Slow down in Snowdonia: a laid-back way to see north Wales

We take the train and local buses on a break with a new low-carbon specialist that aims to ‘make slow travel mainstream’

From the cliffs overlooking Aberdaron, the views of the Llŷn peninsula are dramatic. To the east, families are picnicking and building sandcastles on the vast golden beach below St Hywyn’s church; to the west the coastline becomes ever more rugged, laced with hidden, smuggler-worthy coves. It’s a Saturday, mid-heatwave, but the coastal path – once used by pilgrims travelling to the abbey on Bardsey Island, two miles offshore – feels serene.

My sense of calm prevails back in bustling Aberdaron village. I avoid ice-cream queues and car park wrangles and head instead to the bus stop. Soon I’m sitting back and marvelling at the Welsh countryside en route back to the royal town of Caernarfon, my base on the north coast.