The ‘Needs to Know’
Distance: 1.9 miles (3.05 km)
Time to walk: Roughly 1 hour at a stroll, although on a lovely day there’s plenty of places to have a sit, or maybe a paddle in the shallower, calmer water. But take care & judge the flow of the river as it will change with the seasons, or after rainfall
Difficulty: Easy & on forest paths, quiet lanes & boardwalks. There’s one short hill. There’s a couple of metal kissing gates & some uneven surfaces which would not be suitable for wheelchairs. It’s good for dogs, but sheep may be present in places, & be careful on the quiet lane
Parking: We parked in the small Pont y Pair Pay & Display car park LL22 0LS
If this is full there’s another larger car park back along the main road near the station LL24 0AG
Public toilets: In both car parks
Map of the route:
The small village of Betws-y-Coed lies stands in a valley within Snowdonia National Park at the point where the River Conwy meets its three tributaries flowing from the West, the Afon Llugwy, the Afon Lledr & the Afon Machno. Much of it was built in Victorian times, & was renowned as an artist colony
The name of the village means “prayer-house in the woods” & a monastery is known to have existed in the area in the 6th century. Betws-y-Coed remained a small agricultural community until the 19th century, when a lead mining industry developed & part of Thomas Telford’s London to Holyhead road (the present A5) was constructed through the village in 1815, followed by a railway station in 1865. These transport links encouraged new developments to serve tourists
Let’s Walk!
This walk starts at what’s probably Betsw-y Coed’s most famous spot…on the Pont y Pair bridge just near the car park. Be careful as this is a road bridge although, when it was originally built in 1468, it was a means for packhorses to cross the river. It was later widened in the 1800s to allow stagecoaches to use it too
The name means ‘The Bridge of the Cauldron’ as, when it’s buffeted by foaming water after heavy rain, it sounds like a cauldron boiling over
This is the view from the bridge…
The view from the other side’s a lot calmer
2. Walk across the bridge towards the car park & turn left…
…through to the riverside path on your left. Initially you are going to be following the Blue markers
3. It’s possible to carefully scramble over the rocks to get a view of the bridge from here, but today it was obscured by the trees. Begin to follow the path…
I’ve already mentioned that there’s many places to stop & admire the river & you’ve only gone 50 yards & here’s one already
4. Continue along the boardwalk which weaves its way through some magnificent trees…
…& then pass a lovely picnic area
There’s another paddling area here which someone appreciated…
5. Carry on along the river’s edge…
…passing a hole in the rock
6. The path now passes through one of the metal kissing gates…
For a time now you exit the woods & enter a meadow. Here there are signs telling you sheep are present & dogs must be kept on the lead
7. When we walked in July 2025 there were lots of beautiful flowering plants in this area. On identification these turned out to be Himalayan Balsam…
The exploding seed heads of Himalayan balsam cause widespread environmental impact. A native of the Western Himalayas from Northern Pakistan to the East through Kashmir in North-West India, it was brought into Europe in the first half of the 19th century as an ornamental & honey producing plant, when some of the plant’s seeds were sent to Kew Gardens in 1839. By 1848 the plant had naturalised & now this species is believed to be one of the most dangerous alien species in the British Isles
8. Follow the path through the meadow, crossing the bridge…
Look for the old mis-shapen tree on your left. It looks like in the past there’s been some bands around that may have restricted its growth
9. Just be careful about walking along this stretch as there’s lots of exposed roots…
The path climbs to another metal kissing gate to pass through
10. It’s dogs off leads again now as you’re back in the woods once more on a harder path…
…& the river narrows & is more lively
11. It’s really easy to follow as you now approach the Miners Bridge …
…& suddenly there ahead it is
12. There’s been a crossing point of the river here since the 1800s. It was built for the Miners who worked in the lead mines up in the hills so they could cross the river from their village
Originally it was built by felling trees across the gorge & nailing steps & a handrail to the tree trunks
Over the years the bridge has suffered from being washed away by flash floods. The current bridge was built by the Council in 2022, replacing the one destroyed by a storm in 2020
13. If you fancy walking back along the road to the start then simply cross the bridge & turn left
Our route back though is much quieter so, facing the bridge, turn round & look for a path heading up the hill, as shown by the blue marker, past a rather lovely bench that’s worth a few minutes rest on…
Follow the track as it climbs steadily up through the woods
14. Eventually you arrive at a barrier…
Turn right & walk down the quiet lane admiring the views across the valley to your right
15. The lane begins to descend & passes some houses. Look for the blue marker post on your right showing the path back into the woods…
Follow the track down & at the junction bear left
16. Now it’s simply a case of following your footsteps back across the boardwalk to the start of this walk…
So that’s it..a short, lovely little stroll that can be done as part of a day out in the area or on the way into the mountains
Before you leave Betsw-y-Coed though please don’t miss out on a visit to the station. There’s outlets & cafes etc & you’ll also see lots of animal statues around. Walk onto the platform where you’ll find some amazing large animal sculptures
But the best is down the stairs in the basement, in the incredible Platform Galeri run by artist, photographer & conservationist Jacha Potgieter. Click on the link to visit the website but you have to see it in real life
Go Walk!