Yesterday some friends and I drove to the Fairy Glen car park to start a walk that I had been hoping to do for ages. It was the Capel Garmon-- Fairy Glen walk in Carl Rogers' book on the Conwy Valley walks.
We changed the starting place from Capel Garmon to Fairy Glen for two good reasons, the parking is easier there than in the village (nominal fee £1.00 entrance to the Glen 50p pp.) and also we wanted to get the most strenuous section out of the way first.
From the Fairy Glen we made our way to the A55 crossing it directly and then going up a very steep zig zag path through the trees, stopping just to get our breath and watch the Nuthatches and Greater Spotted Woodpecker on the trees. We then came to a forest track and the slope then eased. This lead to a lane that went into the village and we followed it and all the time the views were getting better and better. It was a cold day, but there was no wind and last nights snow and ice could be seen on the peaks of Tryfan, Pen Yr Ole Wen, Carnedd Dafydd and Carnedd Llewelyn that could be seen in the distance.
In the village we watched a beautiful Bullfinch by a cottage before making our way past the White Horse Inn and looking in the Churchyard. We sat on a bench to have our refreshments and then made our way along a lane to the Capel Garmon Burial Chamber. This walk is also called Capel Garmon-- The Tomb with the view and you can see why as you get a splendid view of the Cnicht, Moel Siabod, Yr Arran and Snowdon from here.
The ground was frozen and it was just as well because I should imagine that downhill from here to the A5 and Conwy Falls could get very boggy at times. At the falls we walked carefull along the A5 for a short while and then took a path to our left which followed the River Conwy down to Fairy Glen. This pleasant path which is high above the river is actually all that remains of an old toll road built in the opening of the 19 th centuary. It became redundant when Thomas Telford built the A5 above it but was still in use many years later. We walked as far as Fairy Glen and then followed the path to the gorge and then continued on the riverside walk past where the Afon Conwy and the Afon Lledr meet and then returned to our car to carry on to the Royal Oak where we enjoyed a meal of fish and chips. A fantastic walk that I hope to do again soon.