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It is said that some of the best driving roads in the UK are in Wales and I personally couldn’t agree more.
If the roads are good enough for the Grand Tour to use, as well as hosting the British Rally Championship and Mid Wales Rally, there must be something pretty special about the Welsh roads that I’m missing by being in south Wales.
Of course, Wales is known for its hillsides and mountainsides, its twisty roads, and incredible scenery, so you could say it’s an automotive enthusiast’s wet dream. I do love a ‘good drive’, but I’ve never been one for driving aimlessly for the hell of it. When I drive, I want it to be for a purpose, I want a new experience or adventure, whatever it might be.
You can find great roads across Wales, but none come close to the roads in North Wales, so I am told. YouTube is full of videos of drivers taking to the Welsh roads and filming their experiences. It’s difficult not to want to visit North Wales if you are a bit of a petrolhead, so that is exactly what we did.
The drive from south to north Wales is no picnic. From our house in Cardiff, you need to factor in at least 3 hours, 30 minutes and 155 miles before reaching the mist of the Snowdonia National Park. However, the drive alone through mid-Wales will take you through some of the most breath-taking views and there are plenty of places to stop.
Top tip for taking a break
We are all familiar with the Brecon Beacons, but a slight 30-minute detour will take you through the Elan Valley and onto some of the UK’s greatest reservoirs. Back in 2015, Top Gear made it famous with a Land Rover climb up the side of Claerwen Dam. It’s pretty special and an interesting time of year to visit when the water levels are much lower than the winter, it makes you appreciate how deep they must be.
The perfect rest stop for driving enthusiasts
Once you reach North Wales, you’ll probably be flagging and in need of a rest. You can opt to stay in any number of hotels or B&Bs in Gwynedd, but none will quite have that driving heritage and exclusivity of the five-AA-star Palé Hall Hotel.
You can read more about the Victorian mansion’s history and its royal connections on the Palé website, but this place stood out to us for reasons that will become clear. For instance, they have a dedicated section on their website just for driving enthusiasts, with recommended routes for you to try. In addition to this, a number of organised driving experiences can set off from the hotel, and the fact that you must drive through some interesting roads to get there is an added bonus. If you have an EV, Palé Hall has onsite chargers for you too.
Depending on how long you plan to stay for, you can either book to stay the night and re-charge your own batteries (as we did), or simply book for lunch in one of the two restaurants. I’d strongly recommend booking ahead due to its popularity and small capacity, so that’s another top tip for you.
On arrival, you can expect a delightful drive along the estate’s sweeping driveway with views across Palé and the River Dee. If you are staying at the hotel, you are also in for a treat with valet parking. If it’s your first time to the hall as it was for us, then you can expect a friendly welcome by the front of house team, either Debbie Cappadona (General Manager) or other members of the team such as Tomos – who kindly gave us a tour of the building and settled us in.
We were also invited to take a seat at the hall’s very own terrace with stunning views. The estate’s local residents (rabbits – lots of them) were also making the most of the nice weather, and kept us entertained by watching them chase their tails.
The Huntsman Bar & Bistro, Palé Hall
Palé Hall has a number of dining options for guests and boasts three incredible rooms for you to dine in, each with their own personality, and all under the careful eye of head chef Gareth Stevenson. Since taking up the helm, Gareth and the team have established relationships with local farmers, growers and suppliers to offer one of the best culinary experiences. I should also point out that they like to make the most of their own herb garden, which you are welcome to go and see. It comes as no surprise that they are extremely proud to show off their AA Three Rosette Awards and Michelin Green Star fine dining, and rightly so.
For our visit, we booked The Huntsman Bar & Bistro Palé Hall, which offers fine dining in relaxed and comfortable surroundings. The decor is simply incredible with its carved victorian bar and quirky seating. Our table for example, was in fact in the style of a chessboard and our seats were high back and cushioned, which reminded us of Chesterfield furniture (which we are fans of).
The restaurant is welcoming of well-behaved dogs and is also family friendly. Whilst we were there, there was a lovely pet dog nearby who didn’t make a sound and was quite happy soaking up the atmosphere just as we were.
The menu itself is extensive and offers a range of starters, mains and desserts and is available between 12 – 2pm and 6-9pm. There are a number of British classics with the restaurant’s own elegant twists, which did make it difficult to choose from. If you’re not the driver or you are staying overnight, there is an extensive wine list and your server will happily help you choose what compliments your chosen dishes.
We opted for two courses (£45) and decided to skip starters and focus on our mains and dessert. Quite often we would go for the starter, but we felt a chilled dessert would be the perfect way to cool down.
For my main, I went with the 50-day aged sirloin steak and chose to have it cooked medium to well done, which was perfectly cooked to my liking. It was full of flavour and the salad dusted in parmesan and caramelised onions was delicious. I absolutely love my chips, especially chunky chips that are crispy on the outside and fluffy on the inside, which these were. The portion size was perfect, it was neither on the small side or large, and we did even ask our server to wait a little longer between our next course as this was filling.
Palé Hall’s very own sommelier Garry Clark recommended Wilderness Brewery These Things Happen (750ml, 3.4, £9) to go with my steak – based on my love of hops.
My fiancé decided to try something different went with the Roast Stone Bass served with pak choi, noodles, coconut cream sauce and a side of chips.
The bass had a perfect blend of crispy top and melt in your mouth underneath, perfectly seasoned. The pak Choi is an acquired taste, having never had it before she wanted to try it, not a fan but glad that she gave it a chance. The noodles were delicious, soaked into the creamy coconut sauce with a little kick to it and some mushrooms on the side too. The chips were delicious, thickly cut and the perfect balance as they were with the steak.
Gary recommended a very elegant South African Viognier to accompany this dish and it was the perfect pairing with it not being quite as dry as some white wines (again, personal preference).
The cheesecake a delicate balanced sweet treat but the sorbet was very sharp. I think it would have been more balanced if paired with vanilla ice cream, having tried the one that came with the chocolate torte below.
Appearances can often be deceiving and this is one of the few desserts that I would put in that category. This petite looking chocolate torte and ice cream was incredibly filling, in part to the richness of its contents and the main I had eaten before. Once you breakthrough its biscuity outer shell comes a river of chocolate that was incredible. The creaminess of the vanilla ice cream was perfect in helping to break up the flavours of the torte, and quite frankly, this somewhat simple dish was one of the best variations I’ve tasted.
Following dinner, we were invited to take our drinks into one of the many rooms that Palé Hall has to offer to guests, which includes its own library, a four seasons themed room and of course the grand entrance sitting room. Shortly afterwards, it was soon time to bed down for the night for our early start the following morning.
The best driving route in North Wales
As mentioned, Palé Hall recommend a number of local driving routes that showcase the very best that North Wales has to offer. So wether you are a leisurely driver who wants to take in the scenery or a bit of a petrolhead, there is definitely something for everyone.
As newbies to North Wales, we wanted a driving route that wouldn’t take us all day (in part due to our long drive back), but one that would give us a good all-round view of what the area has to offer and one that would peak our interest and make us want to return.
So, with this in mind, we decided to create our own loop of some of North Wales’ best driving roads. Gwynedd especially, is known for its engaging driving routes and rugged landscape and sloping mountain sides, and if you’ve not been before, you are in for a treat.
The driving route that we chose may not have incorporated everything, but it gave us a start and finish point, which was perfect for us. It would also incorporate some of the best known locations.
These are our sat nav instructions for the driving loop for those interested:
- Beddgelert, Caernarfon (start)
- Gwalia Garage, Caeathro, Caernarfon LL55 2SS
- Llanberis, Caernarfon
- Want Gwynant, Caernarfon, LL55 4NQ
- Beddgelert, Caernarfon (end)
We also opted to drive to Ffestiniog on our route from Palé Hall, which made our trip approx. 70.5 miles and 2 hours, 15 minutes. The Google Map details the full route that we undertook and the drive to our starting point was just as interesting as the rest of it.
Along this route were a number of stop off points, including at the bottom of Snowdonia and others offering views of Llyn Padarn, which were sensational. If you do want to pull into one of the many lay-bys, then just remember that these do get busy. However, if you can’t pull it and stop off in one, you will likely get a spot somewhere else that offers equally fantastic views.
Although the routes were brilliant with twists and turns plentiful, we did find that as the day went on and the roads got busier, we were often driving way below the speed limit. This might be fine if you are there to take in the scenery, but it wasn’t so great if you wanted to get to grips with the roads a little more. We actually found that our drive through Mid Wales was more of a petrolhead’s dream for those reasons, although North Wales still offered the best variety of driving routes.
Overall, it was an incredible trip and one that I would throughly recommend if you’re looking for a drive and dine experience.
Have you created your own drive and design experience? Let us know where you’d recommend that we try next.
