Bala Lake Railway

Bala Lake/Llyn Tegid is the largest natural body of water in Wales, covering 1,084 acres. The lake, four miles long and one mile wide, sits in a mountain valley. Bala lake is of glacial origin and once extended to twice its current length. The waters of the lake are famously deep and clear.

The River Dee flows through Lake Bala, though this is not apparent when you look at the map. This is because between its source on the slopes of Dduallt and Bala Lake, the river is known by its Welsh name, Afon Dyfrdwy. Bala Lake is part of the River Dee regulation system.

The lake has some legends attached. On moonlit nights, if you look closely, you can see towers and buildings under the waters and if you listen carefully, you can hear bells. These buildings, according to legend, were the palace of King Tegid, husband of Ceridwen, who was the mother of Taliesin. Llyn Tegid is also home to the rare and protected whitefish called the Gwyniad (a kind of land-locked herring whose presence in the lake is said to date back to the last Ice Age). 

The railway’s HQ is in the pretty Welsh village of Llanuwchllyn. The station has free car parking, refreshments, a small gift shop, toilets, and a cafe. There’s a red phone box containing three hanging baskets, an original cigarette dispensing machine, and an old platform ticket dispenser. There are picnic tables, plus all the railway’s storage and repair facilities and an original Great Western Signal Box that is often open to visitors.

All trains start and finish their journey at Llanuwchllyn, and if you arrive early, you can watch the locomotive being prepared prior to the departure of the first train of the day. After each round trip to Bala (except the last), the crew services the locomotive at the water tower on the west side of the Llanuwchllyn station.

I boarded the train with its maroon and cream livery. After leaving Llanuwchllyn, the line heads straight out for a mile, on the way descending the 1 in 70 Dolfawr Bank toward the lakeside, offering expansive views of the lake, water meadows, and surrounding hillsides. Llanuwchllyn bound trains must work hard here to ascend the steep gradient. Pentrepiod is a request stop with a small platform just long enough to accommodate a single coach. It serves a nearby camping field and is useful for walkers.

My new book is available here.

The book covers not only the Great Little Trains of Wales but also other methods of transport in the UK.

I was eight years old when my interest in steam trains began. My parents and I lived close to someone who worked at Doncaster train station. The Flying Scotsman was the most famous train of the time, and for some reason it was at Doncaster for a few days. I was asked whether I’d like to see the train and go on the footplate. Of course I did. What I remember most was the enormous size of the train and that the driver’s cab seemed as big as my bedroom. Everything about the train, the colours, the gleaming metal, the gorgeous carriages, the mountain of coal, made a lasting impression – I wanted to go to places, and I wanted to go on a train like this one.

My father wanted to travel, and the plan was for my parents to see the world when he retired. Cancer cut short his life and their plan died with him. Once I had the finances, I felt duty bound to travel to the places he wanted to go, and if possible, go by steam train. This book is what I found.