The Welsh Highland Railway from Caernarfon

The Welsh Highland Railway is the other way to leave Caernarfon, and it goes from under the castle. Its station is on St Helen's Road, a few steps from Slate Quay, a modern building with Caffi De Winton inside and the castle filling the sky behind it. This is a narrow-gauge heritage line run by the Ffestiniog and Welsh Highland Railways, with its own tickets; it has nothing to do with the national network, whose nearest station is Bangor.

Where it goes

The railway runs 25 miles from Caernarfon to Porthmadog across the foothills of Yr Wyddfa, Snowdon, by its own description. Its volunteers rebuilt it in stages: the railway says the first section reopened to Dinas in 1997, and the last piece of track at Porthmadog, fixed with what it calls Golden Bolts, went in during 2009, joining it to the Ffestiniog Railway. From Caernarfon the line climbs through farmland and forest, past Rhyd Ddu, drops to Beddgelert, and then runs through the Aberglaslyn Pass and across the Traeth Mawr to Porthmadog harbour.

Which train to take from Caernarfon

Two services start here. The Gelert Explorer is the half-length trip: it leaves Caernarfon at 11:10, gives you up to 75 minutes in Beddgelert, and is back at 15:25. The railway lists it at £58.50 return for an adult. The Snowdonia Star does the lot, Caernarfon to Porthmadog and back, 50 miles, six hours and five minutes, with about an hour and three quarters at Porthmadog; the railway says it is hauled by one of its Beyer Garratt locomotives, and an adult return is from £72. Children aged 3 to 15 travel for a flat £5 on standard services, which changes the arithmetic for a family.

Online prices carry a 6 per cent booking fee, and booking online is what guarantees your seats. If you use a wheelchair or a mobility scooter, the railway asks you to book by phone on 01766 516024 so the space is ready. One-way tickets on both trains are sold by phone or on the day, subject to space.

When it runs

This is a seasonal timetable, and the running days are what decide your plans, so check them on the railway's site before anything else. It also runs specials from Caernarfon: in 2026 the Fright Express does an evening Halloween run to Dinas and back from 28 to 31 October, and the railway's Christmas page describes Santa Trains from Caernarfon to Rhyd Ddu, so check whether they run this year.

Making a day of it

The Gelert Explorer's timings fit a full day in town. Have breakfast at the station or at Becws Melys in Cei Llechi, the old slate quay next door, where makers now work in the restored buildings. Take the 11:10, eat in Beddgelert, and when you are back at 15:25 the castle is a few minutes across the quay, with last admission half an hour before Cadw's closing time. That is 4:30 for most of the season and 5:30 in July and August, so it works, if not at leisure.

Parking is the Slate Quay car park beside the station, which the railway describes as privately run pay and display with 295 spaces, open round the clock.

Getting to the station without a car

If you are coming by train, change at Bangor (Gwynedd) for the TrawsCymru T2, which runs to Caernarfon Bus Station in about half an hour from the stop by Bangor station, every two hours or so on the timetable in October 2026. The bus station on Penllyn is a short walk downhill past Y Maes to St Helen's Road. Leave slack: a missed bus can mean a missed train.