Across North Wales – the highlights

If I’m going to visit a place that’s just a stone’s throw away from Wales, a trip to this corner of Great Britain has to be able to fit in somehow. That was my thought when the plans for my language trip to Liverpool took shape. For a moment, the thought flashed through my head that I could rent a car for a day. After Canada, I finally have the confirmation that driving a car works quite well. But I discarded the idea as quickly as it came. Driving a car is one thing – driving in left-hand traffic is another. I’m a typical woman, a left-right dyslexic, and here in England I’m already struggling to avoid people on the pavement on the right side. The idea of sitting all alone in the car and desperately thinking about where left and right is at every intersection kept me from this attempt. While researching other possibilities, I came across the tour provider BusyBus, which offers a day tour across North Wales, among other things. The whole thing is done with a 16-seater minibus and the cost of the approximately 9-hour tour is £39. My relationship to such organized tours is ambivalent. Do I really want to be crammed into a minibus and driven through the countryside? But after some back and forth and the realization that only the tour on Sunday has free places anyway and otherwise all other tours are already fully booked, I decided to press the “Book” button.

So I waited excitedly on Sunday morning at 08:45 a.m. at the pick-up meeting point. With a diverse group – different nationalities and age groups – we start our North Wales adventure on time. The bus is filled to capacity, but the promise that everyone will sit in such a way that they look good is at least kept for once.

#1 llandudno

The first stop is in the seaside resort of Ilandudno, which is sheltered in a bay between the two mountain tops Great and Little Orme. The highlights of Ilandudno are the Victorian buildings, which date back to the heyday of the seaside resort, and the pier jutting out into the Irish Sea. In addition, statues from the story “Alice in Wonderland” scattered around the village commemorate the author Lewis Carrolls, who spent his holidays here with his family. There is enough time to walk comfortably up and down the pier. I had to realize that the seagulls here belong to the particularly cheeky variety. Steal my scone out of my hand in a nosedive. What a shock!

#2 Conwy

Shortly after Ilandudno, the second and longest stop of the day follows in Conwy. The small village is particularly famous for the medieval Conwy Castle, a UNESCO World Heritage Site. Conwy also offers a lot to discover. For example, the waterfront is home to the narrowest house in Great Britain and the city wall, which still encompasses part of the village today, can be walked on free of charge.

#3 Snowdonia

Our journey continues along the coast. At the level of the island of Anglesey we turn onto the so-called “Long and winding Road” (A5). The winding road through the Snowdonia National Park inspired the Beatles to write the song of the same name. The route is very scenic. On side roads we wind our way through the cloudy valley. Green as far as the eye can see. In between, white and black dots. Sheep. There are 9 million of them in Wales. Of course, you could easily spend a whole week in Snowdonia National Park. The hilly landscape (which is proudly called “high mountains” here) offers a variety of beautiful hiking trails through the untouched nature.

#4 The Ugly House

The so-called “Ugly House” – which is not ugly at all – is located directly on the A5. A house full of myths and legends. Inside there is now a café.

#5 Betws-y-Coed

The small town of Betws-Y-Coed is the unofficial capital of the North Wales region and a popular starting point for hiking trips in the Snowdonia National Park. We recommend a walk along the river Afon Lwyd, where there are beautiful stone bridges to marvel at. There is a wide range of restaurants in the centre of Betws-Y-Coed. There are also some nice coffee shops among them. At Cwmni Cacen Gri (Station Road), for example, you can choose from homemade fudge.

#6 Pontcysyllte Aqueduct

The last stop offers top engineering performance. We will be dropped off in Froncysyllte and walk from here along the canal to the Pontcysyllte Aqueduct, which has also been on the UNESCO World Heritage List since 2009. The navigable trough bridge crosses the River Dee and connects the canal from Trevor to Froncysyllte. The aqueduct was built at the beginning of the 19th century by the eminent British engineer Thomas Telford.

10 hours and many sheep later, we reach our starting point in Liverpool again at 19:00. A day filled to the brim with impressions and experiences is coming to an end. The guide says apologetically that we stayed a little longer at each place and therefore had an hour delay.

Overall, the choice of this tour was a great decision. With public transport, I would never have been able to combine all the places in one day and the group was well mixed. In addition to the choice of route, a very big plus point goes to the price-performance ratio, which in my opinion is unbeatable. If you’re ever traveling in this area, take a look at what BusyBus has to offer. Similar tours are offered to the Lake District, but unfortunately they were already fully booked.