The A4085 is a 20-mile road between

Caernarfon Caernarfon (; ) is a royal town, community and port in Gwynedd, Wales, with a population of 9,852 (with Caeathro). It lies along the A487 road, on the eastern shore of the Menai Strait, opposite the Isle of Anglesey. The city of Bangor is ...

and

Penrhyndeudraeth Penrhyndeudraeth (; ) is a small town and community in the Welsh county of Gwynedd. The town is close to the mouth of the River Dwyryd on the A487 nearly east of Porthmadog, and had a population of 2,150 at the 2011 census, increased from 2,0 ...

North Wales , area_land_km2 = 6,172 , postal_code_type = Postcode , postal_code = LL, CH, SY , image_map1 = Wales North Wales locator map.svg , map_caption1 = Six principal areas of Wales common ...

that runs through the scenic

Aberglaslyn Pass The Aberglaslyn Pass ( cy, Bwlch Aberglaslyn) is a narrow gorge of considerable beauty in Snowdonia, Gwynedd, north Wales. The A498 road/A4085 road follows a relatively level route along the Afon Glaslyn through the pass from Beddgelert to Pr ...

. There are several locations where the road is of substandard width. The road begins at the southern apex of a triangular one-way system in

on the

A487 The A487, officially the Fishguard to Bangor Trunk Road, is a trunk road in Wales that follows the coast from Haverfordwest, Pembrokeshire, in the south, to Bangor, Gwynedd, in the north. Route The road starts at a junction with the A40 i ...

. It heads south, signposted for

Beddgelert Beddgelert () is a village and community in the Snowdonia area of Gwynedd, Wales. The population of the community taken at the 2011 census was 455, and includes Nantmor and Nant Gwynant. It is reputed to be named after the legendary hound ...

. As it leaves Caernarfon it passes the site of the Roman legionary fort

Segontium Segontium ( owl, Cair Segeint) is a Roman fort on the outskirts of Caernarfon in Gwynedd, North Wales. The fort, which survived until the end of the Roman occupation of Britain, was garrisoned by Roman auxiliaries from present-day Belgium and Ge ...

and later crosses the Afon Seiont and the course of the Caernarfon-to-Llanberis railway. After 1.5 miles it crosses a roundabout at Caeathro. The road as far as

Waunfawr Waunfawr (''gwaun'' + ''mawr'', en, large moorland/meadow) is a village and community, SE of Caernarfon, near the Snowdonia National Park, Gwynedd, in Wales. Description Waunfawr is in the Gwyrfai valley, on the A4085 road from Caernarfon to ...

is reputed to be a Roman road and is fairly straight. After Waunfawr the road joins the Gwyrfai Valley, a glaciated U-shaped valley along the west side of

Snowdon Snowdon () or (), is the highest mountain in Wales, at an elevation of above sea level, and the highest point in the British Isles outside the Scottish Highlands. It is located in Snowdonia National Park (') in Gwynedd (historic ...

. At four places along the valley it crosses and recrosses the

Welsh Highland Railway The Welsh Highland Railway (WHR) or Rheilffordd Eryri is a long, restored narrow gauge heritage railway in the Welsh county of Gwynedd, operating from Caernarfon to Porthmadog, and passing through a number of popular tourist destinations in ...

. The road passes along the east shore of

Llyn Cwellyn Llyn Cwellyn (''Llyn Quellyn'' in some antiquated texts) is a reservoir in North Wales which supplies drinking water to parts of Gwynedd and Anglesey. It lies on the Afon Gwyrfai in Nant y Betws between Moel Eilio and Mynydd Mawr in the north ...

(Caernarfon's water supply), before climbing to a summit just south of

Rhyd Ddu Rhyd-ddu ( Welsh for 'black ford') is a small village in Snowdonia, North Wales which is a starting point for walks up Snowdon (via the Rhyd Ddu Path), Moel Hebog, Yr Aran and the Nantlle Ridge. It lies on the A4085 between Beddgelert and ...

. The summit of the pass is at

Pitt's Head Pitt's Head (Welsh: Carreg Collwyn) is a distinctive rock located at grid reference , close to the A4085 road in Gwynedd, Wales. Its distinction lies in a resemblance to the profile of politician William Pitt the Younger. Geography Located as ...

and then the road and railway drop to

and the

, where the road is concurrent with the A498. The A4085 is the major road at the junction. Open top bus

The railway crosses the road again at the head of the Aberglaslyn Pass and can be seen again in the Pass on the east bank of the Afon Glaslyn, while the road continues along the west bank. The A4085 road diverges to the left at

Pont Aberglaslyn Pont Aberglaslyn is a stone arch bridge over the Afon Glaslyn and the surrounding hamlet, located near Beddgelert and Nantmor in Gwynedd, north-west Wales. A well-known beauty spot, according to Peter Bishop it was "one of the most visited site ...

before taking a winding route mostly following old sea cliffs of the Afon Glaslyn estuary. It passes under the Welsh Highland Railway again at Nantmor. After Garreg, the road climbs over a hill and crosses the

Ffestiniog Railway The Ffestiniog Railway ( cy, Rheilffordd Ffestiniog) is a heritage railway based on narrow-gauge, located in Gwynedd, Wales. It is a major tourist attraction located mainly within the Snowdonia National Park. The railway is roughly long an ...

by level crossing. It then takes a narrow winding descent through Penrhyndeudraeth to rejoin the A487 at the crossroads in the middle of the village.

History

The road was created from early

toll road A toll road, also known as a turnpike or tollway, is a public or private road (almost always a controlled-access highway in the present day) for which a fee (or ''toll'') is assessed for passage. It is a form of road pricing typically implemented ...

s. The toll road between Pont Cae'r Gors and a point a mile to the south followed an easier 1 in 20 gradient than the steep farm track to the west that preceded it. There was some improvement in the 1960s and 1970s halfway between Pont Aberglaslyn and Garreg and in 2005 nearer to Garreg. Just south of the Goat Hotel in Beddgelert is an arched railway overbridge (with height and width restrictions) built by the

Portmadoc, Beddgelert and South Snowdon Railway The Porthmadog, Beddgelert and South Snowdon Railway (PB&SSR) was a narrow gauge railway intended to connect Porthmadog with the North Wales Narrow Gauge Railways link terminus at Rhyd Ddu. Although some of the line was constructed between 1 ...

but never used.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:4-4085 Roads in Gwynedd