Camping Inspiration: Adventure activities in North Wales
Snowdonia is an outdoor lover’s paradise and for campers coming to this area of Wales there’s an unending array of adventurous possibilities to enjoy. It has long been the destination for experienced walkers and climbers but these days there are many other avenues opening up for adrenalin junkies. You can find just about any sort of fun-packed activity you could want… with training thrown in too.
The list of adventure activities to be enjoyed is extensive but the most popular are mountain walking, scrambling, rock climbing, gorge scrambling, mountain biking, white water rafting, kayaking and canoeing, zip wire courses and even surfing at Surf Snowdonia and inland wave pool in the Conwy Valley on the site of an aluminium works.
And of course there is a network of stunningly located campsites where you can pitch your tent by lakes, fast flowing rivers, magnificent waterfalls, deep mountain valleys and beneath towering mountains that just beg to be climbed.
The smaller, farm style sites still prevail but they have better facilities than in the past and are well versed in catering for campers whose weekend ambitions involve spending as much time as they can in the great outdoors. There are larger sites dotted around too and they also offer great value for money. The sites in the mountainous areas attract like-minded individuals, and when you are not out on the hills you can mix with other adventurers and enjoy the general buzz this sort of place always has.
Within the National Park boundaries you get a little bit of everything, from breathtaking mountain vistas to deep glacial valleys, huge forests, awesome lakes with great water sports opportunities and fast flowing rivers with rapids and waterslides.
The northernmost mountain ranges are the most popular and include the Moel Hebog massif, Mynyedd Mawr and the narrow Nantle Ridge as well as the Snowdon Massif, The Glyderau and the wild and remote Carneddau.
The second area is the Moelwyn Range (around Blaenau Ffestiniog) and the third includes the oldest mountains in Wales (and some of the oldest in the world) the Rhinogs in the west – then there is the Arenigs, The Arrans and The Migneint which is very remote.
The southernmost mountain ranges includes the awesome Cadair Idris Massif, The Tarren Range, the Dyfi Hills and to the south east, the remote Berwyn Mountains.
There are lots of beautiful towns and villages to visit, eat, drink and just linger in the area. Beddgelert and Betws-y-Coed are deservedly popular and much-loved, but you should take time to check out Llanberis, Dolgellau, Llanwrst and Rhyd Ddu as well. And let’s not forget there are costal towns such as Aberdyfi, Barmouth and Harlech which open up the prospect of sea-based adventure sports such as water skiing, jet skiing, sand yachting and even surfing in places.
