Coed Tan Dinas Walk

A loop of 1.2 km (0.7 miles) in total, graded easy, with about 34 m (112 ft) of climb and roughly 30 minutes of walking. Red waymarkers keep you on track the whole way, starting from the welcome panel opposite the Pont y Pair car park in Betws-y-coed.

• Start on a wooden boardwalk about 1.5 m wide, running alongside the Afon Llugwy.
• Carry on under tall Douglas firs, some of them up to 100 years old.
• Reach a riverside picnic area, set beside the river with places to sit.
• Take the wide, well surfaced wooded return branch, which climbs gradually.
• Descend to rejoin the boardwalk and retrace it back to the start.

This is genuinely gentle. The boardwalk section is smooth and level, and the wooded return is wide and well surfaced with a steady, modest climb rather than anything steep. The route is suitable for pushchairs, and there are several benches and picnic tables spread along the route if you want to break it up. Pushchair suitability is specifically supported, while wheelchair suitability for the whole loop is not established, so readers should not assume every wheelchair-access standard is met.

Signs along the way explain facts about the trees, so the walk does a bit of teaching as you go. A free animal discovery leaflet is available at the trail start or from the tourist information centre, which adds an activity for children to do along the way.

• Use the Pont y Pair Pay and Display Car Park in Betws-y-coed. The trail begins opposite it.
• Follow the A5 through Betws-y-coed, turn onto the B5106 towards Trefriw, cross the stone bridge, then turn immediately left onto the minor road. The car park is on the right after about 50 metres.
• Public toilets are at the car park.
• The postcode LL24 0BL covers a wide area, so use it as a general pointer and navigate by the bridge and car park instead.

Dogs are welcome on this public walking route under normal rules. Keep them under close control, and use a short lead anywhere near livestock or wildlife.

It is short. If you want a full afternoon of walking, this will not fill it, and the same start point serves the longer Afon Llugwy Riverside Walk, which is a separate and more rugged route with narrower muddy and rooty sections. Pick this loop when you want river, big trees and a picnic bench without much effort, and pick the riverside walk when you want distance and rougher ground.