Penmaenmawr Upland Walk

A closed circular walk starting and finishing at the Library car park in Penmaenmawr (grid reference SH719 763), officially given as about 9 km / 5.5 miles and roughly 3.5 hours. That figure is the main route only. There is a separate optional 1.5-mile addition around Foel Lus, and this row does not include it.

From the library car park you head out through town on Fernbrook Road, Groesffordd Lane and Mountain Lane to the entrance pillars of the Jubilee Path. From there the walk climbs onto the open hill, passing:

The return drops back down across hillside and farm access, then follows Graiglwyd Road and Merton Park to the car park. Five numbered locations of interest are marked along the way, so it rewards a slow pace rather than a fast lap.

• Maen Crwn
• Bryn Derwydd
• the stone circles, including the Druid's Circle
• the Graiglwyd area

Call it hard to moderate-hard, about 6/10. The official terrain description is steep ascent and steep descent on lanes, tracks and grassy paths, and that is exactly how it feels: you gain height steadily from the town up onto ground around 400 metres, hold it across the upland section, then give it all back on the way down. Grassy and upland tracks can be uneven, and steep descent is harder on knees than the climb is on lungs. Suitable footwear and clothing are essential all year.

The upper half is open hill ground with no shelter built into the route, so wind, cloud and rain arrive with no warning built in. On a clear day the payoff is the reason to come: views out toward the coast and across to Anglesey. In poor visibility the stone circles are still there, but the long views are the thing you are paying the climb for, so it is worth picking your day.

Part of the route uses lanes and residential roads at both ends of the walk. On roads, walk on the right-hand side in single file. Dogs are welcome but should be kept under close control at all times, which matters most on the farm access and open hill sections. Shops and pubs in town cover refreshments before or after.

This is a landscape history walk more than a summit walk. The hill carries prehistoric stone circles and stone remains, and Graiglwyd is tied to stone-axe production, so the ground you are crossing was worked and used long before the lanes below existed. The upland heath adds gorse, heather and bilberry, and the hill is good for birds and wildlife generally if you keep quiet and look up.

The Jubilee Walk around Foel Lus is a different, much shorter and far more level loop of about 2.3 km / 1.5 miles, offered here as an optional add-on rather than part of this route. Huw Tom's Walk to Rowen is another route again, a point-to-point rather than a circuit. If you want the steep climbing, the stone circles and the coastal views, this is the one you want.