Action & Adventure
If you enjoy nature and the great outdoors Conwy is the right place for you. There is a massive choice of activities in lovely scenery including climing, abseiling, watersports, fishing, walking, mountain biking or golf.
Walking
There is nothing like a good walk to make you really appreciate your surroundings. Wander around Conwy's tiny cobbled streets or along the river to some wide sandy beaches, or take the path from Castleview Cottage up to Conwy mountain and enjoy some stunning views of the coastline, Puffin Island and Anglesey. If you are lucky you may come across the wild ponies that live on the mountains, perhaps visit the ancient Roman hillfort remains, and then carry on along the North Wales Coastal Path to the beautiful Synchant pass, where you can explore the beautiful Pensychnant reserve.
If you would like a guided walk to see our famous mountain ponies we highly recommend our neighbour at Nant y Fedwen – just a mile up the road from Castleview Cottage. Tanya can tailor your experience and length of walk but we can guarantee you will encounter some ponies and have an enjoyable few hours on the mountain – tea and homebaking will be involved too!
Nant y fedwen fb page/ tanyamcc@jadetempletao.org/ 07944856253.
The Coastal Path runs for 870 mles all around Wales and The Lonely Planet guidebook ranked it at number-one in its ‘Best of Travel’ list. From Conwy the mountain-backed coastline continues to Penmaenmawr and Llanfairfechan, two charming little Victorian resorts.
We have plenty of walking guides and maps available for our guests to use, together with some suggested walks suitable for pushchairs.
Conwy has the best of everything - coast and beaches, mountains and lakes all on our doorstep. On the edge of the National Park, the beautiful Snowdonia mountains range is less than half an hour's drive away, and the spectacularly remote Carneddau mountain range is even closer.
The Marine Drive walk loops around the Great Orme from Llandudno’s Victorian pier. The sea views are wonderful, of course, and if you are lucky you may spot Dolphins in the bay and wild Kashmir goats descended from a herd given to George IV.
Cycling and Mountain Biking
There are a number of circular Sustans route out of Conwy (mostly off road) with dedicated cycleways and coastal paths to suit all kinds of cyclists.
The newly completed Lon Gwyrfai leisure route offers a wonderful 7km off road track to the village of Rhyd Ddu. This is not too challenging, although if you do prefer an easier ride you can make it a circular route by catching a steam train to Rhyd Ddu and cycle back to Beddgelert on the mostly downhill section. Most trains haul cycle carriages and there are lots of itineries from various stations on both the Welsh Highland and Ffestiniog line www.festrail.co.uk
It’s not just our hills and mountains that appeal. We have all kinds of cycle routes for all kinds of cyclists – seriously steep challenges and gentle off-road recreational cruises, long-distance trails and wheely short trips along the coast. Then there’s our show-stopping scenery, traffic-light (sometimes completely traffic-free) highways, byways and cyclepaths, and cyclist-friendly hotels and guest houses where you can park your bike for the night.
And for those who prefer knobbly tyres and muddy mayhem to Tarmac there’s worldclass mountain biking in our forests and big, bad rocky mountains.
Cycle Breaks Centres
Dolgellau and the Llŷn Peninsula are two of Wales’s dedicated locations. Take your pick from over 10 signposted low-traffic routes specially chosen for their access to some of the very best cycling challenges in our rural landscapes.
Family-friendly off-road routes
For six tailor-made familyfriendly cycling experiences download Gwynedd Recreational Routes from the Cycling section of our website. You’ll find descriptions of over 30 miles of scenic and traffic-free (or traffic-light) routes along old railway lines and beside the Menai Strait and the lake of Llyn Padarn, Llanberis.
Lôn Las Ogwen will give you a taste of our Recreational Routes. It’s a wonderful 10-mile cycle ride from Bangor up to the mountain lake of Llyn Ogwen, following the valley of Afon Cegin (for a gentle option go for just the first four miles to Tregarth). For much of the way it runs along a disused railway track that carried slate down to Porth Penrhyn. There’s much historic interest en route, from Penrhyn Castle – constructed from the wealth of the slate industry – to Penrhyn Quarry itself, the world’s largest. You can also walk this route, and sections are suitable for wheelchairs. Mountain biking bulletin.
Coed y Brenin near Dolgellau is the largest dedicated trail centre in the UK, with around 90 miles of routes, some epic, others easy. Macho bikers will go for the 24-mile Beast of Brenin (graded ‘black’ in skiing terms), though casual riders will prefer the mellow, five-mile Yr Afon ‘green’ trail. The new MinoTaur Trail for young children and riders with disabilities is now open, with more trails to come. This new development comes within the Centres of Excellence project funded by the Welsh Government, designed to create more world-class facilities for outdoor and adventure activities. Prysor Angling (at Llyn Trawsfynydd) and Gwersyll yr Urdd Glan-llyn (near Bala) are also part of the project along with new biking trails in Llechwedd, Blaenau Ffestiniog.
Big trails in Blaenau Ffestiniog
They’ve certainly been busy in the former ‘slate capital’ of Blaenau Ffestiniog, where off-road cycling enthusiasts are already raving about the brand-new Antur Stiniog mountain biking centre in an old slate quarry. The super-fast flowing trails have rollers, jumps, drops and rock features as well as some of the best berms around.
More off-road Cycling
Most of our other forests have also caught the mountain-biking bug. For more sensational singletracks go to Beddgelert, Dyfi, Gwydyr and Penmachno. And for purists who prefer natural terrain there’s off-road gold on the grassy tracks, rocky trails and ancient paths that lattice our hills and mountains, like the ‘Lake and a Bit’ rolling cross-country trails across Mynydd Hiraethog from Llyn Brenig.
- See more at: http://www.visitsnowdonia.info/cycling-86.aspx#sthash.oGAPKZVb.dpufFor lovers of downhill, Gwydir Forest (Marin Trail), Penmancho trail and newly opened Antur Stiniog mountain biking center (with an uplift facility) are all within 20 mins drive. These offer some super fast flowing trails with jumps and drops. Antur Stiniog currrently has 2 black runs, a red and a blue and further trails are planned for 2014, including a family friendly cross country section around the lake. www.anturstiniog.com
Mountain bikes are available for rental from Beddgelert Bikes, on the quayside at Caernarfon, and Antur Stiniog.
On The Water
There are regular water taxis and lovely boat tours from the quayside in Conwy. Fishing trips can be arranged at the kiosk, and if you enjoy sailing, you can book sailing trips at Conwy Marina.
You can try paddle boarding at many local spots (from lakes to beautiful beaches) and these can be hired locally, dinghy sailing at the nearby coastal village of Penmanmawr, surfing at Hells Mouth, and sea kyaking off the coast of the Isle of Anglesey. The unique Surf Snowdonia (now called Adventure Parc Snowdonia) in nearby Trefiw has been a huge hit with guests at Castleview Cottage - the only inland surf lagoon in the country.