TO CESAREA AND BEYOND

We've left Caernarfon behind and not far to the south was Bontnewydd station, long closed.  It is seen here in 1962 (Ben Brooksbank - Creative Commons License).

Silver Star Motors had their bus depot and yards at Bontnewydd. Both bus and coach liveries are seen here.

Express Motors also based their vehicles in Bontnewydd.

Just to the south, Dinas Junction, northern terminus of the old Welsh Highland Railway.

The "new" Welsh Highland Railway has been extended to Caernarfon, while Dinas is where the locomotives are maintained.

To the east, the village of Waenfawr, where another independent, Whiteways, housed their buses.

Waenfawr was, and still is, a stop on the Welsh Highland Railway.

Beside the station, the Snowdonia Parc brewpub.

Cesaria (actually the village is correctly called Y Fron, Cesarea being the name of the chapel) was the terminus of one of Silver Star's bus route. Two of their buses are seen amongst the slate quarry remains, 1975 and 1982 respectively.

By the way, if this area isn't familiar to you, you can see the route here. Our next stop is the village of Trefor on the Llŷn Peninsula, home to Clynnog & Trefor Coaches, who are still in business today.

Further along the coast we find Williams Coaches at Llithfaen.

Across the Llŷn Peninsula, Porth Caeirad, Abersoch.

Next stop, Llanbedrog.

There's a nice beach here (Creative Commons License).

Here is St Pedrog's church (Creative Commons License).

We can have a nice pint at the Ship Inn, Llanbedrog.

Many moons ago, we could have travelled on the horse powered tram towards the town of Pwllheli.

Here is Pwllheli, with the Llanbedog tramway still operational.

One of the old tram bodies remained as a convenient shelter in Pwllheli.

Pwllheli "new" station, terminus of the line from Dovey Junction.

Outside the station, an old Leyland advertising the delights of the Isle of Man.

Crosville was the major bus operator in Pwllheli.

Clynnog & Trefor ran a busy route to Caernarfon.

Other operators have included Berwyn Motors, Caelloi Coaches, Nefyn Coaches and Williams of Llithfaen.

Let's finish this post in a pub - the Penlan Fawr. Be aware that real ale is only sold here in summer.

Next time...... More of the Welsh coast.

BACK TO THE MAINLAND

We leave Holyhead, on Holy Island, and find Porth Dafarch Beach, seen in the 1960s.

Next stop, on Anglesey proper, is a village called Valley.It's here that we see this Bristol VR of Jones of Llanfaethlu in 1995.

To the east is a place called Llangristiolus. home of Griffith's Coaches. If you're unsure of the route we're taking, here's a link to the map.

The small town of Llangefni comes next. It's centred around the George Pritchard Raynor memorial clock (Creative Commons License).

Another of the town's attractions, St Cyngar church (Creative Commons License).

We must not forget the cheese factory (Creative Commons License).

The long closed railway station in Llangefni, on the disused Amlwch branch, in 1995.

Built to serve the train passengers, the Railway pub, a good JW Lee's house.

In 2000, Lewis Y Llan was operating a local bus service in Llangefni.

Another company, Ellis Coaches, had a depot in the town.

That famous place with the long name comes next. I'll shorten it to Llanfair PG. Two postcard views of it.

Here's my photo of the station, in 2003.

A Bristol VR of Ellis Coaches was found parked in Llanfair PG in 1995.

We now return to the mainland, using the LNWR Britannia tubular bridge over the Menai Straits.

After a fire the bridge was rebuilt and now carries both road and rail.

Now, we turn south and reach the town of Caernarfon, with its magnificent castle.

Here's the castle from the waterfront.

To cross to the other side, there's now a swing bridge.

A local bus company, Silver Star, used the car park below the castle walls to rest their vehicles between duties.

Until the mid 1990s, most of Caernarfon's buses used Castle Square as a terminus, as seen in the postcard view.

Crosville was, of course, the principal bus operator here.

Silver Star had a couple of routes, one of which went to Cesarea.

Clynnog & Trefor had a service to Pwllheli.

Other operators included Express Motors. KMP of Llanberis and Whiteways.

Crosville also had a depot in Caernarfon.

By the 1990s, the Castle Square had been abandoned as a bus terminal and one street is now dedicated to bus stops. Crosville Cymru was the main bus operator when this happened.

Arriva run many services these days (Andrew Fieldsend).

A new entrant seen in 2022, Gwynfor Coaches (Andrew Fieldsend).

Express Motors and Silver Star also use the on-street terminal.

In recent years, the railway has returned to Caernarfon, in the form of the Welsh Highland Railway. Loco no. 143 is seen here in 2014.

There's a Wetherspoons in Caernarfon - the Tafarn Y Porth.

Below the castle is a Marston's pub, the Anglesey.

The Black Buoy is the best bet for real ale.

That's where I'll leave tyou for now, Next time, the foothills of Snowdonia and beyond.