Mynydd y Dref (Conwy Mountain)
About 5km there and back from the walls · 244 metres at the summit elevation
About
Mynydd y Dref means the mountain of the town, which is a fair description of a 244 metre hill that starts where the streets stop. It is the northernmost outlier of the Carneddau, and it is the single best thing you can do in Conwy for free. The ridge runs west from above Bodlondeb toward Sychnant, with heather, bracken and gorse underfoot, wild ponies on the open ground, and Castell Caer Seion on the summit: an Iron Age hillfort, a scheduled monument, unusual in having a smaller strongly defended fort built inside the larger enclosure. From the top the whole geography of the town resolves at once, the estuary, the three bridges, the Great Orme across the water and the Carneddau behind. It is an hour up from the town at a steady pace and the ground is rough rather than technical, but it is genuinely exposed to weather and phone signal degrades on the ridge.
Highlights
- ✓Castell Caer Seion, an Iron Age hillfort and scheduled monument on the summit
- ✓244 metres, and the northern end of the Carneddau
- ✓Wild ponies on the open ground
- ✓The clearest view there is of how the town, the estuary and the three bridges fit together
Tips
- →Start from Bodlondeb Woods at the north-west corner of the town rather than driving round to Sychnant. You lose nothing and you get the whole ridge.
- →Mobile coverage degrades on the ridge. Carry the OS map rather than relying on a phone.
- →October is the best month: the bracken goes rust-coloured and the estuary light turns hard and clear.
Best Season
Accessibility
Open hillside on rough, steep, unsurfaced ground. Not suitable for wheelchairs or pushchairs. Livestock and ponies graze here, so dogs need to be under control.
