driving road

A496 Coastal Snowdonia Road

A 32-mile scenic and technically varied coastal mountain road weaving through southern Snowdonia past Harlech Castle, two estuaries and the dramatic Cambrian Coast between Blaenau Ffestiniog and Llanelltyd.

WhereHarlech, Gwynedd, United Kingdom · Wales

RoadA496 Cambrian Coast

RouteBlaenau Ffestiniog → Llanelltyd

Distance32 miles · 51 km · ~1h 9m drive

Charactercoastal, scenic, mountain, technical

OpeningOpen year-round

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Driving road

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20 mi32 km~43 min drive

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Driving road

A4086 Llanberis Pass

18 mi29 km~26 min drive

A spectacular 18-mile mountain ribbon through Snowdonia squeezed between the Glyderau and Snowdon massif, delivering wide sweeping bends framed by sky-scraping peaks and giant slate boulders.

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Driving road

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35 mi56 km~1h 15m drive

Described by the AA as one of the ten most scenic drives in the world, this 35-mile Cambrian mountain route climbs from Aberystwyth to Devil's Bridge and through remote Cwmystwyth past Elan Valley reservoirs to Rhayader.

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Driving road

A44 Cambrian Mountains Road

33 mi53 km~47 min drive

A 33-mile high-altitude traverse across the spine of mid-Wales, cresting 1,427ft through the Cambrian Mountains with fast, deserted open-road sweepers and breathtaking views over the Vale of Rheidol towards Cardigan Bay.

Rhayader, Powys · Wales

Driving road

A470 The Backbone of Wales

186 mi299 km~4h 26m drive

Wales's longest continuous scenic drive runs 186 miles from Cardiff to Llandudno through the Brecon Beacons, Cambrian Mountains and Snowdonia, making it the definitive grand touring road in Britain.

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Driving road

A542 Horseshoe Pass

7 mi11 km~15 min drive

The A542 climbs to 417 metres above Llangollen in a sweeping horseshoe arc through the Denbighshire moorland, offering one of North Wales's most dramatic and accessible mountain-pass drives.

Llangollen, Denbighshire · Wales