Eryri Snowdonia photo locations - the most beautiful villages to visit
Whilst Eryri Snowdonia is famous for its stunning mountain scenery the National Park also has some lovely scenic villages to visit. Surrounded by beautiful landscapes and each with their own unique character they're a "must see" for any visitors or photographers spending time in the North Wales area.
If you'd like to see more photos of Eryri Snowdonia do have a browse of my Snowdonia photos gallery on my website:
https://www.landscapephotographyuk.com/snowdonia-photographs
Llanwrst
Llanwrst is located in the heart of the Conwy valley on the edge of Eryri Snowdonia. It’s a very popular spot for photography in North Wales with the famous 15th Century Tu Hwnt i'r Bont tearoom and the nearby 17th Century Pont Fawr. It’s also home to one of Snowdonia’s least known waterfalls, The Grey Mare’s Tail, set in secluded woodland just on the outskirts of the village.
Tu Hwnt I’r Bont is Snowdonia’s most popular tearoom and one of the UK’s most photographed.
Beddgelert village
Beddgelert is a wonderfully photogenic location with riverside walks and wildflower meadows, attractive stone cottages, a heritage railway and one of Snowdonia’s most famous legends, Gelert the dog. The village itself has some attractive stone buildings and lovely riverside walks; it sits at the junction of the Afon Colwyn and Afon Glaslyn. The Welsh Highland Railway has a station on the edge of the village with a backdrop of the peak of Moel Hebog; time it right and you get 2 steam locomotives for the price of one as they’re timetabled to meet at the station. As with much of Snowdonia the village is also steeped in legend and the short walk through attractive meadows to Gelerts grave is worth the effort, not only to absorb the story of Prince Llewelyn’s faithful hound written on the tombstone but also for the mountain views; Snowdon looking north east and Moel Hebog to the north; don’t miss the bronze statue of Gelert hidden in stone ruins of Beudy Buarth Gwyn, just past the grave.
Bala
The historic town of Bala sits at the head of the Llyn Tegid, the largest natural lake in Wales, in an area known as the Welsh Lake District and an area of Eryri Snowdonia less frequented by photographers. It’s popular for watersports and it’s heritage narrow gauge railway, Bala Lake Railway, one of the “Great Little Trains of Wales”.
The main photo viewpoint for Llyn Tegid is from the foreshore with distant views of the more isolated Snowdonia Aran Mountain range a popular location for water sport activities, sailing, canoeing and windsurfing.
Bala Lake Railway passing alongside Llyn Tegid
The narrow gauge railway dates from 1868 and operates both heritage steam and diesel locomotives. Llanuwchllyn station provides opportunities of photographing approaching locomotives and static detail shots on the platform. The station buildings are particularly photogenic, a fascinating glimpse into a bygone era. Try a wide shot of the waiting room with its Snowdonia mountain backdrop of the Aran range.
Betws-y-coed
Home to the most popular waterfall in Eryri Snowdonia, in fact in the whole of North Wales, Swallow Falls. The 15th century Pont Y Pair Bridge, in the centre of Betws-y-coed is also a great photo location, especially when the salmon make their autumnal dash upstream.
The main visitors area at Swallow Falls is accessed via the turnstile directly alongside the A5, opposite the Swallow Falls Hotel. You have a choice of photo opportunities here with several manmade viewpoints, it's best to explore them all although the upper ones for me provide the best scenic photographs of the falls.
Betws-y-coed photo viewpoint: Swallow Falls
Betws-y-coed photo viewpoint: Miners Bridge
Miners Bridge is located in a narrow gorge on the Afon llugwy with flows from the heart of Snowdonia through Betws-y-coed and a short drive away from Swallow Falls. Photo viewpoints are relatively limited so it’s a pretty easy location to photograph
All the Eryri Snowdonia photography locations are included in my popular guidebook, Photographing North Wales.
Personally signed copies are available here on my website:
https://www.landscapephotographyuk.com/north-wales-photo-location-guidebook
