Hydro Electric Mountain - Dinorwig

Hydro Electric Mountain in Llanberis is about an hours drive from our holiday cottages here on the Lleyn, and is one of the most excellent tourist attractions that the Snowdonia National Park has to offer.

Set in the magnificent scenery of Snowdonia ranges, Dinorwig Electric Mountain and Power Station is an example of a pumped storage hydroelectric plant, and was first operational in 1984. When built, Dinorwig was the largest civil engineering project ever undertaken in the UK. Incidentally - Hydro is the proud sponsor of the yearly Snowdonia race.

The power station consists of two lakes, Marchlyn Mawr near Elidir Fawr mountain, and Llyn Peris in Llanberis. The lakes are one and a half kilometers from the other, with a drop of 500 meters separating them - both being connected by a series of pipelines. During full operation, the water level in the lakes will fall and rise 34 meters daily.

Inside the mountain between the two lakes is the largest man made cave with 6 turbines that supply energy to the National Grid. Dinorwig Electric Station can be brought from standby to peak capacity in approximately twelve seconds, making it ideal for coping with sudden unexpected demands in electricity. During peak capacity, it can power the whole of Wales for 5 hours!

From the Hydro Visitor's centre - starting with a sound and vision show, a bus will transport visitors to Dinorwig Power Station itself. Descending deep inside the mountain and through a network of tunnels, a guided tour will let you view the massive turbines in action deep inside the caverns of the mountain.

Booking

For booking information, call the Visitors Centre on 01286 870 636.

Admission to the visitor centre is free; there is a charge for the hour long tour of Dinorwig Power Station.

(Click here for outside link to Hydro Electric Mountain.)

Directions:

9 miles from Caernarfon, 12 miles from Bangor, 17 miles from Betws-y-Coed.