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Caernarfon to Stratford

Route 2 on the map.

Llanberis

Llanberis Pass with Snowdon on your right and Glyder Fawr mountain on your left . . . magnificent,
spectacular, awe-inspiring – take your pick of superlatives. Its rocky cliffs are a climber’s paradise.

Snowdon Railway. Take a train to the rooftop of Wales, Mt Snowdon 1085m high – said to be the
burial place of the giant ogre Rhita, vanquished by King Arthur. Stunning views over Snowdonia
National Park and on a clear day you can see as far as Ireland. It pays to book ahead for the
railway trip because it can be very busy, especially on weekends.

National Slate Museum is sited in the Victorian workshops built in the shadow of Elidir mountain,
site of the vast Dinorwig quarry. Here you can travel into the past of an industry and a way of life
that has chiselled itself into the very being of this country. The workshops and buildings are
designed as though quarrymen and engineers have just put down their tools and left the courtyard
for home. An array of talks and demonstrations, including slate-splitting, give you a real insight into
quarry life.

Electric Mountain. The site of Dinorwig Power Station, but in common parlance “Electric
Mountain”.

You’ll never guess what this power station is for: It’s for when you put the kettle on in the ad
breaks of a popular tv show. No kidding!. Here’s the problem – at such times there can be a
sudden surge in power demand as people all over the country make a cuppa. That can lead to a
demand for 2800mwatts of power within the space of six minutes. Traditional power systems were
not designed for such instant peaks. Dinorwig’s reversible pump/turbines are capable of reaching
maximum generation in less than 16 seconds. Using off-peak electricity the six units are reversed
as pumps to transport water from the lower reservoir, back to Marchlyn Mawr.

Water is stored at a high altitude in Marchlyn Mawr reservoir and is discharged into Llyn Peris
through the turbines during times of peak electricity demand. It is pumped back from Llyn Peris to
Marchlyn Mawr during off-peak times. Although it uses more electricity to pump the water up than
it generates on the way down, pumping is generally done at periods of low demand, when the
energy is cheaper to consume.

Dinorwig is comprised of 16km of underground tunnels, deep below Elidir mountain. Its
construction required 1 million tonnes of concrete, 200,000 tonnes of cement and 4,500 tonnes of
steel.

The station’s six powerful generating units stand in Europe’s largest man-made cavern.

Llanberis Lake Railway runs along the northerly shore of Llyn Padarn. The tiny locomotives used
on the line have all seen service in Dinorwig Quarries at one time or another where they once
hauled slate wagons in the quarry.

Pen-y-Gwwryd Hotel where New Zealander Ed Hillary (later Sir Edmund Hillary) and the Sherpa
Tenzing Norgay trained before their successful assault on Mt Everest, becoming, in 1953, the first
men to reach the summit. Their pewter drinking mugs still hang in the bar and their signatures can
be seen on the ceiling.