Llyn Padarn Circular Walk,Llanberis,Snowdonia 22nd August 2019

So on the morning of Thursday the 22nd of August 2019 Dan and I awoke on Ty Isaf campsite after a night of heavy rain. The mountains were in  heavy clag and we made the decision to remove ourselves from the Snowdon Horseshoe walk. Crib Goch would be slippery and views would be few and far between, plus my ankle injury was playing up a bit too.

So I made the decision that we would walk the shores of Llyn Padarn in Llanberis.

GPX File here
Viewranger File here

We parked the car in the Padarn Country Park Car park and paid the £4 fee for the day.

We walked over and past the Llanberis Lake Railway.

Then took a path alongside it towards Llyn Padarn.

Llanberis takes its name from Moi Tudur, an early Welsh saint. It is twinned with the Italian town of Morbegno in Lombardy.

We crossed the bridge and walked up to the National Slate Museum.

It would be rude not to visit the National Slate Museum especially as its free entry!

The National Slate Museum is located at Gilfach Ddu in the 19th-century workshops of the now disused Dinorwic slate quarry, within the Padarn Country Park, Llanberis, Gwynedd. The museum is an anchor point of the European Route of Industrial Heritage.

The workshops which served the needs of the quarry and its locomotives, were built in 1870 on land created from the continuous tipping of spoil from the adjacent Vivian Quarry, and as a replacement for the store sheds which were previously sited there. Rail access to the works was by both 1 ft 11 1⁄2 in (597 mm) narrow gauge (the quarry gauge) and 4 ft (1,219 mm) narrow gauge (that of the Padarn Railway which carried the slate from the quarry to Port Dinorwic). Rails also entered the main yard through the main entrance.

The quarry closed in 1969 and the site was opened on 25 May 1972 as the North Wales Quarrying Museum.

The museum is now connected to the nearby village of Llanberis by the Llanberis Lake Railway, which uses part of the building as its workshops.

The museum reopened after receiving a £1.6 million grant from the Heritage Lottery Fund and now has displays featuring Victorian era slateworkers' cottages that once stood at Tanygrisiau, near Blaenau Ffestiniog. They were taken down stone by stone and re-erected on the site. The museum includes the multi-media display, To Steal a Mountain, showing the lives and work of the men who quarried slate here.

We had a look around Miners cottages from three different eras (early 1900s to 1969).

The museum also has the largest working waterwheel in mainland Britain, which is available for viewing via several walkways. The waterwheel was constructed in 1870 by De Winton of Caernarfon and is 50 ft 5 in (15.37 m) in diameter, 5 ft 3 in (1.60 m) wide and was built around a 12 in (305 mm) axle.

Close to the museum is the partly restored Vivian incline, a gravity balance incline where loaded slate wagons haul empty wagons back up.

Llanberis Lake Railway

We follow the path uphill and away from the shore of Llyn Padarn where the Railway tracks hug.

Llyn Padarn is a glacially formed lake in Snowdonia, Gwynedd, north Wales, and is an example of a moraine dammed lake. The lake is approximately 2 miles (3.2 km) long (about 240 acres) and at its deepest point is 94 feet (29 m) deep, and is one of the largest natural lakes in Wales. At its south-eastern end it is linked to the neighbouring Llyn Peris (which forms the lower reservoir of the Dinorwig power station). The busy village of Llanberis lies on the southern banks of the lake.

The outflow of Llyn Padarn is on the northern shore and is called Afon Rhythallt, which passes by the village of Brynrefail, Gwynedd and becomes Afon Seiont below Pont Rhythallt, near Llanrug. It reaches the sea at Caernarfon.

Quarry Hospital

We cross a bridge over the Lake Railway and up to Quarry Hospital.

The hospital was built in 1860 and was largely maintained by the men's own contributions to a Sick Club. The club provided free medical care, a weekly payment during absence from work through sickness or injury, a small payment on retirement and burial expenses. It was one of the first buildings in the area to have hot and cold running water and electricity. General surgery continued here until the 1940's when the hospital was downgraded to a first aid centre. It closed in 1962 and was later restored by Gwynedd County Council, reopening as a visitor centre in 1979. Apart from the quarry doctor, the staff lived on the premises. The hospital had one of the earliest x-ray machines in North Wales. In the Post Mortem room, which was situated in the basement, the table was made from a polished slate slab, complete with channels and drainage holes. The Hospital is situated a few hundred yards from the Welsh Slate Museum overlooking Llyn Padarn and admission is free.

Unfortunately we were too early and it was still closed.

The toilets need some attention !

Padarn Country Park is located on the northern flank of the lake, including Coed Allt Wen, a rare and ancient sessile oak woodland. Both the woodland and Llyn Padarn are designated as Sites of Special Scientific Interest.

View down to Llanberis across Llyn Padarn.

The path rose steeply through the glorious woodland.

We reach a lovely stream that was making its way down to the Lake, there is something so soothing about the sound of running water.

Dan almost fell head over tit !

We continue on and still the path climbs.

We eventually leave the woodland and out onto a road leading to Fachwen.

We now start to head downhill and across the bridge at the end of Llyn Padarn and where it flows into Llyn Peris.

Looking out into Llyn Peris

We continue around Llyn Padarn where we are now walking along its bank.

We stop for lunch watching the trains pull visitors back and forth along the lakeside.

We continue on with our walk and Dan takes time out to find a Geocache.

We reach the Snowdonia Watersports centre, where we paused to watch people kayaking,swimming and paddleboarding.

I know it was wrong but it amused me to watch people trying to stand up on a paddleboard only to fall off shortly after!

We continue to walk around the lake.

Dolbadarn Castle

Dolbadarn Castle is a fortification built by the Welsh prince Llywelyn the Great during the early 13th century, at the base of the Llanberis Pass, in northern Wales. The castle was important both militarily and as a symbol of Llywelyn's power and authority.

A towering 20ft-high steel sword sculpture has been erected beside Llyn Padarn, Llanberis, in honour of the Welsh princes.

The hope is that the attraction, which cost £14,000 to commission, will draw locals and tourists from all over the world to take an interest in the history of Gwynedd's indigenous princes, Welsh castles and Wales as a nation.

A lovely 6.5 mile walk and only a little drizzle at times.

We left Llyn Padarn and drove over to Caernarfon where we were to spend the night.
We parked up on Aber Foreshore Road, where parking is free.
We then walked across the bridge to Caernarfon Castle and the town.

Caernarfon is a royal town, community, and port in Gwynedd, Wales, with a population of 9,615.

The town is also noted for its high percentage of native Welsh speakers. Due to this, Welsh is the predominant language of the town.

Abundant natural resources in and around the Menai Strait enabled human habitation in prehistoric Britain. The Ordovices, a Celtic tribe, lived in the region during the period known as Roman Britain. The Roman fort Segontium was established around ad 80 to subjugate the Ordovices during the Roman conquest of Britain. The Romans occupied the region until the end of Roman rule in Britain in 382, after which Caernarfon became part of the Kingdom of Gwynedd. In the late 11th century, William the Conqueror ordered the construction of a motte-and-bailey castle at Caernarfon as part of the Norman invasion of Wales. He was unsuccessful, and Wales remained independent until around 1283.

In the 13th century, Llywelyn ap Gruffudd, ruler of Gwynedd, refused to pay homage to Edward I of England, prompting the English conquest of Gwynedd. This was followed by the construction of Caernarfon Castle, one of the largest and most imposing fortifications built by the English in Wales. In 1284, the English-style county of Caernarfonshire was established by the Statute of Rhuddlan; the same year, Caernarfon was made a borough, a county and market town, and the seat of English government in north Wales.

The ascent of the House of Tudor to the throne of England eased hostilities between the English and resulted in Caernarfon Castle falling into a state of disrepair. The city has flourished leading to its status as a major tourist centre and seat of Gwynedd Council, with a thriving harbour and marina. Caernarfon has expanded beyond its medieval walls and experienced heavy suburbanisation. 

Bar Bach The Smallest Bar in Wales, we visit here later.

After a short rest back at the car, Dan tries one of my home made IPAs by the shores of The Menai Strait with views to the Isle Of Anglesey.

We head back over into town for dinner and drinks, first stop was the Wetherspoons Tafarn Y Porth.
I had a Korma and pint of Shipyard IPA and Dan Welsh Sausage and mash with a pint.

From there we visit The Bach Bar,smallest bar in Wales and dog friendly selling Dog beer and snacks.

I ply it safe and have a pint of Sharps Atlantic Ale and Dan a pint of Snowdonia Ale.

We finish our drinks and head back, as a warning the bridge closes at 11pm and it would be miles to walk around should you be late.

The present castle building was constructed between 1283 and 1330 by order of King Edward I. The banded stonework and polygonal towers are thought to have been in imitation of the Walls of Constantinople. The impressive curtain wall with nine towers and two gatehouses survive largely intact. Caernarfon Castle is now under the care of Cadw and is open to the public. The castle includes the regimental museum of the Royal Welch Fusiliers.

We are back at the car where we will be sleeping for the night.

A glorious view, only disturbed at 12pm by a car parking for 10 minutes playing music and again at 7am by a passing car beeping its horn.

The only other sound was waves lapping and the pair of us farting after beer and dinner.

The next day was a nightmare journey home of over 7 hours due to traffic,crashes and slow tractors. Think I may have been caught by a speed camera on The Coventry by pass, I'll have to wait and see :(