Britain's longest alpine coaster, a self-braked sledge on rails weaving a kilometre down through the conifers above Betws-y-Coed
Alpine resorts run these through the summer once the snow has gone, and this is the British version: a toboggan-style sledge that follows a steel rail rather than a slope. A cable tows you 300 metres up into the trees, then you take the two hand levers and pick your own pace back down the 700-metre descent, up to about 25mph if you leave the brakes alone. One ticket buys three runs. Drivers need to be at least a metre tall, and children from three can ride sharing a sledge with an adult.
The coaster is the headline act at Zip World Betws-y-Coed, a mile or so north of Betws-y-Coed on the A470, in the forestry above the Conwy valley and inside Eryri. Zip lines, a giant swing, a drop tower and treetop nets fill out the rest of the site, and the same company runs the zip lines at Penrhyn Quarry and the cavern tours at Llechwedd. It runs all year in any weather, but book ahead. Betws-y-Coed Station is about a mile down the road, so the train works as well as the car.
