How to Find Beddgelert Grave in Wales | Snowdonia Villages
Beddgelert is a famous story in Wales about Gelert the dog and the dog’s grave is a must-visit in North Wales. The famous legend that is the story of Gelert the dog is admired by the Welsh people, rooted in Welsh land, taught to young Welsh children and lives on in the namesake town of Beddgelert.
Read on to discover what is Beddgelert and use this guide for how to find Beddgelert grave in one of the most prettiest and serene Snowdonia villages.
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The Beddgelert Story and History of Beddgelert
As the story goes…
There was once a Prince of North Wales, known as Prince Llewelyn the Great, who lived in the village of Beddgelert in Snowdonia around the 13th century. Surrounded by forests and mountains, the Prince was a keen hunter and his favourite hunting dog was named Gelert. One day, when all the hunting dogs were summoned, Gelert unusually didn’t turn up and so Llewelyn decided to go this time without the faithful dog.
Returning to his palace, Llewelyn was greeted by the distressed dog who had a mouth dripping with blood. In a state of fear, Llewelyn immediately rushed to his one year old son’s nursery. There, he found the empty cot with crimson blankets.
In maddened revenge and grief, Llewelyn plunged his sword into his favourite hound and as Gelert yelled with his death howl, another cry was heard. This cry came from something beneath the cot. And there lay Llewelyn’s son, unharmed. And next to him was a huge wolf who had clearly been slain by Gelert in protection of the baby.
The Prince, realising that he’d just killed the very being that saved his son, his heir, was overcome with remorse and guilt. He carried the loyal animal and buried him in a place where everyone could see and learn the truth of this dog. Legend tells us that he never smiled again.
We are taught about the Beddgelert dog from a young age in Wales and is one of the most popular and loved legends / Welsh myths. Which is why it’s imperative that we should visit the grave and pay respects to Gelert.
Where is Beddgelert Wales
Beddgelert North Wales is one of the many Snowdonia villages located in the breathtaking Snowdon National Park. The village is surrounded by mountains and no matter what the weather in Beddgelert, there is a calming feel in the air which I think is to do with the legend of the place!
Beddgelert Map
Getting to Beddgelert
The best way to reach the village is by car. Driving times are as follows:
- Caernarfon to Beddgelert is 25 minutes
- Porthmadog to Beddgelert is 15 minutes
- Bangor to Beddgelert – 40 minutes
- Cardiff to Beddgelert – 3 hours, 40 minutes
- Wrexham to Beddgelert – 1 hour, 30 minutes
- Llanberis to Beddgelert – 30 minutes
- Liverpool to Beddgelert – 2 hours
Beddgelert Postcode: LL55 4YB
Beddgelert parking is free around the village but there is not a lot of options. If your accommodation doesn’t have private parking then look around the village and particularly further up for free options to visit the grave.
Tip: As there is National Trust Beddgelert, some things to do are free to National Trust members! See more here.
How to Find The Beddgelert Grave
When researching Beddgelert tourism and searching for guides, I got lost, had to ask for directions (to someone who had no idea what I was saying), lost all signal and could not understand the Beddgelert National Trust directions at all! Therefore, I have created the easiest step by step directions to find Beddgelert’s Grave and statue.
- Use the Beddgelert postcode as above (LL55 4YB) as the starting point which will bring you to the Prince Llewelyn Beddgelert pub.
2. Cross the road and over the bridge to start the Beddgelert river walk so that the river is on your left hand side and on your right hand side is the below.
3. Walk along the river wall until you reach a gate called ‘Glaslyn Bridge’ and turn right. The Beddgelert forest walks map will be here too as below.
4. Now you should be on a path with the Beddgelert church on your right and the river on your left. Walk straight until you reach a small sign saying ‘Gelert’s grave’ and turn right.
5. You will have an old rock wall on your left and stop when you reach an iron gate and walk through it.
6. The view here is stunning with vast fields in front of you and mountains Snowdonia either side of you. In the very centre will be a large tree and you’ve found Gelert’s grave with the story of Beddgelert in both English and Welsh.
7. Walk around the tree and up the path is where you will find a statue of Beddgelert, the brave dog, and the main attraction in Beddgelert village.
Beddgelert Pronunciation
Now you know the Beddgelert history, you need to ensure you learn how to pronounce Beddgelert!
Gelert is the name of the faithful hound and ‘Bedd’ means ‘Grave’ in Welsh, hence the name of the village in Snowdonia.
In the Welsh alphabet, ‘dd’ is a letter and is pronounced like ‘th’ at the end of ‘with’ in English. ‘E’ is pronounced like ‘ehh’ and so the first part of the word is pronounced ‘behhth’. Gelert starts with a ‘g’ pronounced like ‘give’ and so the word is pronounced as gel-ert.
Okay, now you can tell people about the Beddgelert legend with confidence!
Beddgelert Tours and Surrounding
The first tour here includes a stop at Beddgelert Snowdonia, the second is a MUST in Snowdonia Wales: climbing Mount Snowdon, and the third tour is a way to soak up the Welsh culture around North Wales.
Things to Do in Beddgelert
There are more Beddgelert things to do other than following the story of Beddgelert. You can enjoy several paths of the Beddgelert walks, browse the Beddgelert shops and several places to eat in Beddgelert. There’s a Beddgelert pub or two to finish the evening too.
There is also attractions near Beddgelert given that the village is found in Snowdonia National Park so there are lots of mountains in Wales to admire, hike or use the railway and scenic walks near Beddgelert too.
Surprisingly, there is not a Beddgelert castle but there are nearby castles to visit (this is Wales after all) and gorgeous waterfalls and lakes to see nearby in Snowdonia such as Dolgellau waterfalls and Llyn Dinas lake.
Craflwyn
One of the best things to do near Beddgelert is to visit another National Trust sight called Craflwyn which is the home of the most famous Wales legend: the Welsh dragon adored on the national flag. The village name is actually called Dinas Emrys.
Craflwyn is found just down the road from the village and is where you’ll find the Beddgelert forest walks. It also has an information centre about the dragon stories, the history of Merlin and the old Kingdom and Kings of Wales.
Tip: This is also a National Trust area with free parking and there’s an information board with the other National Trust sites in North Wales!
After the tourist information centre, walk up to Dinas Emrys where you can find ruins of an ancient tower, look for the hidden sculptures and see an Iron Age hill fort. Not to mention the home of the Welsh red dragon!
Myth says there is a sleeping dragon beneath Dinas Emrys so be wary ;).
Beddgelert Hotels and Beddgelert Camping
As well as what to do in Beddgelert, the big question remains surrounding Beddgelert accommodation. It’s not a very big place so there is limited options in the actual village but you can stay nearby and visit for a day trip.
- Saracens Head Beddgelert for the best location. Here you can have your own private accommodation in comfort.
- Bryn Dinas Camping Pods for a Beddgelert campsite. Take a wild camping tent and set up in the wilderness of North Wales!
- Plas Tan y Graig for a budget stay in scenic Snowdonia.
If you don’t fancy staying in any of the hotels in Beddgelert then why not sleep under the stars and among nature and try Beddgelert camping in the forest or Cae Du campsite as seen on the map above.
I hope you have now learned the Beddgelert dog story and will be able to find grave of Gelert the dog!
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