Caernarfon your place - any cafe or shop there - been myself it’s great they are v helpful
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Thanks very much for the suggestion; but I think I’ll go for Conwy because my time will be very limited and it’s considerably closer when one is coming by public transport. (The first time I remember actually hearing Welsh on the street was in Caernarfon actually.)
These people may have just been lucky (at least regarding Welsh), but:
Also:
According to Wikipedia, it looks like you have about a 1 in 3 chance of meeting people who have some knowledge of Welsh, and about a 1 in 4 chance of meeting someone who says they can speak Welsh. Statistically speaking, it’s not the best area, but it’s by no means the worst, either.
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A quick scrutiny of the online bus timetables - Caernarfon only 20-25 minutes bus ride from Bangor. Hourly buses leave from outside Bangor train station.
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That’s some good research there Gavin 
I am in Conwy quite regularly and very rarely hear any Welsh spoken there. Unfortunately it lost it’s Welsh spoken as a community language a generation or two ago along with rest of the North Wales coast but you will still hear it spoken from time to time. I find that it starts to get more Welsh when you get past Penmaenmawr and in to Gwynedd. I was in the Café Hen Felin in Abergwyngregyn the other day and everyone was speaking Welsh in there .
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This is so, so kind of everyone. I still have a couple of weeks to decide, so it’s great to read these suggestions.
I see that Abergwyngregyn is a small place: would that limit my options?
Maybe I’ll go for Caernarfon after all.
Diolch yn fawr iawn i chi pawb eto.
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Abergwyngregyn is only a small village and there is just the one cafe there I think but it doesn’t have a train station . The nearest train station is in Llanfairfechan a couple of miles away . If you could get to Llangefni on Anglesey that is another town where the majority of people speak Welsh
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If the being on the coast is going to restrict you opportunities, there’s always the option of a short train (or bus or even taxi) ride down the Conwy valley to Llanrwst where you’ll find street Welsh in abundance. Lovely town, picturesque market square and bridge, Welsh book shop (Bys a Bawd), Welsh spoken everywhere.
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So kind of everyone to help. This is marvellous. And I hope that it may help other people who wish to just “drop in” on spoken Welsh on the street.
We stayed in Betws-y-Coed a couple of years ago (and heard Welsh!), and we went through Llanrwst a few times: good suggestion.
“Syniad da”, to show that I’ve learned something from my SSiW lessons!
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Yes, it’s quite possible to reach Llanwrst by train along the lovely Conwy Valley Line/ Rheilffordd Dyffryn Conwy. But you’ll need to choose your train times fairly carefully @Baruch, because it’s only a branch line and the trains are not all that frequent. Here’s the timetable:
http://www.conwy.gov.uk/cvr/docs/TimetableSummer2015.pdf
(I notice it’s the summer 2015 timetable so there may be, or may not be, changes this summer?)
Have a good trip - looking forward to hearing about it!
Best wishes
Gavin
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Thanks Gavin. There are also buses from outside Llandudno Junction station, so either way I should make it. LLanrwst is a good candidate on my list at the moment.
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For your best chances to use/hear Welsh, it should definitely be a throw of the coin between Caernarfon and Llanrwst…
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Heddiw dw i’n aros yn Lanberis. Dw i wedi gorffen dysgu yn gynnar, felly dw i 'di dod yma efo fy mheic.
Es i i’r gwesty…“Ga’i beint o Becks?”…“err errr gorffen”… “Dim ots, peint o Kaltenberg…ac oes gynnoch chi frechdanau?” …“err err”…“have you got sandwiches?”
“Yfory dw i’n mynd I ffeindio caffi…rownd 2”
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Doedd na ddim Brains…?
Wrth gwrs ond o’n i isio peint o lager ddoe!
Yes, a pub may well be a place to wind down afterwards. Although, having read a recent post, I would be wise to ask for ice in English at this stage…
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Dwn i’m siwr…Beth ydy’r gwaethaf gall digwydd?: Ti’n cael rhew mewn dy ddiod, neu ti’n cael lwcus…
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Efo’r barman
For anyone who (like me) happens to come across this thread later – there’s a trip report here:
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Ardderchog @Baruch! And thanks for giving us an update. It’s lovely to hear how well you were received. I’ve decided that I’m going to start going to Paned a Sgwrs (there are a couple of groups in my work) to get some practice in so hopefully I’ll get a similar reception!
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