More on the Wales Coast Path

I referred earlier to the new Wales Coast Path, by now officially open. After having compared it a littel unfavourably to the North Wales Path, I thought I ought to give it a go and report back, so I did the Bangor-Penmaenmawr stretch of the Wales Coast Path. This diverges almost completely from the North Wales Path.

It starts off from Port Penrhyn in the same way, up the old Penrhyn Quarry Railway which is now part of the Lon Las Ogwen cycletrack, and here, at least when I visited, the Wales Coast Path signs had not yet arrived. At least at Llandygai the signs were in place, to follow the more sensible Llwybr Ugain Munud, rather than what I earlier referred to as the crazy way taken by the North Wales Path at that point. From here on, these paths are wholly different, the Wales Coast Path doing what it says on the tin, being mostly a shoreline walk. 

Reaching Aber Ogwen, which curiously has signs in English, Welsh and Polish, the walk starts along the shoreline. No problem with the tide out miles away, but I suspect this is a walk best not attempted at high water springs in windy weather. The walk coninues along the shoreline, where there are a number of birdwatchers' hides, and ample reason for them to be there, too.




Arriving on the fringes of Llanfairfechan, here is another fine example of H. L. North architecture which I commented on in relation to another property, higher up.

The path doesn't continue all along the promenade at Llanfairfechan, but takes Station Road all the way up to the Penmaenmawr Road (the old course of the A55 before the expressway was built). This is so that it can find its way round the Pen-y-clip headland.

This done on an unusual stretch of pathway. After following the old A55 as far as it can, the a line of streets above the expressway, it crosses the westbound carriageway on a footbridge to get to the central reservation in what feels more like an urban path for a short while. Then, without crossing the eastbound carriageway, suddenly it goes up, and soon is way above the road tunnels. 

This is the line of the old, old road - not the pre-expressway A55, but Telford's road, used before the first tunnels were built in the 1930s. Now it carries the path, cyclists and possibly horse-drawn vehicles.

Down on the Penmaenmawr side, the path crosses the westbound carriageway again to take the old road into Penmaenmawr, then quickly dives down steps to the left. These duck under the expressway viaduct, carrying on down to a former quarry incline bridge over the railway, and then Penmaenmawr promade. This took me along to the railway station.

And the verdict? Pen-y-clip was interesting enough, but the walk between Aber Ogwen and Llanfairfechan lacked the archaeology and hilltop views of the higher route. And while I had commented earlier that at least a shoreline walk would normally be wheel-accessible, I couldn't say that for this stretch. However it is  easier to get to generally, and obviously much more popular than the North Wales Path, judging by the number of people I encountered on this and the equivalent stretch of the other. So still a good walk, even if not as adventurous.

The All Wales Coast Path and the North Wales Path

I have just come across details of the All Wales Coast Path which is due to open officially in May 2012. Provisional route maps have been published here.

I had been under the impression that the All Wales Coast Path would follow the route of the North Wales Path across North Wales. This was clearly mistaken. The All Wales Coast Path  follows the principle that "It will be as near to the coast as legally and physically practicable, whilst fully taking into account the needs of health and safety, land management and conservation.". In the case of Anglesey, a similar principle must have been applied for its Coastal Path, because both paths follow the same route as far as I can see. But when it comes to the east-west North Wales section, this results in All Wales Coast Path being more truly coastal than the North Wales Path - although there are still substantial overlapping streches.

This explains the slight confusion I had in Colwyn Bay, where I had found a North Wales Path sign and an All Wales Coast Path sign pointing in different directions.

So what does this mean for walkers? The All Wales Coast Path, being more truly coastal, is going to be flatter and therefore more suitable for those who haven't the energy for hills. A good deal of those stretches are also going to be along sea walls etc., and suitable for those with pushchairs or wheelchairs (and for the pushchair clientele, no doubt the beach itself will have its attractions). However, I have to admit that the inland excursions were in general the most interesting bits of the North Wales Path for me, and I think I made it clear that walking miles along a sea wall was the dullest bit.

It also confirms the potential of circular walks as I had mooted  in my review, taking the inland part of the North Wales Path and doubling back along the All Wales Coast Path.