We stayed in Royal Oak Farm Cottage, Betws-Y-Coed.

Photo album on Google Photos:

Details of walks

1. Saturday April 8th, Circular walk to Llyn Ceirionod and Llyn Crafnant, from Trefriw: 13 km walk

This was a fabulous walk in varied landscape on a very warm (25C) day. Very glad we chose to go here to avoid the crowds on Snowdon and other well-known spots on the Easter Saturday. The Tea Shop at Trefriw Woolen Mill was a great place to slake our thirst and replenish afterwatds. The Mill is a full-scale industrial woollen mill running on power from the nearby stream and making bedspreads, table cloths and more from raw sheeps’ wool.

2. Sunday April 9th, Betws Y Coed – Lake Elsi and beyond

The walk started on the steep hill beside St Mary’s church and mounts through woods to Lake Elsi ( the reservoir for Betws-y-Coed) a pretty lake with barriers at both end and an island inhabited by noisy gulls.
After skirting the lake we set off to find a Landmark Trust cottage (Ty Coch)  that Jean had once stayed in and we got a bit entangled in undergrowth and fences. We probably passed near the cottage without actually seeing it.
On our return we crossed the Conwy on the Miners’ bridge – a strange sloped contraption and then walked through the woods into Betws-y-Coed.

3. Monday April 10th, Snowdon partial ascent: Pyg track up, Miners down

The Pyg track starts from Pen-y-Pass and  is ‘engineered’, from enormous slabs of stone. It is near to a ridge and has magnificent views, particularly to the lakes beside the Miner’s path below. The two paths meet at about 750m – not a great distance from the summit, but still a big scramble over rocks. By this time the summit was shrouded in cloud and a cold wind was blowing.

The Miner’s path starts with a hard descent on big stones to the shores of Lake Glaslyn, then skirts round a corner to Llyn Llydw and the disused copper mine. From there, the path is a well surfaced track all the way back to Pen-y-Pass.

4. Betws to Fairy Glen and Conwy Falls

The path started up the hill behind the Cotswolds shop at the bottom of the village, passes the Bunk House and soon after going under the railway bridge joins the A470. It uses the A470 to cross the river and then turns up a track by the Fairy Glen Hotel.

The ‘Fairy Glen’ – a magical place where the river squeezes through a narrow gorge is accessed by a steep path down from the side of the track.

To reach Conwy Falls, we returned to the original track and then continued to where it meets the A5. Access is via the Conwy Falls Cafe.