Drivelines
Wales · North/8 min read

The 10 most scenic drives in north Wales.

North Wales packs a disproportionate amount of visual drama into its valleys, where heavy slate skies meet rugged peaks and sprawling moors. Here are ten routes that offer the best views in the region, trading outright pace for unparalleled panoramas.

By Drivelines·Published 06 May 2026
REGION OVERVIEW

The Geography of Slate and Scale

Eryri (Snowdonia) dictates the rules here. Roads are carved out of necessity, clinging to the edges of glacial valleys or tracing the shores of deep lakes. You will find wide, flowing A-roads through the major passes, contrasted sharply by narrow, stone-walled lanes threading through quarry country. What binds them together is the light—often muted, occasionally blinding, reflecting off dark rock and sparse vegetation. The driving is rarely effortless, but the scenery demands you take your time anyway.

Routes mapped
10
Total distance
195km
Avg curve idx
6.1/10
Map of all 10 routes in wales-north
StartEnd
Plan a drive to Pentrefoelas Road (A543)
10
A543 · Denbigh Moors · Easy
Dual-trackSmooth surface

Pentrefoelas Road (A543)

A high-speed, rolling stretch of road that crosses the desolate moors. The A543 is incredibly open, with the landscape falling away on both sides to reveal a vast, austere beauty. The driving is largely effortless, consisting mostly of long straights and gentle, sweeping curves.

The road is fully exposed to the elements; frost lingers in the shaded dips near Pentrefoelas long after the sun is up.

Distance
25.7km
Drive time
0h 27m
Curve idx
3.8/10
Climb
453m
StartEnd
Plan a drive to Bryn Bella (A5)
09
A5 · Bryn Bella · Easy
Dual-trackSmooth surface

Bryn Bella (A5)

Thomas Telford’s historic route remains one of the most visually impressive stretches of tarmac in the country. This section uses sweeping, engineered gradients to carve through the mountains, providing unparalleled views of the surrounding peaks. It is a wide, fast trunk road that asks for smooth inputs.

It serves as a main artery across the region; getting stuck behind a lorry is inevitable if you travel midday.

Distance
37.8km
Drive time
0h 43m
Curve idx
4.3/10
Climb
668m
StartEnd
Plan a drive to Berwyn Street (B4391)
08
B4391 · Berwyn Mountains · Easy
Dual-trackSmooth surface

Berwyn Street (B4391)

A long, sweeping ascent into the Berwyns, this road delivers a genuine sense of scale. The B4391 is wide, smooth, and largely free of the tight, technical sections found further west. Instead, it offers a majestic, flowing rhythm with sightlines that stretch for miles across the open hillsides.

The wide open summit sections are heavily exposed to crosswinds, which will push a lighter car around noticeably.

Distance
26.9km
Drive time
0h 30m
Curve idx
4.7/10
Climb
546m
StartEnd
Plan a drive to Pont Llwyngwril (A493)
07
A493 · Mawddach Estuary · Spirited
Dual-trackSmooth surface

Pont Llwyngwril (A493)

Between Rhoslefain and Fairbourne the A493 is pinned between the Cambrian Coast line on the seaward side and hills that rise steeply straight off the inland verge, so the road bends where the land does rather than where an engineer wanted it. The result is a medium-speed coastal road with a good surface and steady rhythm through Llangelynnin and Llwyngwril, then the Friog Hill section under the same rockfall-prone slopes that made the railway build itself an avalanche shelter. It rewards smooth inputs and staying on your side of the white line.

The Friog Hill to Llwyngwril stretch spent more than two years on temporary lights to 2024 while a safety fence awaited repair, and the council logged incidents when the lights failed, so expect a queue there and treat a blank head with suspicion. Crashes have also shut the road between Llwyngwril and Rhoslefain.

Distance
18.8km
Drive time
0h 25m
Curve idx
5.9/10
Climb
198m
StartEnd
Plan a drive to Ffordd Pedrog (B4413)
06
B4413 · Llŷn Peninsula · Spirited
Dual-trackVaried surface

Ffordd Pedrog (B4413)

Cutting across the peninsula, the B4413 offers a softer, coastal-fringed scenery compared to the crags of the national park. The road snakes gently through small villages and open fields, undulating engagingly across the landscape. The surface quality varies from smooth new tarmac to sudden patches of subsidence.

The coastal light in the late afternoon makes this a superb run, though the narrow sections through Llanbedrog require you to tuck in tight.

Distance
13.7km
Drive time
0h 19m
Curve idx
6.3/10
Climb
279m
StartEnd
Plan a drive to B5113 (Conwy Moors)
05
B5113 · Conwy Moors · Expert
Single-trackVaried surface

B5113 (Conwy Moors)

This is a raw, exposed run across high moorland. The B5113 is narrow, unpredictable, and entirely at the mercy of the weather. The visual reward is absolute isolation and uninterrupted miles of heather and sky, though the driving demands intense concentration to navigate the broken surface.

Sightlines over the crests are frequently blind, and roaming sheep treat the tarmac as a grazing extension.

Distance
15.5km
Drive time
0h 25m
Curve idx
6.4/10
Climb
620m
StartEnd
Plan a drive to Llandrillo Road (B4401)
04
B4401 · Llandrillo · Spirited
Dual-trackSmooth surface

Llandrillo Road (B4401)

The B4401 is the quiet south-bank alternative to the A494 along the upper Dee, leaving the main road just outside Bala and running nine miles through Llandderfel, Llandrillo and Cynwyd towards Corwen. It stays on the valley floor with the Berwyn rising to the south, so the corners come from following the river rather than from gradient, and the road rewards reading the hedgerows for the next bend. Two-lane throughout, with village limits breaking the rhythm at regular intervals.

Ifor Williams builds its trailers at Cynwyd, so expect the odd flatbed on the eastern end. The road took weeks of roadworks closures with a long diversion in spring 2026, and the Llandderfel to Llandrillo stretch has a serious-collision history, so it is not one to hurry.

Distance
17.8km
Drive time
0h 25m
Curve idx
7.1/10
Climb
287m
StartEnd
Plan a drive to Stryd Gwynant (A498)
03
A498 · Gwynant Valley · Spirited
Mixed widthSmooth surface

Stryd Gwynant (A498)

From the 277-metre summit at Pen-y-Gwryd the A498 loses 600 feet in about two miles, and does it on a narrow, twisting alignment where anything wide struggles to pass. This is the technical part of the road, and the part that asks for patience. Below that it settles along the southern shore of Llyn Gwynant and past Llyn Dinas toward Beddgelert, alternating open lakeside stretches with tighter, walled and tree-lined sections. It rewards braking-zone judgement and smooth inputs on the descent rather than pace.

The lay-by above Llyn Gwynant is one of the most photographed views in Eryri, so expect cars braking hard into it, and the Watkin Path leaves the road at Bethania, so walkers cross there. Beddgelert finishes with a right-angled bend over the bridge that lorries are told to avoid.

Distance
14.9km
Drive time
0h 20m
Curve idx
7.3/10
Climb
370m
StartEnd
Plan a drive to Lon Union (A4085)
02
A4085 · Caernarfonshire · Expert
Dual-trackSmooth surface

Lon Union (A4085)

Tracing the western fringes of the high peaks, this stretch of the A4085 asks continuous questions of your line choice. The road is incredibly dense with corners, ducking through wooded sections before opening out to brief, commanding vistas. The surface holds up well despite the constant camber changes.

Watch for sudden tightening radiuses on the descents, especially where the stone walls sit right on the edge of the carriageway.

Distance
9.7km
Drive time
0h 14m
Curve idx
8.9/10
Climb
163m
StartEnd
Plan a drive to Llanberis Pass (A4086)
01
A4086 · Llanberis Pass · Spirited
Dual-trackSmooth surface

Llanberis Pass (A4086)

Built in the 1830s to get ore down from the Snowdon mines, the A4086 climbs from Nant Peris to Pen-y-Pass at 359 m in under five kilometres, averaging 5% with a short pitch over 10%. The valley is straight and steep-sided, so the road's interest is in its camber changes and the way dry-stone walls and roadside boulders trim your sightline rather than in any great number of corners. It rewards smooth inputs and a lane-centred line; the Cromlech Boulders that crowd the carriageway are there because locals fought off a 1973 widening scheme.

Pen-y-Pass has 68 pre-booked spaces and the verge is a clearway that gets towed, so the pass itself stays clearer than you'd think; the queue you meet is for the Nant Peris park-and-ride, three miles below.

Distance
14.6km
Drive time
0h 20m
Curve idx
6.4/10
Climb
464m
// KEEP READING
Sibling guide · Driving
Top 10 driving roads in north Wales
Parent region · Wales
Top 10 scenic drives in Wales
Nearby · Mid Wales
Top 10 scenic drives in mid Wales
Nearby · South Wales
Top 10 scenic drives in south Wales
Index · Every region
All Top 10 Field Guides

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