Let’s get one thing clear from the outset, North Wales is not just a lumpy bit of Britain with sheep and soggy hills. It is, in fact, an absurdly overlooked part of the UK that offers everything from dizzying castles to sand-between-your-toes beaches, mist-shrouded mountains to Victorian promenades that smell faintly of fudge and nostalgia. If you’ve never been, consider this your nudge. If you have been, consider this a gentle reminder of why you ought to go back.
1. Snowdonia
Mountains, myths and mild regret
Let’s start with the obvious, Snowdonia National Park. It’s like Scotland’s younger, more polite cousin. You can climb Mount Snowdon if you’re feeling energetic (or masochistic), or you can take the lazy and deeply satisfying route up on the historic mountain railway, which feels like a miniature Hogwarts Express if Hogwarts was staffed entirely by friendly Welsh pensioners.
The views are staggering, partly because they’re breathtaking, partly because you’re a bit winded. And there’s myth too, King Arthur, giants, dragons, probably some elves. It’s all very stirring.
2. Castles that look like they mean business
If you’ve ever looked at a castle and thought, That seems a bit dainty, then North Wales has the antidote. Edward I, who frankly had some control issues, built a whole chain of colossal castles here to show off and keep the Welsh in check. Caernarfon, Conwy, Harlech and Beaumaris are the architectural equivalent of someone slamming a stone fist on the table.
They’re UNESCO-listed, photogenic in that moody “Game of Thrones” way, and bafflingly well-preserved. You half expect to see knights clanking by muttering about trebuchets.
3. The beaches are legitimately excellent
Yes, beaches. In Wales. Real ones, with sand and rock pools and actual sunshine if you time it right (May to September, roughly, with optimism). Think Llanddwyn Island, windswept and romantic. Or Barmouth, which feels like a seaside town from an Enid Blyton book, only with better chips.
For families, dogs, sandcastle architects and anyone who secretly enjoys paddling, the North Wales coastline is a revelation. Pack a towel, just in case.
4. Portmeirion
Italy but Welsh
This is not a joke. There is an actual pastel-coloured, Italianate village in North Wales that looks like it was plucked from the Amalfi Coast by a man with a very eccentric vision and a truckload of stucco. Portmeirion was built by Sir Clough Williams-Ellis in the 20th century and it is glorious nonsense.
Come for the architecture, stay for the woodland walks, overpriced gelato and slightly baffled seagulls wondering where on earth they are.
5. Anglesey
An island you can drive to
There’s something inherently exciting about crossing a bridge to an island, especially when the bridge in question is the glorious Menai Suspension Bridge, which sounds like something from a spy novel. Anglesey (Ynys Môn to those in the know) is a place of puffin-speckled cliffs, sleepy villages and signs that will absolutely tie your tongue in knots.
Visit the village with the famously long name, Llanfairpwllgwyngyllgogerychwyrndrobwllllantysiliogogogoch, which sounds like someone sneezing into a bagpipe, and enjoy the gentle sense of smugness that comes from just trying to pronounce it.
6. Steam trains that chuff through scenery like a postcard
North Wales takes heritage railways very seriously. Whether it’s the Ffestiniog Railway, the Welsh Highland Railway or the Llanberis Lake Railway, you can board a charmingly vintage carriage and rumble through countryside so pretty it makes your phone camera weep with gratitude.
It’s also a brilliant way to see the scenery without walking up too many hills, which is a win by anyone’s standards.
7. Llandudno
Where the seaside still smells of peppermint rock
Llandudno is the seaside as it used to be, only better dressed. It has a sweeping promenade, a wonderfully daft pier full of slot machines and teacups, and a giant hill called the Great Orme, which you can scale via tram, cable car or a determined waddle.
There are Punch and Judy shows in summer, bookshops for rainy afternoons and a faintly timeless feel that makes you want to write postcards and eat sugared almonds.
8. Quaint villages that look like they fell out of a storybook
Places like Betws-y-Coed and Beddgelert are more than just tongue-twisters, they’re idyllic spots where moss grows thick on stone bridges and pubs serve proper Welsh rarebit and local ales with names like “Dragon’s Breath.”
These are villages for pottering. You arrive, wander slowly, take too many photos of ivy-covered walls and end up buying homemade chutney from someone named Mair.
9. Adventure activities that are slightly terrifying in a good way
North Wales has somehow rebranded itself as the UK’s adventure capital. Zip World offers a zipline that is faster than the national speed limit. You can tramp through underground caves filled with trampolines (Bounce Below), surf artificial waves at Adventure Parc Snowdonia or go mountain biking on trails that have warning signs featuring skulls and exclamation marks.
Perfect for adrenaline junkies, teenagers and reluctant dads trying to prove something.
10. The language the music the magic
Finally, North Wales is just… different. The place hums with its own sense of identity. The Welsh language is everywhere, not just on road signs, but spoken in shops and pubs. There’s a lyrical quality to it, even if you understand none of it (which you won’t). Music is part of the soul of the place, male voice choirs, harpists, spontaneous pub singalongs.
You’ll feel it in the slate-grey hills, in the winds that whip through valleys and in the quiet pride of the people who live there.
So why go to North Wales
Because it’s close enough to visit on a whim, wild enough to feel like an adventure and wonderful enough that you’ll wonder why you didn’t go sooner. It’s a place where you can climb a mountain before lunch and sit on a beach by teatime, where the past is etched into stone walls and every village has a tale to tell.
Go for the castles. Stay for the bara brith. Just don’t forget your raincoat, you’re still in Britain, after all.
