30 Walks/40 Pages
The northern part of the Snowdonia National Park, the largest in Wales, is a stunningly diverse landscape of mountains, hills, rivers, lakes and wooded valleys formed during the Ice Age. Its name derives from Snowdon (Yr Wyddfa), the highest mountain in England and Wales. Whilst attracting millions of visitors each year it remains a living landscape which has been shaped by traditional hill farming, quarrying for slate as well as mining for lead and copper. Northern Snowdonia is an area steeped in Welsh history, language and culture, while offering a tremendous variety of walking opportunities.
This is a selection of 30 walks, some in less well known areas, which reflect northern Snowdonia's rich diversity of landscape, scenic value and historic interest. There are walks exploring the coastal foothills of the Carneddau range from above Conwy to Bethesda, including the stunning Aber Falls and a climb up Tal y Fan, Snowdonia's most northerly mountain. There are waymarked trails through Gwydyr Forest Park past hidden upland lakes and lead-mining relics. They visit ancient monuments including Iron Age hillforts, stone circles and standing stones, and a remote upland medieval church. They follow in the footsteps of Romans, drovers and miners and pass close to Snowdon Mountain and the Welsh Highland Narrow Gauge Steam Railways. There are walks by rivers, through woodland, past valley and upland lakes. They visit historic communities, including popular Betws-y-Coed, Beddgelert and Llanberis, as well as the former slate quarry village of Cwm Penmachno.
They range from a 1½ mile waymarked National Trust woodland and upland trail to a challenging 8 mile ridge walk, one of the best in Snowdonia.