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Caernarfon to Bangor

Hugh Hudson

It seems crazy to me that there is no SlowWay possible from Caernarfon to Bangor that doesn't involve an unnecessary trip over the bridge to Anglesey/Ynys Mon or a long detour to Bethesda. I am aware that creating this link would mean removing Menai Bridge to Bethesda, but since nobody has pioneered that one yet, it wouldn't be much of a loss.

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4 comments

Date Votes
  • Cristie Moore

    Hi Hugh,

    Thanks for your suggestion.  Do you have a route in mind?  I took a quick look and the Wales Coast Path looked like the best option between Caernarfon and Bangor.  Which almost takes a person to Menai Bridge along the way.  There may well be shorter routes with more knowledge of the area and I wondered if you maybe know one.

    This is one that we'd probably keep for the next stage of network development.  So this is more a hypothetical discussion.  It will all be useful though as I can enter it onto a list of possible changes we have along with the reasons for when we do the review.

    Best wishes,
    Cristie

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  • Hugh Hudson

    Thanks Cristie. This is obviously not an urgent issue, but having walked the Welsh coast SlowWays from Bangor to Prestatyn last week, I was thinking about continuations westwards, and the detour onto Anglesey seemed odd to me, as Caernarfon to Bangor (yes, mostly using the Wales Coast Path) would potentially be a popular route, and it seems unlikely to me that many people would want to walk from Bethesda to Menai Bridge without going via Bangor.

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  • Cristie Moore

    Thanks Hugh. That's really helpful.  I've added the details to our list for when we next review the network.  One solution we might sometimes do is to add a midway point between Menai Bridge - Bethesda so that Slow Way can remain.  That wouldn't really work here with the better route being along the coast.  I wonder if it's something people could add to reviews.  E.g. If you're going to Caernarfon from Bangor then keep on the coastal path and don't divert to Menai Bridge. Or maybe a node where all the Slow Ways converge (image below) which would make a very small across the bridge Slow Way.  Will keep thinking about it.

     

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  • Daisy Cairns

    I’ve just read this and wonder if another bridge / estuary / bottleneck related node could be added. Swale train station is just across the water from the Isle of Sheppey in Kent, the Kingsferry Bridge it uses is the only pedestrian access to the island and every Slow Way onto the island goes right past it, or within 100m. All the original routes used a footpath on the island which it turns out has a ford, that is in turn surrounded by sometimes flooded fields. There is a pavement alternative and, as I found out mid-test of the road route, the England Coast Path has just (physically and with signage but unofficially) opened a great off-road alternative. 

    If all the routes could be broken in two at Swale it would only add three routes in total. People could then pick the mainland section they really want, not be tied to the fixed Sheppey ending. And I suspect people have also been put off by the long distances. This seems to be what the reviewer of QueFav 2 decided, they simply didn’t do the Sheppey section.

    As an added bonus you could add a Slow Way from Swale to Eastchurch. At the moment going via Queenborough doesn’t make much difference but once the ECP is open on that side you’ll be able to use it and avoid a lot of no-pavement road walking. (It’ll probably take longer due to mitigation of disturbance in a National Nature Reserve, I'm in two minds about encouraging people to use it tbh).

    As things stand it’s very difficult to work out what the differences and similarities are between any of the routes, on the map the lines merge into a green net, they intertwine far beyond Swale Station. And there are no clues in the non-existent route descriptions of the original routes. (One reason I added the 4th QueFav route). I was hesitant to flag (and review) all the ford/flooded field routes just on the basis of that section as there are so many other positive features. Maybe people like paddling and wet feet more than I do. The GilQue routes also intersect with the GilSit routes with some differences which adds extra spice to the green net.

    GilQue 1, QueFav 1, QueFav 2, QueFav 3, SitQue 1 (original routes) all use the ford/flooded field path.

    SitQue 2, QueFav 4 use the B2231 (written/tested at least in part before ECP opening)

    GilQue 2 uses the ECP via Rushenden 

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