Ffestiniog Railway

The Ffestiniog Railway is one of the most important steam railways in Wales. We decided to take our holiday in Wales because of it. It was on our to-do list for some time and now it was the perfect time for it. The Ffestiniog Railway is part of the UNESCO “Slate landscape of North Wales” World Heritage Site.

The Ffestiniog Railway is the world’s oldest narrow gauge railway, about 200 years old. The journey is from the harbour port of Porthmadog to Blaenau Ffestiniog where slate was quarried. It’s a 13 and a half miles journey. There is another journey, all the way to Caernarfon, which is 25 miles away. We’ve been on the Porthmadog to Blaenau Ffestiniog line, but I would love to go back and take a trip to Caernarfon in the future.
In total there are 8 different lines to pick from.

Porthmadog to Blaenau Ffestiniog is serviced by Mountain Spirit, which is the one we picked. In total the journey is about 3 hours, with a 40 minutes break at Blaenau Ffestiniog, where people can have a look around. It’s not enough to see the town, but it is enough to get some drinks and food and to stretch our legs a bit.

There are lots of steam trains at peak times. Besides the people who are waiting for their train, there are lots of people just taking pictures and enjoying the steam trains. We did that too, went to see the trains in the morning, and went on a trip in the afternoon.

This is the pub in Porthmadog, a lovely place, nicely decorated, perfect for some drinks before taking the train.

It was so exciting to see the train ready to leave. It’s just a gorgeous journey.

This is the Cwmorthin Waterfall I blogged about earlier.

This is the train station at Blaenau Ffestiniog. It seems like a very nice town.

Overall the journeys are on the expensive side, but they are worth it without any doubt. I highly suggest booking before if you are visiting when is peak season.