Although it offers you more flexibility, a car is not essential for exploring
North Wales. Public transport is quite good for such a rural area but does not
compare with city frequencies so you will need to plan your outings to get the
best out of your holiday. If you bring your bikes on the train you've got your own transport for
exploring the area. You can buy Rover tickets valid on local buses and/or trains.
We have local transport timetables at Graianfryn.
Rover tickets allow you to travel freely on trains (after 09:15 on weekdays, all day at weekends) and most buses within a geographical area during their period of validity. Coach travel is excluded. They also bestow discounts on narrow gauge railways, National Trust properties, Castles and National Museums & Galleries of Wales sites. A leaflet The Freedom of Wales Flexi Pass is available from the Welsh Tourist Board and main railway stations within Wales, but to summarise...
These tickets may be useful if you want to travel to South Wales after your
stay at Graianfryn, but for day trips from here the North and Mid Wales Flexi
Rover should be sufficient.
£65 buys you 4 days rail and 8 days bus travel throughout the whole
of Wales, including the Welsh Border line which runs from Crewe to Newport,
in an 8-day period.
Allows 4 days rail and 8days bus travel in North Wales, including the mediaeval
town of Shrewsbury and the Roman city of Chester, just over the border in
England. The area covered is more than adequate for day trips from Graianfryn.
Price is £45.
Full details are at www.walesflexipass.co.uk
Tickets are available from
You must specify the date you want your ticket to start. Bus drivers accept these tickets but don't sell them.
Travel anywhere in the area bounded by Holyhead, Shotton, Chester, Crewe, Wrexham, Shrewsbury, Aberystwyth and Pwllheli for £21. Also includes Bus Gwynedd, Arriva Serving Wales bus services and the Ffestiniog Railway.
1-day Red Rover tickets cost £4.95 (Child £2.45) and are valid on buses 1 to
99 in Gwynedd and Anglesey.
You buy the Rover on the first bus you board.
These prices and conditions are valid at the time of writing (Jan 2007) but may change.
From Graianfryn you can walk round Moel y ci (2 hours) or Moel y Rhiwen (90 minutes) both being gentle walks with fine sea and mountain views. For a more strenuous walk you could walk up to Marchlyn reservoir then tackle the steep climb to the summit of Elidir Fawr (3030 feet). Llanberis is 3 miles away: the first mile is along the road, then you can walk along the old railway line which runs the length of the lake and is now a cycle path. At Llanberis you can
Take the bus to Bangor then use the North Wales Coast Line. Refer to the National Rail site for advance timetable information or you can look at our timetables when you get here.
| 27 minutes | Rhosneigr (Anglesey) | Sandy beaches, coastal walks |
| 8 minutes | Llanfairfechan | Hillwalking |
| 19 minutes | Conwy | Conwy Castle, World Teapot Museum, Aberconwy House Conwy Visitor Centre, Mediaeval Town Walls, Conwy Mountain |
| 17 minutes | Llandudno Junction | Change here for the Conwy Valley Line (see below). There's nothing else of interest! |
| 24 minutes | Colwyn Bay | Beach, Pier, Promenade, Eirias Park, Welsh Mountain Zoo |
| 36 minutes | Rhyl | Brash holiday resort, Funfair, Sun Centre, Sea Life Centre, Crazy Golf etc |
| 42 minutes | Prestatyn | Holiday resort with sandy beaches and the Nova Centre. Northern terminus of Offa's Dyke long-distance footpath |
| 59 minutes | Flint | Flint Castle |
| 69 minutes | Chester | Mediaeval Walled City |
| 9 minutes | Llandudno | Elegant Victorian seaside town with pier and sandy beaches.
Alice in Wonderland Centre. Walk up the Great Orme or take a cable car or the Victorian tram. |
| 15 minutes | Talycafn | Bodnant Gardens |
| 25 minutes | North Llanrwst | Trefriw Wells Spa, Trefriw Woollen Mills |
| 32 minutes | Bettws y Coed | Conwy Falls, Swallow Falls, National Park Visitor Centre,Riverside walks, Fairy Glen |
| 44 minutes | Dolwyddelan | Dolwyddelan Castle |
| 57 minutes | Blaenau Ffestiniog | Slate mines. You could take the Ffestiniog Railway from here to Porthmadoc and return to Graianfryn by bus via Caernarfon |
We have bus timetables at Graianfryn.
One mile from Graianfryn is Penisarwaun village where you can catch a bus to
Caernarfon, a mediaeval town by the Menai Strait with a world-famous castle
(journey time 15 minutes). There's also a service to Bangor and by changing
at Bangor or Caernarfon you can get to other destinations.
You can hire cycles in Caernarfon at Beics Menai.
Caernarfon's a good place to start cycling from as part of the old railway line from Bangor to Afon Wen is now a cycle path. You can cycle south to Bryncir (12 miles) and possibly continue to Criccieth to see the castle and the coast. Or you could pedal along the Menai Strait then along quiet country lanes to the beach at Dinas Dinlle.
Cycling to Holyhead along some of Anglesey's back roads which form the northern end of the Welsh National Cycle route makes a great outing. You can return the same way, devise a different return route, or put your bikes on the train as far as Bangor and cycle the seven miles from the station to Graianfryn.