Llapen two

Verified Slow Way

Verified by 100.00% of reviewers

On the face of it, this is a walk on hard surfaces very close to the very busy A55 road. However, I'm willing to score it highly because of the amount of work that has been done in order to avoid that road. Walk this route if you're keen on civil engineering, because you'll appreciate the sheer skill that went into designing the road and railway, getting it around (or through) a formidable rocky headland. The actual walking route is shared with cyclists, so keep a lookout, keep to one side (preferably the right) and look behind you every so often. I walked from Penmaenmawr to Llanfairfechan one afternoon and had no problem. All the same, keep a lookout for signposts whenever you intersect with a road, because if you go the wrong way then there's a chance you'll end up on the A55, instead of walking beside it. The amount of work that went into the footpath and cycleway, opened in 2009 around the rocky headland is impressive, and at one point you walk along a footbridge perched high above both carriageways of the A55. Regular buses and trains connect Penmaenmawr and Llanfairfechan, but if you intend catching a train at Llanfairfechan then you will have to walk extra distance down Station Road.

Walked from Llanfairfechan to Penmaenmawr. A good direct route. The section around the Penmaenmawr headland between the carriageways of the A55 is an impressive piece of engineering, but it is not quiet! There are some pretty views but as the middle section of a three route walk from Bangor to Conwy this was by far the least enjoyable of the three. Most of the route is on pavements and surfaced cycle tracks. Still a reasonable route though.

From the Methodist church in Llanfairfechan, we follow the main road down the hill, crossing to the right hand side before the roundabout. We take the old road straight on. The GPX plotting is a little vague, but essentially we keep to the roads and tracks nearest to the A55 until we see the rather impressive new cycle track which crosses half of the A55 just before the tunnel entrance, and looks down on the other half. Another bridge takes us back by the other end of the tunnel. We go a short distance down Ffordd Bangor, then go steeply under the A55, either directly on steps or zigzagging on the cycle track. We follow the cycle track onto a road, and where it crosses the A55 we stay left following the surfaced path along the top of the beach. Eventually we reach an underpass under the main road and the railway, then follow roads uphill to the meeting point on Ffordd Bangor.

An interesting SlowWays experience, but not the most relaxing of walks.

Roughly a 5k route, relatively flat for the area as it is close in proximity to the sea. Giving the route a 3* due to fair amount of the route being on roads or next to the a55 dual carriage way.

However, this route does have spectacular views across the sea of the Great Orme (Gogarth), Anglesey (Ynys Môn) and Puffin Island (Ynys Seiriol), which you can enjoy from any one of many benches stationed along the way.

Considerations:
- I would walk/run/cycle this again and if up for the challenge make it part of a longer journey along the coast, but quite happy with just the 5k route.
- I would recommend this to others as it’s a mostly smooth and quiet route with plenty of spaces to rest and plenty of public transport options.
- This route is reasonably safe but wheelchair/mobility scooter users should be aware that a few difficult curbs may require a detour but do not prevent access to the route and there are slopes along the way.
- This route is reasonably accurate.
- Access difficulties seen were curbs that can force you to use short stretches of road to rejoin the path and the slopes.

I have tried to include as many pictures of the above mentioned access issues but also the views hopefully!.

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