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BEWARE
All Bus Stop displays in the Capel Curig area are STILL showing
the 'out of date' Winter Timetable times
*** As all the Sherpa services were completely revised in April 2022,
this means NONE of the times are correct |
YOU HAVE BEEN WARNED !!!
No wonder so many people are having to use their
cars, then being forced to park illegally along the roads of the bus
routes through the area when the council fail to show the correct information !!!
Click
here to find "up-to-date" details of the "S1" Sherpa journeys from
Capel Curig to Snowdonia and
here for the "T10" Traws-Cymru journeys to Llyn
Ogwen (for Tryfan) |
website
SHERPA NETWORK
Their website NO LONGER provides any timetables and is now just
a list of "links" to other websites
In the case of the Sherpas, it simply goes to a page on the
Gwynedd CC website displaying an electronic version of the printed leaflet
(complete with the errors listed under the Gwynfor
entry) |
CONNECIONS (or
rather LACK thereof) AT BETWS-Y-COED
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ABSOLUTELY UNBELIEVABLE.....!
Conwy CC - whose job is to co-ordinare bus services in the area
have agreed to the advancing of the 1110 "S1" Sherpa by six minutes
(possibly by default as part of the new "Snowdon Sherpa" package
rather than design) thus severing the ONLY mid--morning
connection from Llandudno to Beddgelert off both the ONLY
mid-morning Conwy Valley train AND the local bus service along
west side of the Conwy Valley - check
here
to see which joueneys do connect
AND MORE IMPRORTANT THOSE THAT NO LONGER DO so you do not end up wasting a day !!!
If this causes you any inconvenience contact the
CHAIRMAN of Conwy CC PERSONALLY and ask him to do something about it - IF
ENOUGH OF YOU KEEP PESTERING HIM, SOMETHING MIGHT ACTUALLY BE DONE
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BEWARE
The last direct northbound bus of the day back
to Llandudno departs VERY EARLY at 1715
This is EXACTLY the same time as the 1623 "T10" TrawsCymru
journey from Bangor via Llyn Ogwen (for Tryfan) arrives
and this "very silly" situation has now applied for OVER 12 MONTHS
including two timetable changes !
All it needs is the Council (with their Transport
co-ordinating "hat" on ) to INSIST the last northbound
"T19" of the day departs five minutes later at 1720 so a connection
appears on the TravelineCymru "Journey Planner"
No wonder there are so many cars being
forced to park illegally along the main "A5" road through the Ogwen Valley
when the council does NOT provide a reliable convienient
"public
transport" alternative for people living in or staying
at locations within the Conwy CC area !!!
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alternatively try
No printed copies
phone:
0800 464 00 00
(between 0700
and 2000 only)
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PLEASE NOTE
Their "Journey Planner" normally requires minimum of five minutes for a connection
at any location - this also applies when there is a 'through journey' - often the case on the alternative
'through' journeys at Bangor when the route number changes en-route
Unfotunately in these cases they automatically advise you to travel an earlier journey and
to hang around - sometimes for hours - for the next one !!! (althouigh "some" - but not all - options have
since been manually updated)
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"the" official public transport website
IMPORTANT
The following is included on their website
04/04/2022 - When accessing your public transport information, please:
Double check our ‘Short Notice Service Updates’ page for timetable changes.
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or the official
phone:
01248 722 694
Unlike some other
operators in the area,
they do not produce
their own printed copies
However as a one-off,
TfW has produced a
bi-lingual coloured leaflet for 2022
to identify the original planned changes
The are several printing errors - especially on the map
and since its production many
ADVERTISED through Sherpa journeys now require a change
of bus en-route, so
listen carefully to any announcements by the driver
on the day
or you may end up at the wrong
location !
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Gwynfor have removed all timetables from their
website - instead it now gives a "link" to the
Gwynedd CC website for their latest 'official' information |
Their website has been
updated to coincide with the new Sherpa network and timetables which commenced on
Saturday 9th April 2022
There is now a
much increased summer
"S1" service between Betws-y-Coed and Caernarfon (which now incorporates
the former local "88" service between Llanberis and Caernarfon) on both weekdays
and Sundays
In addition the basically hourly former local "85" service between
Bangor and Llanberis has been re-branded as the Sherpa "S2" service - with most journeys
extended to/from Pen-y-Pass (this replaces their former Summer Weekend
only "S6" Sherpa service to Pen-y-Pass via the Ogwen valley) which is
partially replaced by the daily "T10"
TrawsCymru service via the Ogwen pass.....
.....details of the alternative new connections at
Capel Curig can be found
here
The level of service on the new "S3" Sherpa service has increased between
Beddgelert and Caernarfon (with most journeys extended to either Llanrug
or Dinorwig) replacing part of the former local "S4" and "83" services
Also the service on both the former "S97" and part "S4"
services become the re-branded "S4 Sherpa from Pen-y-Pass to Porthmadog
and the number of journeys increased (with much improved "10 "minute"
connections off the "S1" from both Betws-y-Coed and
Caernarfon/Llanberis)
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website
MID-MORNING CONNECTION AT BETWS-Y-COED
UNFORTUNATELY advancing the 11.10 "S1" Sherpa journey to Caernarfon to 11.04
(on pattern with the rest of the day) means there is NO LONGER the "traditional
connctionn" off either the Transport for Wales train or the Llew Jones bus from
Llandudno
The TravelineCymru "Journey Planner" advises you to wait until the next
"S1" Sherpa at 12.04 BUT NOTE SPECIALLY THERE IS NO ONWARD CONNECTION at
PEN-Y-PASS FOR BEDDGELERT AND PORTHMADOG OFF THTS LATER SHERPA
IF you want to spend the full day in Snowdonia,
this website advises you to catch the earlier "T19" TrawsCymru journey which depoarts
Llandudno at 0905 to ensure you reliably catch the 1104 "S1" Shrepa from Betws-y-Coed
To be fair to Gwynfor
Coaches, this very "silly" situtation is because Transport for Wales have dictated
that the Sherpa buses are contracted to operate at the times specified by them
They seem to have completely ignored the Conwy Valley train
connections even though they also specify AND operate those too !!!!!
If this causes you inconvenience or addition
expense, COMPLAIN to Transport for
Wales at Cardiff - not the poor operator who is only acting as
instructed by the transport department of the Welsh Government |
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PLEASE NOTE
Some 'day-to-day' information can be found
here
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or the official
The "twice-yearly" printed copies were understandably suspended
during the Covid pandemic
but TfW appear to have conveniently "forgotten" to print any since that was officially
over !
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The former Arriva Wales booklets for the North Wales and Cambrian Coasts have simply been reprinted
with a new cover
To find a "Transport for Wales" journey you must look for a train still showing AW (for Arriva Wales !)
- surprisingly this is still the case with the revised timetables !!!
Alternatively use their own 'journey planner' to confirm times providing you already know
when and where you want to go !!!
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train website
All local train services throughout Wales are currently operated
by "Transport for Wales"
- this includes the connecting
Conwy Valley line and
the Cambrian Coast line
In addition, a limited number of InterCity services between
North Wales and London continue to be operated by Avanti
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UPDATE
Initially There were are no major changes to the times previously
advertised to commence in December 2019
However to give the 'appearance' of "speeding up" the trains along the North Wales Coast,
several journeys have had important intermediate stops removed - much to the annoyance of the locals
who previously used them
.......... an "own goal" is probably the politest way to describe what they have
done !!!!!
In consequence most connections between the North Wales Resort
stations and the Conwy Valley Line (and v.v.) have increased CONSIDERABLY - clearly no-one at the
Cardiff HQ 'appears' to care about this totally unnecessary inconvenience |
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or the official
No printed copies
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This company - part of the transport department of the Welsh Government - operate a
network of long distance coach journeys across the whole of Wales including the "T19" route which
provides connections into the Sherpa from Llandudno and the "T2" route providing the same
function from Aberystwyth and Dolgellau, also Bangor and Caernarfon
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website
TRAWS-CYMRU OPERATORS
This company has sub-contracted.....
Lloyds Coaches to operate the "T2" Sherpa connections at Porthmadog
and Llew Jones to operte the "T19" Sherpa connections at
Betws-y-Coed
on their behalf |
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or the official
printed copies of their Conwy Valley services
are sometimes available on the buses
(during the summer)
phone:
01492 640 320
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WINTER 2021 - SUMMER 2022
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Unlike most other operators in the area, they CONTINUE
to operate a much reduced level of winter service along the Conwy Valley
WHICH STILL INCLUDES THE SUSPENSION of ALL EVENING
"19" JOURNEYS
Note specially the LAST return weekday journeys back to Llandudno
depart Betws-y-Coed at
1525 ("19" via the west side of the Conwy valley) and 1715
("T19" via the East side)
UNBELIEVABLE
Their last Northbound "T19" journey of the day now leaves Betws-y-Coed EXACTLY
the same time as 'their' "T10" arrival
from Llyn Ogwen (Note - the "T19" does NOT
wait)
- meaning passengers off both this and the mid-afternoon Sherpas this year
have to return on the last northbound "T10" journeys
via the Ogwen Valley and Bangor
or use the Conwy Valley train
Even more frustrating, thanks to the re-cast of the
Sherpa network from April, most of the "traditional"
morning journeys
from Llandudno (for a day out in Snowdonia)
are NO LONGER advertised to connect into the Sherpas (TravelineCymru require a MINIMUM of five minutes for them to appear on
their "Journey Planner")
- ALL IT NEEDED WAS FOR THEM TO HAVE BEEN RETIMED SLIGHTLY EARLIER at the same
time as the Sherpa changes
- so much for properly 'integrated timetable
planning' which is desperately needed in rural areas if public transport is to
survive !!!
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website
This company operates the weekday and Sunday "19" and "T19" connecting
journeys along the Conwy Valley from and back to Llandudno
In addition they operate the
Sunday "link"
between Blaenau Ffestiniog and Porthmadog - an 'alternative' to the now VERY
LIMITED Sunday Sherpa "S4" journeys which also require an hour's wait at Beddgelert
Some 'day-to-day' information can also be found
here
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new link - with extra information
Click on map to enlarge
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website
A new weekdays only Demand Response - "flexi service" operated
by Alpine Travel
has been introduced (from 9th November) in the 'greater' Llanrwst-Betws-y-Coed are ( se map on
the left for details)
On Tuesdays, Fridays and Saturdays it will also extend as far as Corwen on request
Remember you MUST prebook through "flecsi" stating when and where you want to travel -
if you plan to connect into or out of a Sherpa (or any other bus/train)
journey, make sure you clearly say so when you
"book"
This is particularly important if you want to use it to "link"
between a Conwy Valley "19" journey and a Sherpa" where Llew Jones no longer provides a
timetabled journey between Llanrwst and Betws-y-Coed
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or the official
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printed copies sometimes
available on the bus immediately
after any major change
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website
This company previously operated the Sunday "S97" Sherpas
but now only operate some connecting journeys to/from Snowdonia
at Llandudno/Llandudno Junction, Conwy, Bangor and Caernarfon
PLEASE NOTE
The five week industrial action
by Arriva drivers has been SUSPENFDED to allow further talks..........
..........ALL the Arriva bus journeys which provide connections into and out of the Sherpa
network are expected to restart running to the previously advertised times - see
here for
further details of the connecting journeys involved
None of this has affected any of the "Sherpa" journey which have continued
to operate to their normal WINTER timetables
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or the official
No printed copies
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The company has taken over the the
"3B" connecting service between
Blaenau Ffestiniog and Porthmadog
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website
This company operates connecting journeys from
Caernarfon, Barmouth, Harlech, Dolgellau and Blaenau Ffestiniog also the
local journeys from Morfa Bychan
Unfortunately they still INSIST on
their ONLY mid-morning "35" journey to Dolgellau from Blaenau Ffestiniog
departing at 1130
- JUST AS or slightly BEFORE the ONLY mid-morning Conwy
Valley Line train arrives !!!
On behalf of visitors to this website, your webmaster did ask them to consider
re-timing the bus slightly later, but a somewhat "unhelpful" reply from their
Bethan Jones completely avoided answering the point
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PLEASE NOTE
Some day-to-day information can now also be found
here
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or the official
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phone:
01248 600 098
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Their website is currently "under construction"
IGNORE their "timetables" link which currently
goes to an OUT OF DATE external website
which also erroneously "suggests" they operate weekday "88" journeys
UPDATE
They have made major short term changes to the
times of some connecting journeys
as a result of the post-Coronavirus restrictions
IN PARTICULAR BEWARE - their last Sunday "88" journeys have been ADVANCED to
1430 from Llanberis *
and 1600 from Caernarfon
* - there WERE later "S2" Sunday westbound (only) journeys
operated by Gwynfor departing Llanberis at 1810 and 1910 (summer only), but from Easter
2021 the 1730 "S2 Sherpa from Betws-y-Coed terminates at Llanberis at 1810..........
..........click here to see what is left
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PLEASE NOTE
Some day-to-day information can now also be found
here
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or the official
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No printed copies
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website
although this company no longer operates Sunday connecting
timetabled services from Blaenau Ffestiniog and Caernarfon
- it still operates the weekday local service in Blaenau Ffestiniog
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their former website is no longer
active
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although this company no longer operates connecting
timetabled services from Caernarfon
- it still operates private hire coaches and school buses in the area
PLEASE NOTE
Some day-to-day information can now also be found
here
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yet another official
website giving
incorrect information ! |
the links on this website are all out of date
in addition the "S6"
Sherpa no longer serves Bangor or Betws-y-Coed
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.....but do check ANY of the above official websites
have been fully updated,
as some are considerably old and (at least partially) out-of-date !!!!
Known errors in official publications are included above
(these 'warning' are there to try to help avoid you being "caught out")
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on 15th June 2022