Best Bus to Catch to Betws-y-Coed (2)

This hand coloured magic lantern slide has been enhanced (badly) by fbb – but it is the earliest picture on-line of Betws-y-Coed railway station. Next we have an enlargement from a 1961 photo …

… which shows two platforms and a bay containing a camping coach. fbb has found no pictures of real chuff chuff steam trains at the station; except more recent charters.

The line runs from Llandudno Junction (and thus from Llandudno) via Betws and on to Blaenau Ffestiniog where a conection is available with the Festiniog Railway down the hill to Porthmadog.

Modern traction has been good old fashioned diesels …

… more modern old fashioned diesels …

… and swish new class 197s.

The service is hardly lavish!

There are four return trips on a Sunday.

The fbbs travelled with Llew Jones 19 …

… a descendant of Arriva 19 …

… a descendant of Crosville M19.

There was also an M20 …

Crosville did publish a network map – better referred to as a “diagram” …

… which, helpfully (NOT!) doesn’t show route numbers. But you would suppose that, as Crosville was the only bus company in town, you only needed a basic guide to go with your timetable book. 

Remember when you didn’t need an internet connection, a good phone signal or a lengthy course in necromancy to find out when and where you bus might go. Ah, those were the halcyon days!

Pictures exisit of an Arriva X84 …

… continuing from Betwys to Blaenau Ffestiniog. Now fbb’s unreliable memory thinks that the X84 was a semi permanent rail replacement service operating on a Sunday. But, as ever, he could be wrong.

A recent on-line map for Gwynedd county shows a service X1 between Porthmadog, Blaenau, Betws and Llandudno …

… but as with so much that is all on line, it is all out of date and thus useless! The service was operated by Express Motors and used the main A470 between Llandudo and Betws.

The timetable was not quite as good as once an hour all the way …

… with sporadic connections to Dolgellau by service 35.

Now nothing runs on inflated tyres between Betws-y-Coed and Blaenau Ffestiniog. The train is fine but it misses some of the best views by inconsiderately diving into a tunnel – only to re-appear just before the terminus. Here is a view of the tunnel whilst travelling north …

… and immediately upon exit!

And a map showing tunnel and road.

Roman Bridge station (north of the tunnel) is gloriously remote!

The bus ride over the top was always better!

Also at Betws-y-Coed “interchange” you may well encounter a Snowdon Sherpa route S1.

This has come from Caenarfon via Llanberis, also a stonkingly good ride …

… and usually double deck; which makes it even better!

A relative newcomer to Betws-y-Coed is the Traws Cymru T10.

Traws Cymru is a network of longer distance bus services that has expanded significantly over recent years.

Publicity is of high quality as is the style of the service …

… similar to Citylink in Scotland. The T10 thunders long to A5 from Bangor to Corwen …

… where connections can be made with the T8 and the T3.

The ride is scenic almost all the way and well worth making the effort to enjoy it.

So despite historic cutbacks, there is still plenty of public transport to enjoy at Betws-y-Coed.

And not too far along the A5 westbound, you come to the Swallow Falls.

As a child, fbb was taken there,  in the rain, by family; and his enduring memory is of Grandma protecting her hair and hairnet with a pair of fbb’s baby sister’s plastic pants. True ingenuity at work, but appalling to the young ones’ mother!

But weren’t the fbbs desperate for the cyfleusterau cyhoeddus?