Worcester to Cardiff: The Long Way Round
(All the Way Around Wales)
Part Three
14 October 2024
ABOVE: K&P Coaches YY73 RGU, an ADL Enviro200 MMC, is seen at Bangor Bus Station whilst working Traws Cymru route T10 to Betws-y-Coed and Corwen.
All photos in this article were taken on Wednesday 18 September 2024.
All photos in this article were taken on Wednesday 18 September 2024.
There's someone in front of me on the bus, compiling a little list of everyday Welsh words - she's just added "Gorsaf" to her list (station).
I wonder if she's learning the Welsh language? I love the sound of the language, even though I am certain I could never learn it! There are some words for which the translations to English are obvious, such as "Tacsi" (taxi) and "ambiwlans" (ambulance, although apparently the official word for ambulance is "Gweiadur"). But there are other words that are completely indecipherable (who would guess that "Gwasanaethau" translates as "Services"), for example?
Other languages have influenced Welsh or been influenced by it. Both Breton (the language of Brittany in France) and the Welsh language are of Celtic origin, so there are some similarities - "pont" is a bridge in both, and the words for window are quite similar - "ffenestr" in Welsh and "fenestr" in Breton, which presumably led to the French using "fenêtre".
My brush with the Welsh language today is to (1) notice that I hear more people speaking it in North Wales; and (2) make the deduction that a sign I can see that says "Ty, Coffi" might be offering refreshments!
I'm in Corwen, in Denbighshire, North Wales, on a trip that started in Worcester and is due to end in Cardiff (see Parts One and Two). We'll gloss over the fact that I'm going in completely the wrong direction for the latter.
I'm working my way around Wales, and I confess that I had not heard of Corwen before I started planning this trip. The town is known for its connections with Owain Glyndŵr (1349-1416), who was proclaimed Prince of Wales on 16 September 1400, from his nearby manor of Glyndyfrdwy (five miles east); this began a 15-year rebellion against English rule.
A sculpture of Glyndŵr, by Colin Spofforth, stands majestically in The Square in Corwen. It dates back to 2007 and replaced an earlier statue. There's even an Owain Glyndŵr flag. Although its origins are unclear, the lion on red and gold was carried into battle during the rebellion.
ABOVE: The sculpture of Owain Glyndŵr stands tall in the centre of Corwen. The Owain Glyndŵr flag of lions in red and gold can be seen behind.
Corwen stands on the banks of the River Dee, beneath the Berwyn mountains. It's a small place (population 2,325 in 2011) and one comes across it quite suddenly; a mile or two in any direction puts you in the open country. Although largely linear in style, mostly formed alongside the A5 road, it does have a clear focal point, in the aforementioned Square.
ABOVE: The Square, Corwen, with Owain Glyndŵr's sculpture forming the centrepiece. Two examples of the Owain Glyndŵr flag are flying on the right, whilst traditional Welsh dragon flags adorn the Owain Glyndŵr hotel opposite. Behind the sculpture is the Old Bank, a Grade-II listed building that now offers self-catering accommodation.
The car park on Green Lane, a short walk from the Square, also acts as the focal point for the buses (you knew we would get to the buses eventually)!
Although it's a small town, it's quite an important point strategically for bus services in North Wales, with Llangollen and Wrexham to the east / north east, Ruthin, Denbigh and the North Wales coast to the north, Bala and Dolgellau to the south-west, and Bangor and Anglesey to the north west. It's not quite that all roads lead to Corwen but there's a fair chance you will be routed near here if you're crossing inland in this region.
And if you're wondering what's to the south... Well the mountains stretch for miles. The next town is Llanfair Caereinion, over 20 miles away, and there's no direct road (you have to go via Dolgellau or Oswestry). There are a couple of villages in between, including the wonderfully-named Llanfihangel-yng-Ngwynfa. I'm not going to get on a bus and ask for that destination for fear of offending the locals! (Both of them are so far away as to be off my map below!)
Anyway, this strategic point is the interchange between no fewer than four separate Traws Cymru services. I have just arrived on the T8 from Chester, and I'm leaving on the T10, of which more below. But there are also the T3 (Barmouth to Wrexham) and the T3C, which seems to mainly run short journeys on the T3 between Corwen and Llanuwchllyn (near Bala), but serving more of the villages along the way than the main T3.
And all of these buses are timetabled to pass through Corwen within a few minutes of each other.
All is calm at the bus stop as I arrive back around 15 minutes before my scheduled departure. It gives me time to check the information in the bus stop. As it's Denbighshire I suppose I should be grateful for anything in the stops, but it's not tidy, with timetables stuck over the top of other timetables. It's not a good image.
The terminating services arrive - the T10 first, then the T3C and T8 in quick succession. They all park up at the side of the car park, outside the railway station that serves the heritage Llangollen Railway.
ABOVE: Another view of K&P Coaches YY73 RGU (left), in full red & silver Traws Cymru livery for route T10 (Corwen to Bangor). Alongside is another ADL Enviro200 MMC, Lloyds Coaches YX24 PNE (centre), on route T3C (Corwen to Llanuwchllyn). Completing the line-up outside Corwen railway station (on the heritage Llangollen Railway) is M&H Coaches YJ21 FBB (right), an Optare Solo working route T8 (Corwen to Chester)
Then the T3 services heading in opposite directions turn up. The Wrexham direction is provided by an all-White ADL Enviro200 MMC from Lloyds Coaches (see picture in Part Two), whilst the service towards Barmouth is a Volvo B8RLE MCV Evora, another Lloyds vehicle; this time in Traws Cymru red and silver.
ABOVE: Lloyds Coaches BV24 LML is a Volvo B8RLE MCV Evora. It is seen at Corwen bus interchange on its way to Barmouth.
Co-ordination between services is good. Anyone arriving on the terminating T3C or T10 services can connect into the departures on routes T3 (either way), T3C, T8 or T10, which all leave within a quarter-hour window. Curiously, the T8 arrival from Chester is officially a couple of minutes too late for the departure of the T3 towards Wrexham. On this occasion the bus has arrived in time (or was the T3 a tad late)?
Of course, making all this work generates longer layover times on the terminating services than would be expected outside of London, but it all seems to work. I do reflect, though, on how, of the five Traws Cymru buses that have passed through, only two have been in Traws Cymru livery - some work on the image needed?
Calm descends as the T3 services both leave and the T3C follows. There's a short wait now for my T10 to Bangor. There are still quite a few people around, but most of them are waiting for the T8 towards Chester, and only two of us board the T10 when it pulls up.
My day ticket, issued in Chester, doesn't scan. The driver studies it in great detail before allowing me on. He says it should still scan, even though it was issued by a different operator.
This service is provided by K&P Coaches, a coach company based near Gaerwen, Anglesey (there's no mention of this service on the K&P website though)... After the luxury of an hourly service on the T8, we're back to two-hourly here.
We pull out at 1212, on a 73-reg ADL Enviro200 MMC. It has USB sockets but none of the other mod cons that have featured on other Traws Cymru services (eg, audio announcements and "next stop" information screens). The other passenger comments to me that it's "quiet", but that he came into Corwen on the 0638 service from Betws-y-Coed (first bus of the day) and had that bus to himself!
We are very quickly into the countryside, running along the A5 road, which at its full stretch connects Marble Arch in London to Holyhead. This remains a very quiet run as we head through the villages of Maerdy (not be be confused with the Maerdy near Tonypandy in South Wales - a destination for several bus routes) and Cerrigydrudion, where I have missed the annual Agricultural Show by a few days.
The scenery starts to change as we approach the village of Betws-y-Coed. It's a tiny village (a population of less than 500 in the 2021 Census), but has become an important tourist spot because of its location in the Gwydir Forest, within the Snowdonia National Park.
A Celtic Christian community founded a monastery in the late sixth century, and the village, the name of which means "prayer-house in the woods" developed over subsequent centuries.
The centre of this largely linear village is lined with shops, cafés and hotels. Many of the buildings here were built in the 19th Century and it looks amazing - have a look at this picture of the Station Road area on Google Streetview (and yes, there is a railway station here, on the Llandudno to Blaenau Ffestiniog line).
There's a bus interchange here where we meet the equivalent service in the opposite direction. My fellow pasenger from Corwen leaves here but four people join in his place (one will leave quite quickly but th eothers will stay to Bangor).
There's an additional T10 service from here to Bangor on alternate hours, offering a basically hourly service on this stretch. There's also a service S1 from here to Caernarfon - the S representing another network of services - albeit a more local one - the Sherpa network of buses around Snowdonia (a network that I need to come back and explore one day)...
ABOVE: K&P Coaches YY73 RGV, another ADL Enviro200 MMC, calls in at the Betws-y-Coed bus stop, heading back to Corwen on Traws Cymru route T10.
The scenery is starting to get more spectacular. The mountains are high, there seem to be more rivers, streams and waterfalls, more rock features, and everything is very green...
ABOVE: The Pont-y-Pair Bridge crosses the River Llugwy, a tributary of the River Conway, on the edge of Betws-y-Coed, as people enjoy an outdoor break at a local café.
We are venturing into the heart of the Snowdonia (Eryri in Welsh) National Park. Covering 823 square miles, the area is home to a variety of wildlife such as otters, water voles, feral ponies and rare birds. The National Trust advises that there are over 1,000 archaeological sites here, including seven scheduled ancient monuments.
The A5 cuts a route between the mountain ranges of Carneddau (to the north) and Glyderau (to the south). The Carneddau range has 19 peaks of at least 2,000 feet above sea level, whilst the Glyderau, a smaller range, can offer 11 more. No wonder it all looks so stunning. I'm running out of superlatives!
ABOVE: The beginnings of the Carneddau mountains, a few minutes after passing through Capel Curig
ABOVE: I have deliberately not cropped this photograph as I wanted to present it exactly as it was taken, rather than trying to home in on one particular view. It doesn't matter which window you look out of, the views are amazing! I have no idea where I am, as these views went on for miles, but it's somewhere in the Carneddau- Glyderau mountains
And if you want to make a stunning natural landscape look even more remarkable, just add water... Llyn Ogwen is a 'ribbon lake' (a finger-shaped lake formed by the process of glaciation). It lies at a height of about 1000 feet above sea level and has an area of 78 acres. It is, however, very shallow, according to Wikipedia, with a maximum depth of around 10 feet. The lake is fed by a number of streams from the slopes of the mountains which surround it.
It is also said that, after the Battle of Camlann (King Arthur's final battle), Sir Bedivere (Bedwyr) cast the sword Excalibur into Llyn Ogwen, where it was caught by the Lady of the Lake.
ABOVE: Llyn Ogwen
As we continue this journey, I note that three of the four passengers on board (including me, of course) are taking photographs. It feels like there is a tourism opportunity to boost patronage on this service that should be exploited a lot more (admittedly I am here 'out of season').
The bus starts to get busier from Bethseda, five miles south-west of the city of Bangor. After miles of this amazing scenery, we emerge into the approaches to Bangor itself. The mountains might be behind us now but the bay which shows off the Menai Strait, just outside the city centre, is just as delightful.
ABOVE: Looking broadly north-east into the Menai Strait from Beach Road, Bangor. The land in the background on the left is part of the island of Anglesey, on the other side of the water.
We reach Bangor bus station, on time at 1351. The bus continues to the railway station, three minutes up the road, making a total scheduled journey time from Corwen of one hour and 42 minutes.
The origins of the city of Bangor date back to the founding of a monastic establishment on the site of Bangor Cathedral, by the Celtic Saint Deiniol in the early sixth century. As well as being the oldest city in Wales, it is also one of the smallest cities in the UK.
The city centre is less than a mile inland from the Menai Strait, on the opposite side of which sits the island of Anglesey. The strait runs north-east to south-west for around 16 miles. There are two bridges linking the mainland to Anglesey - the Menai Suspension Brdge, a Thomas Telford construction, is about one-and-a-half miles from the city centre, with the Robert Stephenson-built Britannia Bridge about a mile further south-west.
Alas, on this trip, time does not permit a visit to Anglesey - not even to the famous village of Llanfairpwllgwyngyllgogerychwyrndrobwllllantysiliogogogoch, which is only half an hour away by bus - one to plan for another day.
But I have a little time for a wander around the area near Bangor Bus Station, which still has a few things to show me. There's the Clock Tower, for example. Standing 47 feet high, it is built of Ruabon red brick, with a dome of Cefn stone. And there's the main building of Bangor University, designed by Henry Hare and completed in 1911. The report for this Grade-I listed building states that it is, architecturally, one of the most significant public buildings of the period in Britain.
ABOVE: Bangor Clock Tower
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ABOVE: The main building of Bangor University
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The Bus Station is a simple row of bus stops alongside the Menai Shopping Centre - not even fully segregated from other traffic.
ABOVE: Bangor Bus Station, with an Arriva Wales Optare Solo in view
From this north-western corner of the mainland, I'm turning towards the south now. My target destination, Cardiff, is 127 miles away as the crow flies.
There are a number of people at the Bus Station awaiting my next bus, the T2. This is a very long route, and I'm going all the way to the other end - but not all in one go...
This 1430 departure is on a service that only runs every two hours, but it feels to me that it needs a frequency boost. Right from the first stop it is busy, and, by the time it gets to Bangor Railway Station, just a few minutes into the journey, there are more than 20 passengers on board. Circulation space is tight as two pushchairs and a shopping trolley effectively block the area at the front of the bus, preventing some passengers from accessing the still available seats towards the back.
The service is operated by Lloyds Coaches (no apostrophe) of Machynlleth. It's another Volvo B8RLE MCV Evora but, unlike the ones back in the early phases of the journey, this one is only 10.8 metres long. Again my ticket doesn't scan, but this driver is happy with a cursory glance at it.
There's a forward-facing screen in an awkward position at the front of the bus which severly reduces the forward view from the raised seats behind - I presume the screen is for the benefit of a wheelchair-user as there's no other point in having it - but it could / should be lowered a couple of feet if that's what it's for (these screens, in the raised position are becoming more prevalent on modern buses). There are two other screens but they just show "Traws Cymru" throughout the journey.
We're heading down the coastline of the Menai Strait, and can occasionally catch a glimpse of the water.
ABOVE: The Menai Strait, at Porth Waterloo, north of Caernarfon, looking across to Anglesey. The width of the Strait varies, but is just under a mile at this point.
We reach Caernarfon, where, in 1969, the investiture ceremony for Charles, Prince of Wales was held at Caernarfon Castle. The ceremony formally presented the title of Prince of Wales to the 20-year-old Prince. Who would have believed then that he would have to wait another 53 years to ascend to the throne.
A fair number of people leave the bus in Caernarfon, but there are a substantial number waiting at the stop to take their place. It might be after 3pm now, and therefore heading towards school run time, but the people here are not, generally, schoolchildren; in fact, many of them are of advanced years.
There are a few raised eyebrows when a passenger boards and asks for eight singles. They're pretty much the last people to get seats. A few minutes later we are on our way with a heavy load.
ABOVE: The bus out of Caernarfon leaves with a significant standing load and, as you can see, some of those standing might prefer to be seated. Note also the rear-facing information screen - presumably for passengers using wheelchairs but at completely the wrong height for them, and for anyone hoping to see out of the front window from the rows in front of mine. Please could the screen be lowered a couple of feet?
Of course, with so many people on board, a few new friendships are being made. A young couple strike up a conversation with another couple who are visiting from New Zealand. "Why have you come here," asks one of them?
I could answer that... As we head into Criccieth, we have our first glimpse of Cardigan Bay:
ABOVE: A first glimpse of Cardigan Bay in the background as the bus approaches Criccieth. I've not been able to find out what the stones in the foreground relate to.
I'll save some of what there is to say about Criccieth for a separate article that I have planned, but I will record here that a Criccieth solicitor, David Lloyd George, stood for Parliament in 1890, as the Liberal candidate for the Caernarfon Boroughs. He was elected, and held the seat for the next 55 years, during which he served as Prime Minister between 1916 and 1922.
We lose a number of passengers in Criccieth and the bus, while still busy, is no longer as busy as it has been.
My last stretch today is into Porthmadog. An additional Traws Cymru route was introduced in February 2024, possibly to provide some relief to the T2. The T22 runs from Caernarfon to Porthmadog, and on to Blaenau Ffestiniog. It does not, however, serve Criccieth, which has, on my journey, been one of the more important intermediate points on the route.
There has been a big fanfare as electric buses have been procured for the T22. There just don't seem to be many passengers on the journeys I see...
ABOVE: CK73 ATN is a Yutong E12 (electric bus), operated by Llew Jones of Conwy for Traws Cymru. It is seen here near the Porthmadog Roundabout, at the north edge of the town, on an evening short working of route T22 towards Ysbyty Alltwen Hospital in Tremadog. An out-of-service bus from the Sherpa Network is visible behind.
And so I reach my destination for today, Porthmadog, on time at 1600. It's not been the most comfortable of rides but it has got me here on time.
This is where my official journey pauses for the day, whilst I go off on some late afternoon 'research' for a different (forthcoming) article.
But there's time to look at the stunning landscape here first. Porthmadog lies on the estuary of the Afon Glaslyn, where it runs into Tremadog Bay. The estuary, filled with sediment deposited by rivers emptying from the melting glaciers at the end of the last ice age, is a haven for migrating birds. The town's temperate maritime climate is influenced by the Gulf Stream.
With the Snowdonia region on the doorstep, and local attractions such as the narrow-gauge Ffestiniog Railway, Porthmadog has grown into a significant shopping and tourism centre.
ABOVE: Late afternoon sun lights up Porthmadog Harbour, just off the High Street
There was large-scale land reclamation here in the late 18th and early 19th centuries. A large embankment was built across the tidal estuary of the Afon Glaslyn, and this carries both the road and the Ffestiniog Railway across the estuary, towards the village of Minffordd, two miles east-south-east of Porthmadog.
I have some happy memories of previous visits to Porthmadog, including a summer steam train ride on the Ffestiniog Railway to Tan-y-bwlch (half-way along the route) for a Jazz Night at the station café.
ABOVE: Spin around 90 degrees from the previous picture to find this link between the Ffestiniog Railway (the main station is behind me) and the Welsh Highland Railway, which has a station at the other end of the High Street - and that's the High Street stretching into the distance on the left.
Back into Porthmadog, and the low-lying reclaimed land to the north of the embankment (a "polder") is called Traeth Mawr - the Welsh for 'large beach'. And it's this that forms the view from my hotel bedroom window for the night. As hotel window views go, it's not bad!
ABOVE: Traeth Mawr
And so an early night for me, as I have a lot of ground to cover tomorrow. It's going to be an early start, and it appears that I have to be just outside Australia for my next bus...?
TO BE CONTINUED...
BELOW: An approximation of the journey described above, with key towns and cities in North and Mid Wales marked for context
