Travel Reference
In-Depth Information
( 01678-521256; 23 High St; lunch £5-14, dinner £9-14; 11am-10pm)
With a pub on one side and a
large country-style dining room on the other, this is the best eating option on the main
strip. The menu is unadventurous but hearty, with daily roasts, jacket potatoes, fresh sea-
food and that British staple, chicken tikka masala.
Information
Bala Tourist Office
( 01678-521021;
www.visitbala.org
;
Penllyn Leisure Centre, Pensarn Rd; 10am-4pm Fri-
Tue Easter-Sep; )
Located inside a large leisure centre by the lake, where there's also a
cafe and an indoor pool with waterslides.
Getting There & Around
Buses stop on the High St. Bus X94 heads to/from Barmouth (one hour), Dolgellau (35
minutes), Llangollen (48 minutes) and Wrexham (1½ hours); and bus X6 heads to Betws-
y-Coed (1¼ hours).
TOP OF CHAPTER
Dolgellau
POP 2690
Dolgellau (dol-
ge
-khlye) is a charming little market town, steeped in history and boast-
ing the highest concentration of listed buildings in Wales (over 200). It was a regional
centre for Wales' prosperous wool industry in the 18th and early 19th centuries, and many
of its finest buildings, sturdy and unadorned, were built at that time. Local mills failed to
keep pace with mass mechanisation, however, and decline set in - preserving the town
centre much as it was then. Pick up the
Dolgellau Town Trail
(£1) brochure from the tour-
ist office to explore the unusual architecture in detail.
The region bounced back when the Romantic Revival made Wales' wild landscapes
popular with genteel travellers. There was also, surprisingly, a minor gold rush here in the
19th century. Dolgellau gold, famous for its pink tinge, became associated with royalty
(the gold for the the wedding rings of the current crop of senior royals was mined here).
The mine has recently reopened, despite having been closed since 1988.
Today the town relies heavily on tourism. One of Snowdonia's premier peaks, bulky
Cader Idris, rises to the south, the lovely Mawddach Estuary lies to the west and, to the
north, the Coed y Brenin Forest offers glorious mountain biking. Most of Dolgellau's ac-
