Llanfairfechan to Conwy (15km/9miles)

At Llanfairfechan I retraced my route from the railway station up the valley to where I had left the Path last week, except that this time I mostly followed the eastern bank of the river before crossing over at Nant Y Felin Road to walk up the steps to Terrace Road. Llanfairfechan has some fine old houses - more than you would expect from just passing through on the main road.

So I rejoined the path at Terrace Road, heading up the valley on the western bank along a country lane. It's obvious at this point that Path needs to cross the river, also that it needs to continue rising, so when it comes to a road junction, where to go left would take you across the river, and to go straight on, past a No Through Road sign, would go up, I had expected to see a sign to tell me which way to go. Although the North Wales Path has been generally well marked, there was no such sign at this point, and (after getting lost once last week) I had to get my map out to make sure - it's up. Shortly afterwards, there is in fact a sign which tooks me leftwards across a foobridge at Nant y Coed Nature Reserve.

The path now rises up the side of the valley. There's a farmer here who keeps alive the old tradition of stringing up the bodies of rats, as a deterrent to others. Looking back across the valley, last week's descent into Llanfairfechan can clearly be seen.

The road here is Newry Drive, approaching a grand house which used to be called Newry, now Plas Heulog. The lodge here, at a hairpin bend in the road,  is a splendid building, an early work of Llanfairfechan architect H. L. North, whose distinctive style can be seen in a number of houses in Llanfairfechan and a few in the wider area. The house itself is set back from the road and not so visible.


Passing on, the road reaches a back entrance into Penmaenmawr Quarry then ceases to be a public road. But it does follow the line of an old coach route, and for the next few miles it is very clear from the style of the track that it is following a line which was made as a road for vehicles, even down to the ruts left by wheels over the centuries. It is also very easy to follow, as it climbs away from Llanfairfechan.

Here we pass the site of Graig Lwyd, an axe factory from the third millenium BC. although there is not a great deal to be seen. Stone axes from this rock have been found all over Britain and even on continental Europe, and, over the hill, Hanson's quarry continues the extraction of this rock, now mostly for roadbuilding aggregate. Continuing along the old road, the Path passes behind the quarry massif, and suddenly Penmaenmawr village itself comes into view below, with the Great Orme and Llandudno behind.


I took a short an interesting diversion from the North Wales Path here to visit the Druids' Circle. At a point where the Path is signposted along a slight left fork, taking the right fork rises slowly towards a ridge, where, helpfully, one of the standing stones can be seen from below. The circle is not the first group of stones, but stands on a small plateau a little further on. This is really impressive, far more so than the more modern imitations, because of its setting.

The Druids' Crcle is the most distinctive and obvious feature, but is not the only monumnent here. Because I has taken with me my copy of Frances Lynch's 'A Guide to Ancient and Historic Wales - Gwynedd', I was also able to find the ring cairn.








Rejoining the path is easy enough here, and I continued eastwards, where now it drops to the right of higher ground, losing sight of the sea to the north as Conwy valley comes in to view.

This is still folowing an old road, even at one point an avenue lined by Scots pine. Shortly after this, the North Wales Path turns off the road to the right, to become more of a footpath.   It crosses fields, then Afon Gyrach over a footbridge, and wanders on down towards Sychnant Pass.  There are multiple paths here as we approach Sychnant, and signage is a little confusing, but a clear view ahead and a sense of direction took me on and down to Sychnant.

Joining the road at Synchant. The conical gateposts are distinctive of the Pensychnant estate. This is now a nature reserve.

The North Wales Path now goes towards Conwy Mountain. Again, there are many paths that could be followed, and our signs take a particular route, first going over the top to look down at the foreshore and the old quarries on the shore side, then crossing again to look down on Conwy.

I then got the opportunity to divert off the path again to visit the later prehistoric hillfort, which is well signed by an interpretation board on the Path. This is referred to as Caer Seion here and on my OS map, although Frances Lynch (reference as above) refers to it as Castell Caer Lleion. On top of the hillfort, it is clear why it was built here: it commands strategic views in every direction, with little to block the line of sight. It was a windy day when I visited, which meant that on the very top I had to fight to stand up at all. I found a hollow in a hut base to take my lunch break.

The picture shows a round hut base, one of many.



Rejoining the Path, this now follows what feels like an old quarry road, maybe even an incline, down to Cadnant Park on the outskirts of Conwy. It leaves the modern estate road to pass down an old track towards Waen Crossing over the railway - a footbridge now, but evidently once a level crossing. It then crosses at A547 at an attractive former toll house on the corner of Morfa Drive, and passes Ysgol Aberconwy. It swings right behind the school to a coastal walkway, into the walled town of Conwy.


When we did the Anglesey Coastal Path, being very much along the coast, there were things to say from time to time about the oacassional pub, cafe or shop along the way. The North Wales Path is also meant to form part of the Wales Coast Path, but so far it's been very different in character. Suffice to say that, 25 miles or so from Port Penrhyn, the quayside at Conwy was the very first place actually on the path where it was possible to buy anything.

I won't say too much about Conwy because so much has been written elsewhere. On the quayside here is the smallest house in Britain, and the Castle is the main attraction of course. The town walls are the best preserved in Britain and it is possible to walk almost a complete circuit. Plas Mawr is well worth a visit, and in my view the best attraction in Conwy if you only have time to visit one. Train timetables meant I didn't stay for any of these, but headed back.


Verdict: A nice little walk, perhaps a little heavy on the prehistory, but with some views that gave a very different angle.