I just found out about another campsite: Cae Parc, this is immediately next to the official caravan site (usually one of the Sioe Llanrwst fields).
2 Likes
As I understand it, the official Travel Plans for the Eisteddfod are trying their best to avoid motorised traffiic through Betws y Coed. People from The North West (Anglesey, Bangor, Caernarfon etc. ) are supposed to travel via Conwy. People from the East are supposed to arrive via Abergele (A55) then A548 through Llanfair Talhaiarn to the North East of Llanrwst. And people from the South are supposed to arrive via Blaenau Ffestiniog on the A470 (also people from South East on A5 locally I believe - though from farther afield cars are supposed to head North to the A55 and via Abergele). There are three separate car parks, reserved for separate directions of arrival.
Well, some of us are in the West and pretty local. I would not expect someone from Capel Curig to go via Bethesda, Llandygai, A55 and Conwy to Llanrwst. From Beddgelert, maybe cars should go South East via Maentwrog and then North East via Blaenau Ffestiniog. And from Llanberis, maybe cars should go via the outskirts of Bangor and the A55 to Conwy. But when itās a 20 mile trip via Betws and a nearly 40 mile trip on the Official Route, it is not so bad for a day trip, but the miles would mount up a lot for daily visits all week. Ultimately this could make someone ālocalā as the bird flies no longer local as the car drives.
I know Betws-y-Coed gets busy. In mid-August it it likely to be fairly congested already with non-Eisteddfod traffic and that in itself should act as a deterrent to anyone who does know the area. For people travelling once, from afar, the official travel advice seems to make total sense as an attempt to minimise delays for everyone. For people from āmediumā distances (however you define those) there could be an argument to stay locally rather than travelling more than once. But for some very local people, it seems hard to justify staying residentially both in terms of cost and in terms of booking accommodation which others actually need. For such local people, the options may be to arrive on recommended routes but only attend a day or a few days in the week, versus arriving via Betws y Coed, congested as it is and being able to attend all week.
Of course, if Betws goes to total road gridlock, the last sentence would not be an option.
For a day on the Maes, buses and/or trains could be a good option. But Iām not sure how late these run for Evening Concerts.
1 Like
Buses from the Maes will certainly be running back to the car parks after the evening events.
Thanks. Iām still not 100% sure Iāll be attending so it will be a last minute decision, but that was all very helpful. Iām not local enough to be truly local, but Llanrwst is an easy day trip. I may, however, opt for driving to Blaenau Ffestiniog and getting the train to Llanrwst to avoid driving on congested roads. Itās busy enough with the normal summer traffic.
are you driving up or coming by train?
Iām coming by train from Birmingham on Friday. Should arrive at 19.51.
I will be arriving on Saturday about 2pm
Iāll be there on the Sunday evening with the Cor y Gymanfa. Weāll be performing in the Pafiliwn at 8pm for the Cymanfa Ganu, so come along if you want to join in some good old-fashioned hymn singing. Iām also competing in the solo competition in the Shwāmae, Suāmae tent on the Thursday. The singing competitions start at 9:30 and my slot will be from 10:45. Youāll know which is me because I shall be singing and using British Sign Language hefyd!
2 Likes
Finally got my volunteering rota for the Eisteddfod. Two sessions every day from the first Saturday to the Friday. I seem to remember that two sessions includes a food voucher. Is anyone else apart from @amandalaing volunteering?
I can only do one day, so Iām hoping to get to the Eisteddfod on Tuesday ā¦ any suggestions as to how will we find other SSiWāers in the Maes itself please?
All I have is times, no idea of what Iāll be doing.
I thought Maes D is now Sutmae, Shwmae?
It is but people still call it maes D. If you put that as one of your choices then it was a different person organizing the rota. She got first choice then people were passed on to the organizer of everything else who should have known about the Shwmae, Sutmae shifts .
Iām in Shwmae Suāmae on Sunday and Thursday mornings
What do you do when you volunteer? Do you have specific jobs or just there to answer questions? Just out of interest 
Iāll let you know when Iām there!!! Never done it before.
1 Like
Iām there for 3 evenings so I expect Iāll be stewarding at the evening events. In previous years Iāve been āhappy to helpā which means handing out maps and directing people to where they want to go. Sut mae, Shwmae is generally handing out free tea and coffee.
1 Like
When I applied you had to choose 3 areas you wanted to cover and the times you were available. I put Shwmae Sumae, Ty Gwerin and the Pavilion. Now rota (apart from Shwmae Sumae) just says stewarding so not sure where Iāll be.
1 Like
But 14 sessions altogether.
I volunteered at Maes D when the Eisteddfod was at Meifod. We helped with teas and coffees and also other activities that were going on. I enjoyed meeting a lot of interesting people, even though my Welsh was extremely limited. The highlight was coming off shift and hearing someone with a beautiful voice start singing. A few stands along Rhys Meirion was standing and had started singing, just impromptu and with such feeling. That captured the true feeling of the Eisteddfod for me.
3 Likes