The Ffestiniog Railway

A ChuffingtonTours excursion

Welcome to this trip to one of my favourite parts of North Wales. The table below outlines the itinerary. You may take as long or as short a time as you like over the journey as this is a virtual trip: in the real world the single journey takes just over an hour. (The timetable is available on the official FR site.)

**Outline of itinerary**
Blaenau Ffestiniog
Tanygrisiau	(Request stop)
Dduallt	(Request stop)
Tan-y-Bwlch
Plas Halt	(Request stop)
Penrhyn
Minffordd
Boston Lodge	(Request stop)
Porthmadog
Please note that if you wish to get off at a request stop you must inform the guard when boarding the train. To get on, give a clear hand signal to the driver.

Here is a map of the line. Those of you who have extra time to spare may be interested in these other local attractions.

(The photographs on this page are my own and are copyright: if you wish to reproduce any of them please ask permission first.)

Blaenau Ffestiniog


Blaenau Ffestiniog from the station bridge. (There is now a low level foot crossing across the British Rail line from the station car park, too.)	Blaenau Ffestiniog station with slate tips in the distance	Palmerston at Blaenau Ffestiniog on 31st July 1993, having hauled the first coal-fired passenger train to Blaenau since 1939. (Since the line was reopened to Blaenau in 1982, most of the FR's steam locomotives have been oil-fired.)

We are boarding the train at Blaenau Ffestiniog, a little town at the centre of the old slate mining district. Slate tips dominate the landscape and a local mine, the Llechwedd Slate Caverns, has been opened to the public. If you wish to visit the slate caverns they are a short bus journey from the station.

The station is shared with British Rail (well, the local train operating company calls itself First Northwestern now) who run services down the Conwy Valley to Llandudno Junction where you can change for the North Wales Coast line.

Blaenau is supposed to be one of the wettest places in the country but I have seen the sun shine there at least twice, so we may be lucky with the weather.

David Lloyd George with a down train between Blaenau Ffestiniog and Tanygrisiau

On leaving Blaenau we also leave the slate tips behind as we head for the more natural scenery of the Vale of Ffestiniog.

Tanygrisiau


David Lloyd George at Tanygrisiau	Tanygrisiau's waterfall

Request stop.
Tanygrisiau is a small station next to a waterfall and reservoir. The building of the reservoir flooded the line of the Ffestiniog Railway, so we are now on the new line known as the 'Deviation'. From Tanygrisiau it is possible to visit the Ffestiniog Pumped Storage Power Station.


Llyn Ystradau from an up train approaching Tanygrisiau	Sheep crossing the old line north of Dduallt

Between Tanygrisiau and Dduallt we are travelling along the 'Deviation'. This takes us past the reservoir, Llyn Ystradau, through the new Moelwyn Tunnel and parallel to the old line until we reach the Dduallt spiral, which was built to gain the height needed to bypass the reservoir.

Dduallt

Linda with a down train on the Dduallt spiral

Request stop.
The station is situated in the middle of the UK's only rail spiral, and has no road access. It is a good place to get off if you feel like a walk from the middle of nowhere to somewhere else. It is possible to walk along much of the old line back to Tanygrisiau or on footpaths to the next station, Tan-y-Bwlch, or to go off in a different direction altogether to climb a mountain or something.

View of Dwyryd valley from below Dduallt

Between Dduallt and Tan-y-Bwlch there are two private halts, Campbell's Platform and Coed-y-Bleddiau.

Tan-y-Bwlch


Approaching Tan-y-Bwlch station	Mountaineer at Tan-y-Bwlch	Merddin Emrys at Tan-y-Bwlch

Tan-y-Bwlch and the surrounding forests are in the Snowdonia National Park. From here there are easy nature trails leading down through the forests to the nearby lakes.

If you are here between Spring Bank Holiday and September you will find the cafe and shop open, so you can buy souvenirs of the railway and enjoy some refreshment.

Plas Halt

Request stop.
This halt is at the intersection of woodland paths, and is perched above the Snowdonia National Park Study Centre. Visitors to the Gardens at Plas Tan-y-Bwlch should alight here. (Inclusive tickets are available from the Porthmadog booking office covering travel on the railway and entrance fees to the Gardens.)

Rhiw Goch

View of Dwyryd valley from Rhiw Goch

You can't get off here, but from the crossing loop there are good views of the Dwyryd valley.

Penrhyn


View of Dwyryd estuary from Penrhyn Crossing	Penrhyn station looking down	Penrhyn station looking up

Penrhyn has the last remaining staffed level crossing on the Ffestiniog Railway, so give the crossing keeper a wave. (Until recently it has been common for the buffet steward to throw him a cup of tea.) The station is just below the crossing, commanding wide views across the Dwyryd estuary. The newly restored Victorian station buildings are now used as a hostel for volunteer groups.

Minffordd


Palmerston at Minffordd	Minffordd Yard from BR station

At Minffordd the Ffestiniog Railway crosses above the BR Cambrian Coast Line, so if you want to visit other parts of the west coast this is a good place to change trains. Or for a change from railways you could visit the Italianate village of Portmeirion, just 15 minutes walk up the road.

Snowdon seen in the distance across the cemetery Palmerston and Prince double-heading the Vintage Train below Minffordd View from between Minffordd and Boston Lodge looking towards Snowdon

Boston Lodge

Boston Lodge Works with Ashover and David Lloyd George visible

Request stop.
An apparently unimportant halt, one mile from Porthmadog along the Cob, Boston Lodge is the home of the longest-serving railway workshops in the country. If you wish to alight here, you could walk up the wooded hill overlooking the Glaslyn estuary, or to Portmeirion. And it is also possible to walk alongside the railway line all the way along the Cob to Porthmadog.

The Cob


Linda on the Cob	David Lloyd George on the Cob	View from the Cob - the distant peak is Snowdon

This mile-long embankment was built in 1811 across the mouth of the Afon Glaslyn, as part of the development of the Portmadoc area by William Alexander Maddocks. On a clear day Snowdon is visible in the distance.

Porthmadog


Porthmadog Harbour Station	Linda arrives at Porthmadog while Conway Castle waits to take out the last train

Porthmadog is a nice little town on the coast, below the mountains of Snowdonia. The railway was built to serve the busy slate wharves, which are now occupied by holiday accommodation. Harbour Station is the Ffestiniog's terminus - all change, please! Feel free to take advantage of the licensed restaurant and bar, gift and souvenir shop, booking office and rail travel centre as well as the museum.

At the other end of the town's main street are Porthmadog's other two stations - the BR station on the Cambrian Coast Line, and the terminus of the Welsh Highland Railway. Sometime in the next century the Welsh Highland may be able to take you all the way to Caernarfon, but at present it only goes about a mile. It will probably take ten minutes or more to walk up to the other end of Porthmadog but there are various ice cream shops on the way where you can find refreshment.

Other local attractions

Ffestiniog Pumped Storage Power Station

Sited at the edge of the Snowdonia National Park with a spectacular backdrop - Ffestiniog Power Station was the first major pumped storage station in the UK. Alight at Tanygrisiau halt and book a guided tour of the power station at the visitor centre - or take a scenic walk and enjoy panoramic views of Snowdonia.

Llechwedd Slate Caverns

A remarkable recreation of one of Blaenau Ffestiniog's famous slate mines as it was in Victorian times. The development includes a Victorian village complete with pub and shops and offers two tours of the mines: "The Miners' Tramway" and "The Deep Mine" tour which descends on a cable incline to the huge caverns underground. Inclusive tickets are available from Porthmadog with bus connections from Blaenau Ffestiniog Station. For further details of one or both tours, ask when booking.

Portmeirion

This Italianate village was built by the architect Sir Clough Williams-Ellis between 1925 and 1972, and was the setting of the TV series "The Prisoner". The village and shops are open all year round, with a charge for admission. Portmeirion is a short walk from Minffordd station or a bus ride from Porthmadog High Street.

Ffestiniog Railway home page

Last updated 19th November 2003 by Hilary Phillips


Snowdon seen in the distance across the cemetery	Palmerston and Prince double-heading the Vintage Train below Minffordd	View from between Minffordd and Boston Lodge looking towards Snowdon