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Route 8 of the National Cycle Network, also known as Lôn Las Cymru, runs for 436km (271 miles) between Cardiff and Holyhead via Brecon, Builth Wells, Machynlleth, Porthmadog and Bangor. Between Machynlleth and Porthmadog there are alternative routes - one coastal, the other inland via Dolgellau, Coed y Brenin and Trawsfynydd.

The National Cycle Network is a network of cycle routes. It was created by the charity Sustrans Link (Sustainable Transport), aided by a National Lottery grant.

Many routes aim to minimise contact with motor traffic, though 70% of them are on roads. In some cases the NCN uses pedestrian routes, disused railways, minor roads, canal towpaths, or traffic-calmed routes in towns and cities.

The Mawddach Trail (Welsh: Llwybr Mawddach) is a cycle path following part of the former trackbed of the Ruabon to Barmouth railway line, closed in the 1960s. The trail runs for 8 miles between Dolgellau and Morfa Mawddach railway station, with a continuation across the bridge to Barmouth. For much of its length it runs close to the picturesque Mawddach estuary.

The trail forms part of National Cycle Network Route 8 (Lôn Las Cymru).

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The Cross Britain Way is a 279 mile, east-west trail across England and Wales, created to help raise money for Macmillan Cancer Support. Starting at Boston (where the original Macmillan Way starts), it crosses the Fens, the Vale of Belvoir, the Leicestershire/Nottinghamshire Wolds, the National Forest, Cannock Chase, East Shropshire along the Iron Bridge Gorge, the Shropshire Hills, the hills of mid Wales, the Berwyn Mountains, and Snowdonia National Park, to its end at Barmouth. Link

The Cambrian Line (Welsh: Llinell Cambria) is a railway from Shrewsbury (in Shropshire, England) to Aberystwyth and Pwllheli in Wales.
The railway is scenic: it runs through the Cambrian Mountains in central Wales and along the coast of Cardigan Bay.
The line includes long sections of single track.
The line was finished in the 1860s. The line divides at Dovey Junction.
Wikipedia: Link

Dr Richard Beeching (1913-1985) was employed during the 1960s by the government as the Chairman of the British Railways Board. In 1963 he produced a report which recommended the closure of thousands of miles of railway lines and thousands of stations, which were deemed to be unprofitable, to streamline the British railway network.

Over the years that followed, many of the lines and stations recommended for closure did indeed close, although some did survive against the odds while a few which did close have since been rebuilt and reopened. The railway closures of that period are often referred to as "Beeching Cuts".

More information about Dr Beeching's report cn be found on the websites of Network Rail Link and the National Archives Link