Great train rides in Wales

Visitors to Britain are spoilt for choice when it comes to wonder-inducing heritage railways. England and Scotland have dozens to ride, but Wales has arguably the most dramatic and scenic of all.

Most chug and writhe through the country’s mountainous northern half, many carrying passengers along lines that were built to transport coal and slate from mines and quarries before they were transformed into visitor attractions. Several are staffed by cheerful volunteers with a genuine love for bygone railways.

Here are five rail-ly good possibilities, with services usually running between March and November, plus occasional rides through the festive season.

WELSH HIGHLAND RAILWAY

Britain’s longest narrow-gauge heritage railway, this “coast-to-coast” journey rumbles 40km between the medieval castle town of Caernarfon, by the Menai Strait, and Porthmadog, a revived industrial harbour town perched near Cardigan Bay. Steam-hauled locomotives pull carriages through the ravishing scenery of Eryri National Park (Snowdonia), whose rugged peaks and pristine lakes, pastoral fields and burbling streams will have you pointing your camera through the open windows of your carriage.

Standard class is comfy enough, but you could splash out on a first-class seat in the vintage swanky Pullman carriages. There are several stops along this line where you could maybe hop off and catch a later train. One place that’s worth alighting at is Beddgelert. Located near the dramatic Aberglaslyn Pass, this postcard-pretty village is sprinkled with tearooms, artisan shops and rewarding riverside walks. And some Welsh Highland Railway services offer return trips to Beddgelert from Caernarfon.

FFESTINIOG RAILWAY

While Caernarfon has a slick contemporary station — unveiled just before the pandemic — Porthmadog’s has a more antique look and feel, which is fitting as it’s also serviced by the Ffestiniog Railway.

Run by the company of the same name — which was established in 1832 and also operates the Welsh Highland Railway — the 20km narrow-gauge line climbs from sea level to the historic slate-quarrying town of Blaenau Ffestiniog, which nestles at an altitude of about 350m by the Moelwynion mountains. As well as surveying the spectacular countryside from the train, you can take it in while enjoying some of the activities that have breathed new life into Blaenau Ffestiniog as a tourist destination. You can bounce around on mountain bike trails, go trampolining in former slate caverns and zip- line over disused quarries at well over 100km/h.

SNOWDON MOUNTAIN RAILWAY

From the languid and easy-ish to the tough and gripping, hikers have a choice of marked trails to bring them to the summit of Yr Wyddfa (Snowdon), Wales’ highest peak (1085m). One, the Llanberis path, more or less traces the route of the Snowdon Mountain Railway, a Swiss-style narrow-gauge rack-and-pinion service founded in 1896. While it usually takes about three hours to reach the top of the mountain on foot from Llanberis village, the railway completes the return trip in less time, ferrying passengers in a mix of vintage and modern carriages hauled by diesel and heritage steam engines. The train ticket includes a 30-minute stopover at the highest visitor centre in Britain, which offers refreshments and 360-degree vistas. On a clear day you can see across Snowdonia into both England and Scotland, towards the Isle of Man in the Irish Sea and even the Emerald Isle itself if you’re lucky.

BALA LAKE RAILWAY

At the southern limits of Snowdonia, Llyn Tegid is Wales’ largest natural glacial lake, a mountain-fringed beauty spot where picnickers, paddleboarders, canoeists, kayakers and windsurfers are in their element. Legend has it that the lake is home to “Teggie” — the Welsh equivalent to “Nessie”, the mythical monster of Loch Ness in Scotland. Keep your eyes peeled for “Teggie”, and for buzzards and herons, sheep and cows, as you ride the Bala Lake Railway, which takes its name from the town at the lake’s northern tip. Offering a scenic blend of water, woodland and mountain views, the railway operates a 15km return journey to and from Llanuwchllyn (which means “the village above the lake” in Welsh and is just past the lake’s southern shore).

LLANGOLLEN RAILWAY

There are two key differences between this railway and the others featured here. This is a standard — rather than narrow-gauge railway and it isn’t in Snowdonia.

Don’t let that put you off. Beginning in the postcard-perfect town of Llangollen, near the city of Wrexham, close to the border with Cheshire in England, this steam and diesel railway rattles 16km beside the rushing waters of the River Dee through the Clwydian Range and Dee Valley Area of Outstanding Natural Beauty (AONB). Stops include Corwen, a small market town with cafes, coaching inns and a bronze sculpture of Owain Glyndwr, who led a Welsh rebellion against English rule in the early 15th century.

Enjoy lunch back in Llangollen, then consider visiting the nearby Pontcysyllte Aqueduct. Part of a UNESCO World Heritage site, it’s Britain’s longest and highest aqueduct, a jaw-dropping spectacle that you can walk across — or ride a canal boat over, perhaps while having afternoon tea. Canal boat tours depart from Llangollen’s wharf just above the railway station — or you could walk to the aqueduct yourself (it’s a 90-minute canal-side stroll from town).

+ Steve McKenna was a guest of Visit Wales and Visit Britain. They have not influenced or read this story before publication.