Back Roads Great Britain (Eyewitness Travel Back Roads)

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EAT AND DRINK

MOUNT SNOWDON

Snowdon Mountain Railway Station

Café & Caffi y Copa at Hafod Eryri

inexpensive

The café at Hafod Eryri on Snowdon’s

summit offers baked savouries from

the Village Bakery (since 1934).

Alternatively the café at Llanberis

serves all-day brunch, snacks and tea.

Snowdon Summit/Llanberis,

LL55 4TY; 01286 870 223;

http://www.snowdoniarailway.co.uk

Caban Cyf inexpensive

Near Llanberis, this restaurant uses

organic produce from its own garden.

Yr Hen Ysgol, Brynrefail, LL55 3NR;

01286 685 500; http://www.caban-cyf.org

open lunch, Sat eve.

Heights Hotel moderate

This hotel has an extensive bar menu

of home-cooked food with good

vegetarian options.

74 High Street, Llanberis, LL55 4HB;

01286 871 179; http://www.heightshotel.net

BEAUMARIS

Beau’s Tea Room inexpensive

This is the place to fill up on tea and

fresh barabrith. In a cosy 400-year-old

building, the café also sells hot meals –

and antique bone china.

30 Castle Street, LL58 8AP; 01248 811

010; http://www.beaustearoom.co.uk

DRIVE 14: Through Snowdonia National Park

Eat and Drink: inexpensive, under £25; moderate, £25–£50; expensive, over £50

Above left Caernarfon Castle, built to recall the

walls of Constantinople Above top right Café

culture in the quiet centre of Caernarfon Above

right Cosy Beau’s Tea Room, in a historic building

close to the castle, Beaumaris

Left Beaumaris Castle, the largest of

Edward I’s Welsh fortifications

a fine example of late 13th- and early
14th-century military architecture. The
colour-banded masonry was inspired
by Constantinople’s walls. King Edward
wanted the castle to be a royal
residence and seat of government for
north Wales. Its symbolic status was
emphasized when Edward made sure
his son, the first English Prince of
Wales, was born here in 1284. It was
more recently used for the investiture
of the present Prince of Wales in 1969.
On the A4085, on the edge of town,
stands the Roman fort of Segontium
(closed Mon; 01286 675 625) dating from
AD 77–78. The large fort was built to
control the approach to Anglesey and
see off Irish seaborne raiders. It was in
use until AD 395 and its internal layout
is still visible. There is also a museum.
ª Leave by A487 to Bangor. Take the
A5 left across Menai Suspension Bridge
(1826). Take A545 right to Beaumaris.
Park by pier or opposite castle.

a vaulted ceiling and lancet windows.

However, the money ran out before the

fortifications had reached full height.

Seafaring types can take a cruise to

see seals and puffins, or go wreck

fishing. Book with Starida Sea Services

(01248 810 251; http://www.starida.co.uk).

Take the coastal road north to the

tranquil tip of Anglesey, to Penmon

Priory at the entrance to the Menai

Straits. Founded in the 6th century, it

was destroyed by the Danes in the

10th. The present St Seiriol’s church

dates from around 1140. Inside are

some beautiful early stone Welsh

crosses. The well, outside, is believed

to be part of the original 6th-century

building, which would make it the

oldest ecclesiastical site in Wales.

ª Leave on B5109, turn right onto the

A5025, turning right for Moelfre. Drive

on to the seafront car park.

8 Beaumaris
Anglesey; LL58
With medieval, Georgian, Victorian and
Edwardian buildings and a wide range
of shops, Beaumaris is an attractive
town for visitors. See the Church of St
Mary for the carved tomb of Joan,
Llywelyn the Great’s wife. The main
draw here is Beaumaris Castle (open
daily), a military masterpiece and the
last and largest of Edward I’s Welsh
castles. Built in 1295 with concentric
symmetry and four lines of defence,
to a design by Master James of St
George, it was meant to control the
Menai Straits and there are great
views of Snowdonia. The low-lying
castle has 16 towers and a chapel with