All walks › Conwy Valley and the North Coast
Conwy Valley and the North CoastGwydir Forest
Waymarked trails through a forest riddled with abandoned lead mines, with small lakes, spoil heaps and shafts among the trees.
- Distance
- 4.3 mi / 7 km
- Time
- 2 hr 25
- Ascent
- 250 m
- Difficulty
- Moderate
- Shape
- Circular
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
Several colour-coded trails leave the forest car parks, linking the old mine sites and the lakes. Undulating throughout.
Worth knowing
- The forest holds dozens of abandoned mines. Shafts are capped or fenced but stay on the paths.
- Llyn Parc and Llyn Sarnau are both worth the detour.
- Gwydir Castle in Llanrwst below is privately owned and open on limited days.
What you’ll see
Mine ruins and spoil, small forest lakes, and mixed woodland.
Background
The Gwydir mines produced lead and zinc from the sixteenth century, peaking in the 1850s before cheap imports killed the industry.