Snowdonia

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.

Go north from Porthmadog on the A498, towards the very heart of Snowdonia.

Beddgelert is about as central as you get, with a mountain slopes rising in all directions from the little resort village. There's an easy walk along the railway track (proposed to be reinstated as part of the Welsh Highland Railway) through Aberglaslyn Gorge, as well as more testing hikes on to the mountains: Moel Hebog makes a particularly satisfying objective.

The comfortable Tanronen does good food. Just north-east of the village, the Sygun Copper Mine is open for tours: there are magnificent stalactites and stalagmites, and traces of gold and silver in the copper ore veins. You're greeted by a wonderful view of the montains when you emerge at the end.

Take the A4085 north-west, passing close to the summit of Snowdon to the right. The mountain scenery suddenly gives way to a more pastoral landscape overlooking the Menai Strait that separates the mainland from the Isle of Anglesey.