The epic landscapes of North Wales are alive with action, and a rich, distinctive culture. You’ll find three Areas of Outstanding Natural Beauty, three UNESCO World Heritage Sites, and some of the UK’s best adventure. Within the region of North Wales you'll find Conwy, Denbighshire, Flintshire, Gwynedd, Wrexham and Ynys Môn (the Isle of Anglesey).

The A-list

North Wales is an A-Team kind of place. It’s the adventure, activities and adrenaline capital of the UK.

Walkers on Crib Goch, Snowdonia
Hiking, Crib Goch, Eryri (Snowdonia) National Park

Up in the air and down below

Slate quarries have been transformed into new adventure centres. How about riding the world’s fastest zipline (we’re talking 100mph/160kph)? Or 'bouncing below' on a giant trampoline in an underground cavern? Or tearing down mountain biking trails carved into a jagged slate mountain?

Visitors on the underground trampolines at Bounce Below in Blaenau Ffestiniog, North Wales
Person riding a Zip Wire over Penrhyn Slate Quarry
Bounce Below and Zip World, Eryri (Snowdonia), North Wales

On the water

Splash around in our rivers, seas and lakes. We’re big on sailing and stand-up paddleboarding, kayaking and surfing. We’ve even got the guaranteed perfect wave.

You’ll have to travel inland to find it – to Adventure Parc Snowdonia in the lush Conwy Valley, home to the world’s first inland surfing lagoon.

Young people standing on paddleboards in the water surrounded by soft hills and a tower.
Stand up Paddleboarding, Portmeirion, North Wales

Mountain high

Yr Wyddfa (Snowdon) is the alpha-mountain in this rocky landscape. But it’s got serious competition from its 13 neighbouring peaks that dominate North-west Wales’ landscape. Snowdon gives its name to the Snowdonia National Park. It’s a vast swathe of countryside (823 square miles/2,176 square kilometres) with deep gorges like the Aberglaslyn Pass, and valleys clothed in ancient oakwoods (see them from narrow-gauge railways). Idyllic mountain lakes like Llynnau Mymbyr look too good to be true. Waterfalls don’t come any wetter or better than the Aber Falls near Llanfairfechan.

Two people walking along a trail in the mountains
Walkers in the Eryri (Snowdonia) National Park

Highs and lows

Further east, the landscape is a little lower but no less spectacular. The Denbigh Moors are so beguiling that they are known in Welsh as Mynydd Hiraethog (“The Hills of Longing”). The Welsh border is guarded by the Clwydian Range and Dee Valley, a designated Area of Outstanding Natural Beauty. Climb to the smooth summit of Moel Famau for far-reaching views across Wales and England.

 

Coasting along

We have hundreds of miles of coastline. The Isle of Anglesey (connected to the mainland by road and rail bridges) and wild Llŷn Peninsula are both Areas of Outstanding Natural Beauty. The north coast is dotted with seaside resorts, the most celebrated of which is Llandudno.

Lighthouse on a small island, with the sea and mountains in the background.
Small village on a green headland in the sea
Llanddwyn Island Porth Dinllaen, Llŷn Peninsula, North Wales

Rock stars

Wales is a “land of castles”, nowhere more so than in the north. History and heritage are etched across the landscape in the form of medieval fortresses built by native Welsh princes and English invaders.

The most famous – the mighty trio of Beaumaris, Caernarfon and Conwy – share World Heritage Site status. Travel inland to discover ruins like Dolbadarn and Dolwyddelan, mountain strongholds of the Princes of Gwynedd.

View of a historic castle which lies behind a bridge by sunset.
Conwy Castle, North Wales

The story of slate

Penrhyn Castle, Bangor, is a relative newcomer. This fabulous 19th-century mock-fortress was built with the wealth generated by North Wales’ slate industry, which completely reshaped this part of the world during the Industrial Revolution. This part of Wales was one of the biggest producers of slate, quarrying it in huge amounts for shipping all across the globe. The importance of this unique industry has recently been recognised by UNESCO, with the slate landscape of Northwest Wales becoming one of the UK's newest World Heritage Sites. Learn about slate's impact on the people and places of North Wales with a tour of Blaenau Ffestiniog’s slate mines or a visit to the National Slate Museum at Llanberis.

Old slate quarry with a lake within green mountains.
Slate quarry, Blaenau Ffestiniog, North Wales

A language lesson

The Welsh language is at its strongest in some of these parts. One of Europe’s oldest living languages, it underpins a rich culture and heritage. Learn more at Nant Gwrtheyrn’s Welsh Language and Heritage Centre, spectacularly located on Llŷn’s cliff-backed north coast.

Stone house within green hills and a brick wall in the front.
Nant Gwrtheyrn, Llŷn Peninsula

An insider's guide

  • Are we in Italy? Or Wales? You’ll get a taste of both at Portmeirion, the unique Italianate village.
  • “The canal in the sky.” That’s Pontcysyllte Aqueduct, a dizzying World Heritage Site that carries the Llangollen Canal high above the Dee Valley.
  • See Anglesey at its best from its rugged – and romantic – coastal path. Walk the big beach to Llanddwyn Island, home of Santes Dwynwen, Wales’ patron saint of lovers.
  • Bodnant Garden is a green jewel, where formal flowerbeds lead down to the wild and wonderful Dingle.
  • Taste North Wales’ bountiful larder of farm-and sea-fresh produce. Head to Gwledd Conwy Feast, held every October.
Man in a boat crossing a canal viaduct
Small village with colorful Mediterranean houses and colorful plants and flowers
Pontcysyllte Aqueduct and Portmeirion, North Wales

Related stories