Penmaenpool

Penmaenpool (Welsh: Pwll Penmaen) is a village in the Welsh county of Gwynedd and is also in the Snowdonia National Park.

Penmaenpool toll bridge, old signal box and George III inn on the south bank of the Mawddach Estuary

Get in

By car: Penmaenpool is on the A493 Tywyn / Dolgellau trunk road. The village is about three miles west of Dolgellau and 12 miles north-east of Tywyn. A bus service runs to and from nearby Dolgellau. There are two bus stops in Penmaenpool.

By train: Take the Cambrian Coast Line to Morfa Mawddach. Morfa Mawddach is about three miles west of Penmaenpool. (There is no railway line to Penmaenpool.)

By boat: Small vessels can sail down the estuary to Penmaenpool from Barmouth. Contact the Barmouth Harbour Master on 01341 280671 for information.

See

• 1 Wooden Toll Bridge. A famous landmark at Penmaenpool is the wooden toll bridge that spans the Mawddach Estuary. Replacing the ferry, the wooden bridge was built in 1879 by the Penmaenpool Bridge Company under the auspices of John Leigh Taylor of nearby Penmaenuchaf Hall. The toll bridge is a Cadw-registered building. Cadw is the official guardian of the built heritage of Wales. 

Do

• Old Railway Footpath. Walkers and cyclists can travel along the old Cambrian Railway line which is now a public path following the course of the Mawddach Estuary. The shale path extends from the outskirts of Dolgellau via Penmaenpool to Arthog. 
• Mawddach Way. Penmaenpool is also a start/end point for one of the suggested three section of the 49 km long distance footpath walk 'The Mawddach Way' which is a circular walk around the Mawddach Estuary. 
• RSPB Information Centre (the old signal box). Birdwatchers should visit the RSPB observation centre which is housed in near the toll bridge. The signal box affords ornithologists good views of the Mawddach Estuary and tidal mudflats. 

Eat

• 1 The George III Hotel (is located at the end of the toll bridge), ☏ +44 1341 422525. open throughout the year. 

Sleep

Hotels

• 1 Penmaenuchaf Hall Hotel, ☏ +44 1341 422129. 
• 2 Penmaen Farm Self Catering Cottages, ☏ +44 1341 423937. 
• 3 Coed Cae Bed & Breakfast, Taicynhaeaf, ☏ +44 1341 430628. Located just a short stroll across the Penmaenpool Bridge 

Hostels

• 4 YHA Kings, ☏ +44 870 770 5900. 42 beds across 7 rooms. Out of season, it's possible for groups to reserve the entire hostel.