Three bridges and an old church: walking round Betws-y-Coed

Betws-y-Coed is a village that people drive through, and the road they drive on is the reason it is here. Holyhead Road is the A5, the road Thomas Telford built from Shrewsbury to Holyhead, and it runs straight through the middle of the village. Walk it slowly and Betws turns out to be a story told in bridges, with two churches in between. None of what follows costs anything, and the whole loop is short enough to do before lunch.

Start at the south-east end: Waterloo Bridge

Telford's bridge carries the A5 over the Afon Conwy at the south-east approach to the village, a little under a kilometre from St Mary's. It is cast iron, built in 1815 and 1816 for the Holyhead road, and was first known as Llynnon Bridge. Cadw lists it Grade I and notes that it is thought to be the seventh major iron bridge in the world. Read the arch: the cast letters say it was constructed in the same year the battle of Waterloo was fought, and the spandrels carry the rose, thistle, shamrock and leek. It is a road bridge with traffic on it, so look at it from the riverbank rather than stopping on it.

Up Holyhead Road

From the bridge, walk back into the village along Holyhead Road. The Royal Oak is on this stretch, a former Victorian coaching inn, now a hotel, with Y Stablau, its bar and restaurant, in the old stables beside it. Olif, the tapas bar with rooms, is on the same road. St Mary's Church is in the middle of the village. The National Churches Trust says it was built in 1873 to replace the old parish church, with its tower finished in 1907, and Natural Resources Wales starts its Llyn Elsi Walk on the forest road behind it, which is worth knowing if the weather holds and you fancy a climb later.

Across to St Michael's

Turn towards the station. St Michael's Old Church is about a hundred metres east of the platform, across the tracks on the bank of the Conwy, and it is the oldest building in Betws: 14th century, and the parish church until St Mary's took over. It was declared redundant in 2000 and the Friends of St Michael's look after it now. They still hold two services a year, normally on St Michael's Day, 29 September, and a candlelit carol service at Christmas.

Inside, look for the over-life-size stone effigy of Gruffydd ap Dafydd Goch in a recess on the north side of the chancel. Cadw dates the effigy to about 1370 to 1380 and describes him as a local knight who campaigned under the Black Prince. The square font basin by the door is older still; Cadw puts it at about 1200.

The church's own site gives its opening as normally 10:00 to 17:00 every day from Easter to the end of October, free. At other times it says a key is normally available from the Conwy Valley Railway Museum next door, which depends on the museum's own hours, so ring the Friends on 01492 643526 if you are visiting in winter.

If you came by train, this is the right moment for food: Hangin' Pizzeria at the station does breakfast until noon and wood-fired pizza after that.

Finish at Pont-y-Pair

Back to Holyhead Road and on to where the B5106 crosses the river, about half a kilometre from St Michael's. Pont-y-Pair takes that road over the Afon Llugwy on five arches of different widths, some of them springing straight from the rock of the river bed. Cadw lists it Grade II*, and nobody agrees on its age. Edward Lhwyd wrote in 1699 that the bridge was the work of Howell Saer, a mason recorded around 1468. Cadw's listing is more cautious and describes the present fabric as probably 17th century, widened and partly rebuilt in the late 18th or early 19th century. Richard Colt Hoare called it the romantic bridge over the River Llugwy in 1797. Stand on the bank after rain and you will see the point.

This is the Llugwy just before it meets the Conwy, and it is a mountain river: it comes down past Swallow Falls, and it rises fast after a wet day upstream. Keep off the rocks when the water is high. The Pont-y-Pair Inn looks straight over it if you want to sit down.

Practical notes

• Everything on this walk is free and outdoors except St Michael's, which keeps its own season.
• The station car park has 75 spaces, run by Conwy Council and listed as free by Transport for Wales. The Pont y Pair car park, by the bridge, charges.
• For food on the walk: Hangin' Pizzeria at the station opens 08:00 to 20:30 every day, and the Pont-y-Pair Inn serves food from noon. Y Stablau and Olif do not publish times this guide could confirm, so check on the day.
• Both bridges carry traffic. Use the pavements and the banks.