After 24 hours of torrential rain on Monday which resulted in half the campsite flooding, we woke up to a drier day Tuesday and headed to Betws y coed which is one of our favourite towns in North Wales. If you've never been, it's full of tourists, outdoor shops, quirky little boutiques, restaurants, pubs and ice cream - and lots of walking! We planned on doing a reasonable walk but spent the week alternating between mountain walks and easier walks (although this was highly weather dependent).
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| People jump off this bridge in the summer...crazy fools. |
There's plenty of car parking in Betws y coed, we parked in one of the main car parks just down from the train station. It was only £2.50 for 4 hours (fiver for all day). Head into town up the road past the woollen mill shop until you get to the bridge across the river. Cross over it and turn left and you'll pass Cunningham's on the right. I stopped in Cunningham's as they had sit mats for sale that my friends owned which were pretty good and I was in need of a new one! I picked up one for me and Mark, £3 each - bargain! Nothing worse than a cold, soggy bottom on a trail...
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| The route |
There are a few information boards here next to the river with lots of walks of varying length waymarked on them. The trail we followed was Llyn Parc which is 10km / 6.5 miles and is well signposted with yellow markers. It is marked as strenuous because there is quite a lot of climbing and it starts with a few steep sections leading into the Gwydyr forest.
The trees here are huge and there is a real sense of peace and calm although it's only minutes away from civilisation and the hustle and bustle of the town - even visiting off peak mid week, it still seems full of tourists and people enjoying all it has to offer.
The walk winds up and down through the forest and you do gain a lot of height and emerge at the top to some great views looking down on the valley below. We stopped for lunch when we got to the lake - Llyn Parc. We only saw a few other walkers on this trail and the air was so fresh and pure in the forest. It was a lovely day for a walk in the woods.
My legs were still hurting from the few tumbles I'd taken on Tryfan so I felt it was slow going on the uphill, although when I handed my backpack over to Mark, I felt significantly better and wondered whether I was going slower and struggling just because I'm always the one laden with lunch and water! The beagles really enjoyed all the smells of the forest. They love any kind of walk but seem to reserve a special excitement for when we head on to forest trails, I like to think they're a bit more magical than most walks.
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| Llyn Parc. |
It felt like a reallllllllllllllllllllly long walk even though it was only 6.5 miles which isn't a huge distance for me. I think this was probably made worse by the fact my legs were aching from Tryfan and the added weight of my rucksack. Having said that, we really enjoyed it and so did the dogs! We stopped in to The Stables for a snack and a drink on the way back. This is one of favourite places - we used to visit a lot when we lived in North Wales. They're really dog friendly and serve great food and have lots of outdoor as well as indoor seating not to mention heaters!
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