Wales: Local Services
Reading time: 4 minutes.
In some parts of the principality, the Welsh seem to be good users of buses generally and that ensures a none too shabby set of useful services. There are a few local services collected here but there are many more than this, so I have got some more collecting to be doing. As well as additions, I also hope to keep what’s here as up to date as I can. If there are any oversights, please do send me a message, and I’ll be happy to fix them.
1F: Caernarfon - Cesarea - Carmel - Penygroes
1N: Caernarfon - Groeslon - Penygroes - Talysarn - Nantlle
Each of these services has a use for exploring the hills west of Betws Garmon such as Mynydd Mawr, Mynydd Tryfan and the Nantlle ridge. Only the 1N is a seven-day service while 1F operates from Monday to Saturday. Near two-hourly service frequencies are offered with these so you check timetables before you go travelling.
5: Wrexham - Llangollen
Now deprived of a connection to the National Rail network, a regular bus service is what performs sterling service in getting folk between Wrexham and the alluring place that is Llangollen. Seeing a weekday service level of up to every 30 minutes does make you wonder if it was a hasty folly to have removed that railway in the first place, especially with a heritage railway extending west from Llangollen as well. Since I have heard some rumblings regarding the restoration of a link with the national rail network, it is best never to discount what folk might be thinking and planning. In the meantime, this bus service does much of the needful for public transport users.
12: Pwllheli - Trefor - Caernarfon
27: Pwllheli - Lliwthfaen - Nefyn
These services will get you near some hills on the Llŷn peninsula that are worth walking and that is why they are listed here. It is service 12 that is the more frequent with a near hourly Monday to Saturday frequency and four journeys on a Sunday. The less frequent service 27 runs from Monday to Saturday only with Lliwthfaen being closer to Yr Eifl than Llanaelhaearn, the nearest calling point on service 12.
48: Llandrindod Wells - Builth Wells - Llangammarch Wells - Llanwrtyd Wells
Four former spa towns in mid-Wales are served by this Monday to Saturday bus service. Brecon becomes a possibility because of connections with route T4 and both its timings are summarised in this timetable. Daytime service frequency is up to two hourly with an early evening finish, so you need to keep an eye on those bus times when travelling around.
57: Bangor - Beaumaris - Glanrafon
58: Bangor - Beaumaris - Glanrafon
The Gwynedd Council timetable is no more, so I have added links to other timetables instead. There used to be numerous services between Bangor and Anglesey, so the apparent consolidation makes things simpler, even if the information is less easy to find these days.
67/67C/67G/X67: Bangor - Tregarth - Rachub - Bethesda - Gerlan
It may look down at heel in parts and there is a quarry in its vicinity, but Bethesda is another good and less than obvious access point for Welsh hills. It is also well-connected to nearby Bangor by bus for those arriving by train, even if there is a ten-minute trot required to get you from the train station to the bus station.
69: Chepstow - Tintern - Monmouth
Exploring the lower reaches of the Wye Valley has taken my fancy and this might be a useful bus service for doing just that. Service frequencies are around two-hourly on Saturdays but are hourly on other days of the week. The times of first and last journeys vary too, so it is best to consult timetables carefully if you are not to get stranded, especially if a longer day walk is planned.
S1: Caernarfon - Llanrug - Llanberis - Pen-y-Pass - Capel Curig - Betws-y-Coed
Gwynfor Coaches operate this service seven days a week to an hourly timetable that operates from early morning until early evening. The service comes in very handy with Llanberis being at the foot of Snowdon (or Yr Wyddfa in Welsh). That hopefully means that any pressure on car parking can be alleviated, and forms part of the Sherpa’r Wyddfa (Snowdon Sherpa) network.
S2: Llanberis - Deiniolen - Ysbyty Gwynedd - Bangor
Another part of the Sherpa’r Wyddfa network operated by Gwynfor coaches, this route has its uses for hill country lovers since it is possible to travel from outside Bangor’s train station to Llanberis without a change of bus in Caernarfon. After that, adventures can commence. It is a seven-day service with some variations to timings between weekday and weekend operations. Otherwise, it runs from morning until early evening.
Learn More
Recent Musings
From St. Helier to Elsewhere by Bus and Ferry
Bus service changes due to Whaley Railway Bridge Closure