Top things to do in Gwynedd
Gwynedd is a county in Wales which shares its borders with Powys, Conwy, Denbighshire, Anglesey over the Menai Strait and Ceredigion over the River Dyfi. The scenic Llyn Peninsula and the majority of Snowdonia National Park can be found there, along with the highest proportion of people in Wales who speak Welsh. Read on to discover some of the top attractions you can visit in Gwynedd today…
Zip World - Bounce Below
Discover the world’s first subterranean playground, which is hidden within a huge network of caverns where you can experience what it’s like to go trampolining deep underground. Located within Zip World Slate Caverns in Blaenau Ffestiniog, Bounce Below offers three giant bouncy nets across two levels in a 180ft deep cavern, where you can slide between levels and wind through caves and tunnels.
The cavern is lit up in technicolour, with lights illuminating the beauty of the cavern – making your experience seem out of this world!
Zip World Slate Caverns also includes Titan, the first 4 person zip line in Europe, and Zip World Caverns where you can fly, climb and traverse your way through a unique underground course in a slate mine disused for the past 200 years.
Ffestiniog and Welsh Highland Railways
The Ffestiniog Railway is the world’s oldest narrow gauge railway with almost 200 years of history. The historic trains climb over 700 feet from sea level into the mountains through tranquil pastures and forests, lakes and waterfalls, round tight bends clinging to the side of the mountain or tunnelling through it.
It is the UK’s longest heritage railway running for 25 miles from Caernarfon, past the foot of Snowdon and the picture postcard village of Beddgelert, then through the stunning Aberglaslyn Pass and on to Porthmadog. Passengers ride in some of the most comfortable carriages on any heritage railway in the UK.
Beddgelert – Gelert’s Grave
A short walk south of Beddgelert village in Gwynedd following the footpath along the banks of the Glaslyn is where you’ll find Beddgelert’s most famous historical feature – Gelert’s Grave. According to legend, the stone monument in the field marks the resting place of Gelert, the faithful hound of the medieval Welsh Prince Llewelyn the Great. According to the story, Prince Llewelyn the Great had a palace in Beddgelert and one day went out hunting, leaving his son behind with Gelert.
On his return, Gelert greeted him smeared in blood, and Llewelyn’s son was missing from his cot. Believing Gelert had killed his heir, the Prince plunged his sword into the hound’s side which was met with the cry of a baby. Llewelyn found his son unharmed lying next to a wolf of which Gelert had slain to protect him. Filled with remorse, Llewelyn is said to have never smiled again.
Caernarfon Castle
Caernarfon Castle is a world heritage site and medieval fortress surrounded by the ancient Celtic town of Caernarfon, which is entirely wrapped within the castle’s mighty stone walls. One of Wales’ most prized architectural treasures, you’re free to roam around and admire the view of Caernarfon from the castle’s Eagle Tower. You can also make your way up the spiral staircase to gaze down at the grassy central area where Prince Charles was invested as Prince of Wales in 1969.
With so many rooms, passageways and towers, the site has become a space suitable for hosting permanent exhibitions and museums, including the Museum of the Royal Welsh Fusiliers, which houses uniforms, guns, medals and memorabilia from the 300-year heritage of the Welsh regiment.
Abersoch Beach
Abersoch is a village in the community of Llanengan. It is a popular coastal seaside resort with around 800 residents. Originally a fishing port, Abersoch is now a tourist centre specialising in dinghy sailing and other watersports including windsurfing and jet-skiing. It’s very popular beach faces the mountains of West Wales and St Tudwal’s Islands, providing spectacular views on a clear day.
Abersoch itself has a variety of small shops as well as bars, restaurants, cafes and hotels just a short walk from the beach, and the area is also popular for its close proximity to Snowdonia National Park.
Portmeirion
Portmeirion is a tourist village designed and built by Sir Clough Williams-Ellis between 1925 and 1975 in the style of an Italian village and is now owned by a charitable trust. The village is located in the community of Penrhyndeudraeth, 2 miles south east of Porthmadog and 1 mile from Minffordd Railway Station. Portmeirion has served as the location for numerous films and television shows, and featured as ‘The Village’ in the 1960s television show The Prisoner.
Open all year round, the village is home to two hotels, 15 self-catering cottages, six restaurants and cafes, six shops, a spa, an information centre, an audio-visual presentation and a resident artist’s gallery.
King Arthur’s Labyrinth
King Arthur’s Labyrinth won the award for Best Visitor Attraction in Mid Wales in the National Tourism Awards for Wales 2018 and can be found deep underground beneath the mountains of Southern Snowdonia in Corris, where North Wales meets Mid Wales.
This fun filled adventure sweeps you by boat through the magical veil of an underground waterfall, where ancient legends from Wales unfold as you’re guided through the Labyrinth by a hooded Dark Age Boatman and greeted with dragons, giants, fierce battles and the legendary story of King Arthur.
To read more of our North Wales location guides, including Bala, Llandudno, Abergele, St Asaph, Colwyn Bay and Mold, click here, and if you’re looking for a new job in North Wales, take a look at the range of amazing career opportunities available by clicking here. And if you’d like to stay up to date with the latest vacancies from across the region, sign up for our email job alerts here.
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