A498 | |
---|---|
Route information | |
Length | 14.8 mi [1] (23.8 km) |
Major junctions | |
north end | 53°04′55″N4°00′08″W / 53.0819°N 4.0022°W |
south end | 52°56′01″N4°09′15″W / 52.9336°N 4.1543°W |
Location | |
Country | United Kingdom |
Constituent country | Wales |
Road network | |
The A498 is a 16-mile road between Pen-y-Gwryd and Porthmadog in North Wales.
At Pen-y-Gwryd, the A4086 Llanberis Pass route bears off to the north. The A498 descends from a 277 m (909 ft.) summit at Pen-y-Gwryd and runs south west through the village of Beddgelert and the Aberglaslyn Pass, where it overlaps the A4085. The A498 then passes through Tremadog, overlapping the A487 for a short length before passing under the Cambrian Coast railway and terminating at Penamser on the A497 ( 52°56′01″N4°09′15″W / 52.9336°N 4.1543°W ), about a mile west of Porthmadog. At its northern end, the road forms a link via the A4086 with the A5 at Capel Curig, forming a useful holiday route to the Beddgelert/Porthmadog area. At the junctions, the A4086 to Llanberis is the minor road at Pen-y-Gwryd, while the A498 is the minor road at Beddgelert. At Pont Aberglaslyn, the A4085 is the minor road diverging to Penrhyndeudraeth and at Tremadog, the A498 is the major road. The junction west of Tremadog is a roundabout and at Penamser, the A498 is the minor road.
There is a steep descent of Nantgwynant and some 1+3⁄4 miles of this is on a substandard, narrow twisting alignment, where larger vehicles have difficulty in passing. There are further substandard sections in the Aberglaslyn Pass and towards Tremadog and coaches have had difficulty passing in this section. The road passes through Beddgelert by way of a sharp right angled bend over a river bridge, not recommended for articulated vehicles. In the Aberglaslyn Pass the trackbed of the Welsh Highland Railway, now being reconstructed, can be seen on the opposite side of the Afon Glaslyn. At its west end, the route crosses the new A487 Porthmadog Bypass at a roundabout west of Tremadog.
In late 2008 the Bryn-y-felin road bridge was rebuilt under the Welsh Highland Railway as part of Gwynedd Council's WHR Bridges policy. Unfortunately the bridge was rebuilt without a footpath and of such narrow dimensions that any vehicles wider than a standard car find it difficult to pass. It also has a 14' 9" height restriction.
The road was created from early toll roads. There was some improvement in the 1960s/70s in Nantgwynant and south of the Aberglaslyn Pass. Just south of the Goat Hotel in Beddgelert is an arched railway overbridge (with height and width restrictions) built by the Portmadoc, Beddgelert and South Snowdon Railway but never used.
Snowdonia or Eryri, is a mountainous region in northwestern Wales and a national park of 823 square miles (2,130 km2) in area. It was the first to be designated of the three national parks in Wales, in 1951.
Porthmadog, originally Portmadoc until 1974 and locally as "Port", is a coastal town and community in the Eifionydd area of Gwynedd, Wales, and the historic county of Caernarfonshire. It lies 5 miles (8 km) east of Criccieth, 11 miles (18 km) south-west of Blaenau Ffestiniog, 25 miles (40 km) north of Dolgellau and 20 miles (32 km) south of Caernarfon. The community population of 4,185 in the 2011 census was put at 4,134 in 2019. It grew in the 19th century as a port for local slate, but as the trade declined, it continued as a shopping and tourism centre, being close to Snowdonia National Park and the Ffestiniog Railway. The 1987 National Eisteddfod was held there. It includes nearby Borth-y-Gest, Morfa Bychan and Tremadog.
The A487, officially the Fishguard to Bangor Trunk Road, is a trunk road in Wales that follows the coast from Haverfordwest, Pembrokeshire, in the south, to Bangor, Gwynedd, in the north.
The Welsh Highland Railway (WHR) or Rheilffordd Eryri is a 25-mile (40.2 km) long, restored 1 ft 11+1⁄2 in narrow gauge heritage railway in the Welsh county of Gwynedd, operating from Caernarfon to Porthmadog, and passing through a number of popular tourist destinations including Beddgelert and the Aberglaslyn Pass. At Porthmadog it connects with the Ffestiniog Railway and to the short Welsh Highland Heritage Railway. In Porthmadog it uses the United Kingdom's only mixed gauge flat rail crossing.
The North Wales Narrow Gauge Railways (NWNGR) was a railway company that planned to build a number of inter-connected 1 ft 11+1⁄2 in narrow-gauge railways across North Wales. The first two of these lines - jointly known as the "Moel Tryfan Undertaking" - were authorised by Act of Parliament 1872 and were built and opened in the 1870s. The original main line ran from Dinas Junction to Bryngwyn and opened in 1877. The second line was a branch from Tryfan Junction to South Snowdon, though shortly after opening, the company designated the Tryfan Junction to Bryngwyn section as the branch, and the Dinas Junction to South Snowdon section as the main line.
Pen-y-Pass is a mountain pass in Snowdonia, Gwynedd, north-west Wales. It is a popular location from which to walk up Snowdon, as three of the popular routes can be started here. Glyder Fawr, to the north, is also accessible from here.
Pen-y-Gwryd is a pass at the head of Nantygwryd and Nant Cynnyd rivers close to the foot of Snowdon in Gwynedd, Wales. The area is located at the junction of the A4086 from Capel Curig to Llanberis and Caernarfon and the A498 from Beddgelert and Nant Gwynant about a mile from the head of the Llanberis Pass. It is close to the boundary with Conwy county borough in northern Snowdonia. The famous mountaineering hostelry, Pen-y-Gwryd Hotel, is located in the pass. It is also a mountain rescue post with links to the other rescue posts at Ogwen Cottage and Plas y Brenin.
Penrhyndeudraeth is a small town and community in the Welsh county of Gwynedd. The town is close to the mouth of the River Dwyryd on the A487 nearly 3 miles (4.8 km) east of Porthmadog, and had a population of 2,150 at the 2011 census, increased from 2,031 in 2001. The community includes Minffordd and Portmeirion.
The Croesor Tramway was a Welsh, 2 ft narrow gauge railway line built to carry slate from the Croesor slate mines to Porthmadog. It was built in 1864 without an Act of Parliament and was operated using horse power.
The Llanberis Pass in Snowdonia carries the main road (A4086) from the south-east to Llanberis, over Pen-y-Pass, between the mountain ranges of the Glyderau and the Snowdon massif. At the bottom of the pass is the small village of Nant Peris.
Llyn Cwellyn is a reservoir in North Wales which supplies drinking water to parts of Gwynedd and Anglesey. It lies on the Afon Gwyrfai in Nant y Betws between Moel Eilio and Mynydd Mawr in the northern part of Snowdonia National Park. It has an area of 215 acres (0.87 km2), and is over 120 ft (37 m) deep. At the southern end is the small village of Rhyd Ddu.
Rhyd Ddu is a station on the narrow gauge Welsh Highland Railway, which was built in 1881 as the North Wales Narrow Gauge Railways Moel Tryfan Undertaking to carry dressed slate to Dinas Junction on the LNWR. It has also previously been named both "Snowdon" and "South Snowdon".
The Afon Glaslyn is a river in Gwynedd, north-west Wales. While not of great significance in terms of its length, it is one of Gwynedd's primary rivers, and has greatly influenced the landscape in which it flows.
Nant Gwynant is a valley in northern Wales. The A498 road descends 600 feet (180 m) into the valley in about two miles (3 km) from Pen-y-Gwryd; it follows the Nant Cynnyd, the Afon Glaslyn and alongside Llyn Gwynant, then beside the Nant Gwynant river to Llyn Dinas and passing below Dinas Emrys to Beddgelert. The road continues through the Aberglaslyn Pass to Porthmadog.
The Aberglaslyn Pass is a narrow gorge of considerable beauty in Snowdonia, Gwynedd, north Wales. The A498 road/A4085 road follows a relatively level route along the Afon Glaslyn through the pass from Beddgelert to Prenteg and then continues at the edge of the Traeth Mawr via Tremadog to Porthmadog.
The A4086 is an A road in Gwynedd. The road goes between Caernarfon and the A5 near Capel Curig.
The A4085 is a 20-mile road between Caernarfon and Penrhyndeudraeth in North Wales that runs through the scenic Aberglaslyn Pass. There are several locations where the road is of substandard width.
The restoration of the Welsh Highland Railway has a colourful and complex history. This article provides the modern history.
The Welsh Highland Heritage Railway is a short reconstructed heritage railway in Gwynedd, Wales. Its main station is in Porthmadog.
Pont Aberglaslyn is a stone arch bridge over the Afon Glaslyn and the surrounding hamlet, located near Beddgelert and Nantmor in Gwynedd, north-west Wales. A well-known beauty spot, according to Peter Bishop it was "one of the most visited sites in north Wales" at the end of the eighteenth century; an 1883 guidebook wrote that it "has occupied the artist's pencil perhaps more than any other".