went to Beddgelert afterwards as it was only around 2.30 when we came out of the museum!

We'll take in Pwllheli, I'm not travelling all that way to miss out on the little bit! If we do finish early at Llanberis, we might head over to Llandudno.