Snowdonia

Blaenau Ffestiniog was once the slate capital of Wales and is dwarfed by mountains of spoil from the old mines that surround it. A visit to the Llechwydd Slate Caverns puts you in the picture (be warned: it's chilly, even in summer). The same company has been mining and quarrying slate here for 150 years and they have two tours of the huge caverns.

Britain's steepest passenger railway plunges you 450 feet down into the Deep Mine to give access to a walk through stunning subterranean chambers, where sound and light shows illustrate the world of the Victorian miner, and past an eerie underground lake, spectacularly lit. The other tour (the Miners Tramway) focuses on the mining process, with trains taking you round the Victorian workings past tableaux and demonstrations of old mining skills.

On the surface, you can change new money for old in the old bank, and browse the Victorian themed shops of the former mining village.

Blaenau Ffestiniog is also the eastern terminus of the Ffestiniog Railway, one of Snowdonia's remarkably numerous steam-hauled railways, which chugs its way round precipitous hillsides on its way to Porthmadog, with mainline services at each end.

Just south of town you can take a guided tour of Ffestiniog Pumped Storage Power Station, the first hydro-electric storage scheme in the country, offering dramatic views towards the main peaks.

Carry on south west on the A496 and then turn right on the A487 at Maentwrog.

A turning near Minffordd takes you to the extraordinary Italianate village of Portmeirion, created in the 20th century by the architect Clough Williams Ellis (and where the cult TV series The Prisoner was filmed). The place is full of quirky visual effects, with pastel-washed cottages interlaced with grottoes and cobbled squares, a bell tower, castle and lighthouse and a picturesque flight of steps zigzagging down to the water. Luscious gardens envelop the village with splendid displays of rhododendrons, hydrangeas, azaleas and sub-tropical species.

One shop specialises in the distinctive Portmeirion pottery (actually made not here but in Stoke).

Go west on the A487 to Porthmadog, a busy shoping town of slate-roofed terraces and with a spacious harbour. The Welsh Highland Railway and Ffestiniog Railway have their termini here. The Ship has decent food and for bathing Black Rock Sands to the west ranks among the area's best.