Betws-y-Coed

The village sits where the Llugwy and Lledr join the Conwy, surrounded by oak woods and conifer plantation in the Gwydir Forest. David Cox and other landscape painters worked here from the 1840s, forming one of Britain's first artists' colonies, and the railway arrived in 1868, turning the village into the main tourist base for Snowdonia, which it remains. Telford's Waterloo Bridge of 1815 carries the A5 across the Conwy in a single cast-iron span with an inscription cast into it recording the year of the battle. Swallow Falls, two kilometres west, is a stepped fall on the Llugwy, and the Fairy Glen is a narrow rocky gorge on the Conwy. The village is dense with outdoor shops, which is the main character of its high street now.

What you actually see

• Waterloo Bridge - Telford's 1815 iron span with the date cast into it.
• Swallow Falls - a stepped fall on the Llugwy west of the village.
• The Fairy Glen - a narrow rock gorge on the Conwy south of the village.
• The artists' legacy - a village made a resort by painters and the 1868 railway.

When to go

April to October for walking and the falls, which run best after rain; autumn colour in the surrounding woods is strong. The village is very busy in summer and on bank holidays.

Honest expectations

The high street is dominated by outdoor equipment shops and can feel commercial. Parking is charged and limited, and the A5 through the village is heavy with traffic. Swallow Falls and the Fairy Glen both charge small access fees through turnstiles.

Nearby

Swallow Falls and the Gwydir Forest lie west; Snowdon and Llanberis are beyond.