TAKING A BREAK IN LLANBERIS - WALES, UK

Llanberis is a small village in Gwynedd, in north Wales, nestling  several miles to the north of Mount Snowdonia, which is Wales, and the United Kingdom's highest mountain range, all 1085 metres of it. 

Llanberis can be accessed along the A4086, and is really the departure point for many of the tourists who visit Mount Snowdonia, as the steam and deisel mountain trains which take them to and from the mountain's summit leave from there. For under £30, one is able to make the 2 1/2 - 1 hour getting to the top, spend 30 minutes admiring the view, and 1 hour getting back - hour return journey to the top of Mount Snodonia.

As well as having this major attraction, Llanberis also has several notable attractions which help its visitors to have enjoyable and breath-taking short break holidays there. The attractions include the two local lakes, Llyn Padarn and Llyn Paris, which, as well as providing the visitor with a peaceful and scenic view completed with verdant flora carpeting the mountainous terrain, are also semi-navigated by the Padarn Lakeside Steam Railway. 

For just over £8 per adult, you can take the trail and chuck chuck chuck chuck away to the far side of the lakes, along with the other passengers to the end of the line, before returning to Padarn to spend some time having refreshments or a meal, and visiting the National Slate Museum, before taking another train back to the embarkation point. Of course, if you prefer to use shanks pony, it is quite feasible to walk from Llanberis to Padran and beyond.

Other attractions which await the visitor, includes Electric Mountain, Art and Craft shops, walking to the Waterfall which is situated about a mile or less from the boarding station taking tourists to Mount Snowdonia's Summit, and, for the more intrepid visitor, attempting the 8 miles, 9 hours walk to and from the mountain's summit. Some visitors take the train to the top and then walk back down.

The sign in the Reception/Rest are at the top of Mount Snowdonia.

Driving with my friend, we left the Westmidlands in the United Kingdon at just after 12 noon, and completed the 150 miles to Llanberis in just under 4 hours, having stopped at a motorway service station to get some refreshments and relieving ourselves. The journey was quite straightforward - M6, M56, A494, A55, A5, A4044, and A4086. Although we were busy looking out for our Hotel - The Lake View Hotel in Llanberis - before we realised it, we had passed it, heading towards the village, and had to make a detour to get back to it.

The Lake View Hotel is a place of distinction, which, when it is lighted up at nights, has an added look of beauty about it. It is built on foundations cut out of the hard rock along the hilly road which has, itself, been hewed out of the rock.  With its back to the face of the steep hill, bedecked with trees and other plants,TLVH overlooks a lake several metres below the road and provides a good vantage point from which to view mountain ranges in the inter-mediate distance. One can imagine that, come winter, the lake will be more visible, as the trees and other flora obscuring it during Spring and Summer, will have shed their leaves during Autumn and Winter.

The Hotel is run by an amiable and professional couple of a certain age, who are clearly committed to providing a very high quality of service for their guests. This was evidenced from the cleanliness of the hotel, the rooms and facilities, the quality of the food, the customer service, and the general atmosphere, ambiance, including the relaxing music.

A nice snack was had here.

During our short break we had an enjoyable light meal - I had bacon and egg wrap and a cup of drinking chocolate, while my friend had a sausage wrap - at the Art and Craft Cafe.' and we both had drinking chocolate at the Electric Mountain Cafe'.

My friend and me make the Lakeside Railway Steam train journey to Padarn and back, which was enjoyable, both for for the scenery and the company of the other tourists with whom we made the approximately one hour - including stopping time - journey. My friend and me topped off our trip by her visiting the National Slate Museum, while I took the train to the Summit of Mount Snowdonia.

The view from the Lake View Hotel.

All told, as the saying goes, my friend and I had a lovely time in Llanberis, with some of the people - both visitors like ourselves, and locals, such at the owners of TLVH, playing their role in adding to the fun. People like A and N, who are regulars who were on their 4 trip to Llanberis and are in fascinated  with climbing Snowdonia from different routes. A and N are outdoor types, who enjoy long walks and filling their days with challenging activities to meet their appetite to push their ambition to the next level. You would not believe that N apparently suffers from vertigo, and that A, notwithstanding her apparently intrepid nature, sometimes become unnerved by some a few of the challenges they have encountered in their exploits on Snowdonia.

If you have not visited Llanberis, it is a place which is definitely worth visiting.