Beddgelert: The Most Beautiful Village in Wales! – North Wales

Beddgelert: The Most Beautiful Village in Wales! – North Wales

Step into a Welsh fairytale! We’re exploring Beddgelert  a picture perfect village nestled in the heart   of Snowdonia National Park. Imagine quaint  stone and slate cottages, beautiful hikes,   whispers of ancient legends and a cosy  hideaway for us at the end of the day.  

Beddgelert might be one of our favourite  Welsh escapes come along and see why. Nestled at the meeting point of the River Glaslyn  and the River Colwyn, Beddgelert is surrounded by   dramatic mountains and lush valleys and it will  be where we base ourselves for much of our weak  

Touring North Wales. We came straight here from  the medieval and historic town of Conwy that we   visited in our first episode. An amazing  walled town with a 13th-century Castle,   tons of history and even the smallest house  in Great Britain, so be sure to look up that  

Video if you missed it, a link will be at  the end. It’s early morning in the village,   the day has hardly begun we still have a  few hours before the day trippers arrive to explore. We’ll show you around the village a  little bit later but for now, enjoy the peace and quiet.

This view of the bridge that crosses Afon Colwyn,  the River Colywn is probably the most famous view   of Beddgelert, it certainly enticed us  to visit back in 2017. We fell in love   with this pretty location and vowed to come  back one day and stay over and here we are!

Taking the opportunity to enjoy  some early morning September sun,   the tranquillity and beauty, we begin  our day by taking a walk along the river. At the Glaslyn Bridge, the Afon  Colwyn and Afon Glaslyn converge   and the Glaslyn River continues its  journey all the way south to Porthmadog.

This is the 13th-century St Mary’s Parish   Church which we’ll walk around later. Alfred Bestall MBE was the illustrator of the  famous Rupert Bear stories which ran in the   Daily Mail newspaper for over 40 years. He  lived in the village and his illustrations  

For the delightful stories were undoubtedly  inspired by the scenery in and around Beddgelert. From here are several beautiful walking trails,   we’ll take just a short walk south of the  village following the footpath along the   banks of the Glaslyn leading to Beddgelert’s  most famous historical legend, Gelert’s Grave.

This trail is a lovely easy walk along the  river and perfect to pass an hour. From our   previous visit just for the afternoon,  I can say it’s best done at this time   of day as the village is very popular.  As you can imagine and on a sunny day  

It doesn’t take long for it to fill up with  visitors and toddlers paddling in the water. According to legend, the stone monument  we’re heading to in the field ahead marks   the resting place of Gelert the faithful  hound of the medieval Welsh Prince Llewelyn  

The Great who lived from about 1173. You  can find out more about him in our Conwy video. The story, as written on the tombstone reads:- In the 13th century Llewelyn Prince of North Wales had a palace   at Beddgelert. One day he went hunting without  Gelert the faithful hound who was unaccountably absent. 

On Llewelyn’s return, the truant, stained  and smeared with blood joyfully sprang to meet   his master. The prince alarmed hastened to  find his son and saw the infant’s cot empty,   the bedclothes and floor covered with blood. The  frantic father plunged his sword into the hound’s  

Side thinking it had killed his heir. The dog’s  dying yelp was answered by a child’s cry.    Llewelyn searched and discovered his boy unharmed but  nearby lay the body of a mighty wolf which Gelert   had slain. The prince filled with remorse is said  never to have smiled again. He buried Gelert here.

Interestingly in Welsh, the name  Beddgelert means “Grave of Gelert,   but it’s widely believed that the village  name was actually attributed to the Celtic   monk named “Kelert” who lived and died in  the area in the fifth century.   

The legend which has similarities to others around the  world was more likely thought up by local   traders to increase tourism and interest in  the village in the 18th century.    A statue of Gelert stands guarding the stone ruins  of a small building near the monument.

From this position in the beautiful  meadow the valley around the village   has really opened up and looking back  at St Mary’s Church we can see the   mountains of Snowdonia and its highest Mount  Snowdon known by its Welsh name “Yr Wyddfa”.

The poet William Wordsworth set off  from here on a dawn ascent of the   famous mountain writing a poem  called “Snowdon” describing his adventure. More wonderful walking  trails continue from here along the   famously beautiful Aberglaslyn Pass,  but we’ll head back to the bridge.

Across the river is a small green with some  very pretty cottages. As well as coal and slate,   this area also produced copper and whilst we  didn’t visit, just a mile up the road is the   Sygun Copper Mine, where you can grab a hard  hat and walk in the Victorian mining tunnels.

Continuing to hug the river we can cross  back over onto Gwynant Street and here we   find our cute and cosy “Copper Miners Cottage”  where we’re staying. Let’s quickly pop inside. This lovely Airbnb Cottage was  full of character and a great find.

Downstairs is a lounge diner and a small  but complete kitchen, utility room and   bathroom. A cosy wood burner replaces what was  probably once the location of the cooking range. The kitchen had everything we needed to self-cater  and we ate out just once in the village,  

Choosing to eat at home in the evenings. Our  lovely host Haley even left us some Bara Brith,   a traditional Welsh fruit bread and  marmalade to go with it. Behind the   kitchen was a utility room that led to  a lovely bathroom with toasty underfloor heating.

Upstairs are two bedrooms  both with a double bed and one with   an ensuite toilet and sink with  beautiful views of the mountains. The outside back garden slopes up  the side of the mountain and at the   top is a terrace with incredible views  of the valley. At just over a minute’s  

Walk to the central bridge we were in  the heart of the village and it was a   super place to be. We’ll put a link in the  description so you can find it on Airbnb. The village is starting to  come alive as shops open,  

Visitors and hikers start to arrive  so let’s explore the streets. Across from the cute bridge is the Prince Llewelyn  Hotel. This regency inn was built in the 1830s to   accommodate the increasing numbers of tourists. A  meteorite crashed through the roof of this hotel  

One night in 1949 and pieces of it are on display  in various institutions including including   Cardiff Museum. It’s dog friendly and you can  get food and drink and even stay the night. The little tearoom and antique shop was   closed down by the looks of it  or it might be under renovation.

Further along is Plas Colwyn, a lovely looking  home which I believe is an Airbnb for 16 guests. Bistro Hebog is open most  days for a lunch and dinner service   and we’ve booked to eat here later,  so you can see the food then. It’s a  

Lovely spot by the river with outdoor  seating for use on the warmer days. The second pub on this side of  the river is the Saresons Head,   again offering lunch and dinner and outdoor  seating to cater for the large numbers that  

Do come to the village. This is also  another hotel if you want to stay. Crossing back over the bridge  let’s pop down Church Street   and see if we can visit St Mary’s  Church we saw earlier on our walk. The church was built in around 1220 on  the site of a 7th-century Augustinian  

Priory and apparently, it retains  relics of the original building. We couldn’t pinpoint them and I guess they might   be inside the church which  was unfortunately locked. They built this church for its new role  as a priory church under the patronage  

Of Prince Llewelyn the Great. It was damaged  by fire more than once.    In the 16th century when King Henry VIII ordered the disillusion of monasteries, the building became the main   Church of the parish which covered a large  chunk of Snowdonia including the summit of  

Snowdon. It was restored twice in  the 19th century but much of the   medieval masonry does survive. It’s a very  sweet local church in a charming setting. On the corner of Church Street in the  main shopping area is another pub,  

The Tanronnen Inn. It has strange opening  hours and a policy that if the dinner   service is going on you can’t just pop in for  a drink you can book rooms for the night here. If you’re in need of some hiking gear or  accessories then this is the shop to visit.

There is only one small village store for  essentials. If you are staying overnight   and need a bigger shop then you’ll have  to drive or take a bus to Porthmadog where   you’ll find large supermarkets.  It’s 15 minutes away and 7 miles.

The Glaslyn Icecream Parlour and Pizzeria is  famous for its ever-changing selection of ice cream flavours.   A board tells you what’s available that day. It certainly was delicious and Will  went for a very safe creamy vanilla. For further information on the activities and  hikes in the area check out the Beddgelert  

Information Centre, it’s right next to  the village bus stop. The Snowdon Shera   bus service conveniently circles the base  of Snowdon connecting popular trail heads,   car parks, villages and attractions.  It’s perfect for walkers and climbers   tackling different routes or anyone wanting  to explore Snowdonia without a car. The buses  

Are wheelchair accessible and tickets can be  purchased on board with contactless payment.   Short journeys start from £1 or upgrade to the   1bws ticket for unlimited travel on all North   Wales buses for just£ 6. Dogs are welcome aboard.  Find the routes and timetables on this website.

If you see the Royal Goat Hotel in  the distance and the old copper mine   rail wagons on the green then you know  you’ve arrived at the main village car park. It’s still pretty empty but be  under no illusion, it fills up fast.

Towards the back of the car park is a footpath  that will take you up to the Welsh Highland Railway.  Yes, Beddgelert has a station but  it’s part of the historic scenic line not on   the national rail network. If you want to get  here by train your nearest mainline station  

Is at Porthmadog 7 miles away. North Wales has many heritage narrow gauge railways which were   borne from the need to get high-quality slate  and coal across the mountainous regions to   the port of Porthmadog, and other locations, for  distribution across the world.  

Blaenau Ffestiniog  is probably the most famous nicknamed “The town that roofed the world” and it was here in 1865   that official passenger services started making  it the first narrow gauge railway in Britain to   carry passengers. Initially, these aided the  quarryman but later carried tourists who had  

Started to flock here for its beauty. The Welsh  Highland Railway has a pretty complicated history   and involved the joining of several other lines  to create it in the 1920s. There were financial   difficulties from the start and it only managed to  run until 1936. The redundant track was repurposed  

In 1941 as part of the war effort but a lifeline  came in the 1960s with the idea of restarting   the line from Porthmadog. In conjunction with  the Ffestiniog railway the line was rebuilt   in stages over a number of decades but was  finally fully linked to Ffestiniog in May  

2014 at Porthmadog creating a significantly  longer and more spectacular railway journey   through the mountains of Snowdonia National  Park from Blaenau Ffestiniog to Caernarfon. There are no trains running today, check this  site for bookings and timetables. Back in 2017  

In this area, we managed to capture one  of the trains during its journey on the route. We also rode on a service from  Blaenau Ffestiniog to Porthmadog and it   was spectacular. Well before our filming days  so sadly we don’t have much footage of the visit.

Definitely one attraction you should  not miss when you come to Wales. Back in the village, there are a few more  shops to talk about. As you follow the   river back to Glaslyn Bridge there is a  line of gift shops and a tea garden cafe. It’s a nice spot to grab a drink,  

Browse the small selection of plants for  sale or pop into the Riverside giftshop. The most interesting of these premises  is the former National School built in   the 1850s. A national school was where  children from poor families received a   basic education. The building included  a house for the schoolmaster seen on  

The right. It closed in 1911 when the larger  school opened near the main village car park. The building is now home to Beddgelert  Woodcraft and it’s worth popping inside as   it has quite a mix of unique gift ideas, many  carved from wood as the shop name suggests.

Beddgelert is a wonderful base from which to  take many hikes including to the summit of   Snowdon. We are not seasoned hikers but did  venture out on a more inclement afternoon   for an easy hike in the Beddgelert Forest  which is only accessible by car 10 minutes  

From the village or a 45-minute  walk to the start of the trails. With our waterproofs on, we set  off.   Thankfully it was a gravel path most of the way as we decided to leave our walking boots in the car. We spent just under 2 hours walking the  Red Trail through some lovely scenery  

Crossing the west highland railway  tracks which pass through the forest. Somebody’s old building, maybe an old bothy? Do they call them bothy’s in Wales? yeah, I think so. The area around Lake Llewelyn was  being improved with better walkways   so we couldn’t get too close. I  imagine this is all finished now.

Overall, even with the gloomy weather,  it was a lovely walk in nature. At night the village quietens down again and  the bubble of the river becomes the dominant   sound. Everyone is either in a pub or  eating at one of the few restaurants.  

We pre-booked Bistro Hebog which was lucky  as it was completely full. We had a super   meal in this charming place. Will went  for the pan-seared scallops.   I devoured the delicious liver pate with red onion chutney  and toasted sourdough. And for the main course,  

We both enjoyed the gorgeous cider-braced  porchetta. It was a wonderful evening which   ended with a cosy seat by the fire at our cottage.  Let’s look ahead to what’s coming next time. Next time we visit a whimsical wonderland  that feels like stepping into a Mediterranean  

Fairytale on the rugged Welsh Coast. Architect  Clough Williams Ellis transformed this coastal   village into a pastiche of styles from  classical columns to ornate bell towers,   creating a kaleidoscope of colours and a sense of  playful surprise around every corner. It’s become  

One of Wale’s best-loved treasures. Join us as  we take a dazzling tour around Portmeirion.    Make sure you are subscribed and we’ll see you on the  next one. Thanks for watching the Memoryseekers.

Step into a Welsh fairytale! We’re exploring Beddgelert, the most beautiful village in Wales, nestled in the heart of Snowdonia National Park. Imagine quaint stone and slate cottages, beautiful hikes, whispers of ancient legends and a cosy hideaway for us at the end of the day. Beddgelert might just be our new favourite Welsh escape – come along and see why!
We’ll take you on a tour of Beddgelert from dawn to dusk and show you all the wonderful shops and things to do. Take a walk up to Beddgelert station and the Welsh Highland Railway. Stroll along the river to Gelert’s Grave and find out the legend of the “faithful hound”.
There is so much to see and do in Beddgelert you’ll want to stay overnight for sure.

Try our cosy cottage in the link here.https://www.airbnb.co.uk/rooms/50981692
We are not affiliated we just thought you might like to try it!

Helpful links:-
https://www.syguncoppermine.co.uk/
www.sherparwyddfa.wales
https://www.princellewelyn.co.uk/
https://www.beddgelerttourism.com

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With thanks to www.google.com and Google Earth for the Use of images
00:00 Introduction
00:41 Beddgelert Early Morning
02:54 River Walk
04:27 Gelerts Grave
08:05 Snowdonia Views
08:51 Beddgelert Green
09:44 Our Cosy Cottage
11:26 Village Walk Shops
13:50 St Mary’s Church
15:38 Beddgelert more shops
18:02 Welsh Highland Railway
21:12 Beddgelert Craft
22:32 Beddgelert Forest Hike
24:55 Beddgelert at Night
25:36 Next Time…

#northwales #beddgelert #wales