At a glance
22 verified hidden gems — empty valleys, car-free beaches, forgotten ruins and mountain ridges that most visitors never find. The real North Wales, away from the coach parties.
About North Wales's hidden gems
For every visitor queuing for the Snowdon Mountain Railway or posing at Conwy Castle, there are those who seek the other North Wales: the one where the only sounds are a mountain stream and a buzzard overhead. The region rewards those who venture beyond the main tourist trail with some of the most spectacular and empty landscapes in Britain.
Cwm Pennant, west of Beddgelert, is a hidden valley that most visitors to Snowdonia never find. A single-track road follows the river between Mynydd Mawr and the Nantlle Ridge, past abandoned farmsteads and slate quarries, to a dead end beneath dramatic mountain faces. On a weekday you may see no other car.
On the Llyn Peninsula, Porth Dinllaen was almost chosen as the terminus of the London–Dublin mail route. Instead it slumbered, car-free, with the Ty Coch Inn on the sand and boats pulled up on the beach. Nant Gwrtheyrn — an abandoned quarry village on a dramatic cliff-bound valley — is one of the most atmospheric places in Wales. Bardsey Island at the tip of the Llyn, the "Isle of 20,000 Saints", is accessible by boat from Aberdaron on rare calm days.
Top 8 hidden gems
Hidden gems by region
- Llyn Peninsula
- Porth Dinllaen, Nant Gwrtheyrn, Tre'r Ceiri, Porthcolmon, Aberdaron, Bardsey Island. The most consistently unspoilt region in North Wales.
- Snowdonia
- Cwm Pennant, Nantlle Ridge, Llyn Geirionydd (Gwydyr Forest), Cwm Cywarch (southern Snowdonia), Afon Glaslyn gorge (Aberglaslyn Pass), Llyn Crafnant.
- Anglesey
- Din Lligwy, Barclodiad y Gawres, the Menai Strait at Beaumaris at dawn, Penmon Priory and dovecote, Ynys Llanddwyn at low tide, Moelfre village.
- Vale of Conwy
- Gwydir Castle (atmospheric Tudor manor with peacocks), Trefriw Woollen Mills (free, working mill), Llyn Crafnant, Capel Garmon chambered tomb.
Tips for finding quiet North Wales
Timing: May and early June are the best months — long evenings, decent weather, very few crowds. September is excellent. July and August Bank Holiday weekends are the busiest times at all sites.
Get there early: An 8am start at a popular trailhead makes a remarkable difference. Pen-y-Pass car park fills by 7am in July and August; most remote valleys and coves are still empty at 9am.
Go inland: The coast and the main mountain routes get crowded in season. The Berwyn Mountains, the Rhinogs, the Clwydian Range and the Migneint plateau rarely see many visitors even in high summer.
Frequently asked questions
The places that consistently surprise visitors who discover them: Cwm Pennant (hidden valley west of Beddgelert, empty single-track road, dramatic mountain cwms), Porth Dinllaen (car-free cove with a pub on the sand — one of the most beautiful beaches in Wales), Nant Gwrtheyrn (abandoned granite quarrying village on a remote Llyn Peninsula headland, now a Welsh language centre), and the Nantlle Ridge (9-mile mountain traverse with serious exposure but far fewer walkers than Snowdon).
Porth Dinllaen is a hamlet of whitewashed fishermen's cottages on a National Trust sand spit, entirely car-free — the road stops at the National Trust car park at Morfa Nefyn, a 15-minute walk away. The Ty Coch Inn ("Red House") sits directly on the sand and is consistently listed among Britain's most spectacularly located pubs. Once almost chosen as the terminus for the London to Ireland mail coach route (losing to Holyhead by one parliamentary vote), it remains almost unknown outside Wales.
Nant Gwrtheyrn is a former granite quarrying village on a dramatic coastal valley on the Llyn Peninsula, accessible only by a steep single-track road down a cliff. Abandoned in the 1950s, it has been restored as a Welsh language learning centre. The setting — a row of granite quarrymen's cottages on a boulder beach, beneath 300-metre cliffs — is extraordinary. Visitors are welcome; there is a café and heritage centre. The name means "Vortigern's Stream", connected by legend to the 5th-century British king.
Cwm Pennant is a secluded valley west of Beddgelert, reached via a narrow road through farms. The valley runs between Mynydd Mawr and the Nantlle Ridge, ending at the ruined Cwm Pennant farmstead and a small slate quarry. There are no facilities, no car park charges, and very few visitors — even in high summer. The Welsh poet Eifion Wyn wrote of Cwm Pennant as the most beautiful valley in Wales. The road is suitable for ordinary cars but caution is needed on passing places.
Llyn Geirionydd is a remote lake hidden in the forest above Llanrwst, reached by a narrow lane through the Gwydyr Forest. It has a car park, a picnic site and a monument to the 6th-century bard Taliesin, who was supposedly born nearby. The lake is swimmable in summer and offers excellent stargazing on clear nights — unusually dark for a lake accessible by car. A 3-mile circular walk takes in the surrounding forest.
Most of the time, yes — but "hidden" is relative. Porth Dinllaen gets busy on summer Bank Holidays now that it's more widely known; go on a weekday or visit in May, June or September. Cwm Pennant, the Nantlle Ridge, Llyn Geirionydd and Nant Gwrtheyrn remain genuinely quiet even in high season. The key to finding North Wales at its emptiest is to go early in the morning and avoid July and August Bank Holidays.