Llanberis

Introducing Llanberis

Llanberis is a magnet for walkers and climbers, with lots of rugged, fleece-wearing trekkers relishing hearty meals and pub post mortems of the day’s activities. While not the most attractive town, it’s a popular and busy base from which to explore Snowdonia, especially in July and August when room space is at a premium.

The town was originally built to house workers in the Dinorwig slate quarry, whose massive waste tips are hard to miss as you approach from the east – despite the fact the quarry shut down in 1969. While tourism is the cornerstone of Llanberis life these days, the town still wears its industrial heritage on its sleeve with pride. Indeed, Dinorwig, which once boasted the largest artificial cavern in the world, has now become part of Europe’s biggest pumped-storage power station. Some of the old quarry workshops have been reincarnated as a museum of the slate industry, and the narrow-gauge railway that once hauled slate to the coast now tootles along Llyn Padarn.

Last updated: Feb 17, 2009