All walks › Conwy Valley and the North Coast
Conwy Valley and the North CoastBetws-y-Coed and Swallow Falls
Riverside and forest path from the busiest village in Eryri to the best known waterfall in Wales, avoiding the road the whole way.
- Distance
- 4.3 mi / 7 km
- Time
- 2 hr 25
- Ascent
- 200 m
- Difficulty
- Moderate
- Shape
- There and back
Where it is
The circle shows the general area, not the exact start. Use the directions link below to get to the car park itself. Contours and paths shown are OpenTopoMap, drawn from OpenStreetMap data.
The route
Follow the Afon Llugwy upstream on the northern bank through the woods to Swallow Falls, retrace your steps or by the forest tracks above.
Worth knowing
- The falls have a turnstile on the road side; the riverside path lets you see them from below for nothing.
- Betws-y-Coed is very busy in season. Walking out along the river escapes it within ten minutes.
- The Miners Bridge on the way is a steeply angled footbridge and a local landmark.
What you’ll see
The Llugwy and its rapids, Swallow Falls, the Miners Bridge and oak woodland.
Background
Betws-y-Coed became a tourist village after Telford’s Holyhead road arrived in the 1820s and the railway followed in 1868.