Classic Routes
To help you get the best out of your classic car and enjoy our beautiful region, we have prepared some brief notes on routes which are fun to drive, scenic and include interesting stopping places. However, we are always more than delighted to discuss your interests and requirements and help you to plan personalised routes.
Portmeirion via Bala & the Snowdonia National Park - return via Harlech & Dolgellau
Heading almost directly due west, within a few miles you cross into Wales. The gently rolling landscape gradually gives way to the more rugged terrain of the Snowdonia National Park as you climb over the heather and bracken covered Berwyn hills before dropping back down again to skirt the lakes at Bala and Llyn Celyn. The Cwm Prysor Valley then leads the way towards the Welsh Coast and your destination of Portmeirion, a fantasy Italianate village which was the setting for the cult ‘60s television series, The Prisoner.
The return journey takes you south along the coast past Harlech Castle, scene of the longest siege in British history (seven years!), to the coastal resort of Barmouth before turning back due east towards the market town of Dolgellau at the foot of the Idris Mountains, then heading back across Wales to the Shropshire border.
135 miles – approx 3hrs 30mins driving time.
Conwy via the Horseshoe Pass - return via Betws-y-Coed
North to Llangollen, home of the International Music Eisteddfod and a town not short of attractions at other times of the year such as its steam railway, canal with horsedrawn barges and the home of the (in)famous ladies of Llangollen , Plas Newydd. Then up and over the spectacular Horseshoe Pass, keeping north through Ruthin and Denbigh. Turning west towards the north Wales coast at Abergele, and then passing Colwyn Bay you reach your destination of Conwy, a very atmospheric walled town guarded by a magnificent castle and containing a number of other important heritage houses.
The return route heads south down the Vale of Conwy into the Snowdonia National Park to Betws-y-Coed. Then east again, threading between the eastern ranges of the Cambrian mountains and back via Llangollen.
128 miles – approx. 3hrs 15 mins driving time.
