In my humble opinion the view from the top of Deganwy Castle has to be the one of the best views in the whole of North Wales. It’s a ten out of ten from me and trust me, I’ve seen a lot of views in North Wales!!
I’d seen these little groups of hills in the distance when travelling out of Conwy ages ago and after having a little dig around the internet and my trusty OS map I took the boys for an explore and was bowled over by it. Then fast forward 18 months later, I had 1 day available to take them into Wales during the Easter holidays and given the glorious weather this was top of my list, so I thought it was about time I shared it with you! The walk to the top is all uphill but you’ll be there in about 15 minutes.
Despite its name there isn’t actually really any surviving castle left to see, rather just some mounds, ditches and ruined walls, but once you’re at the top it’s obvious to anyone why over the centuries many have chosen to build fortresses here from the Roman times until the 13th century. The first castle was built here in 1080 by Robert of Rhuddlan, from then, it went through several incarnations as the land exchanged hands between the English and the Welsh until it was finally demolished in 1263.
There is no car park so you’ll need to park on the residential streets which surround it, so please park as respectfully as you can (if you’re looking on a map and see a Church car park, this is private I’m afraid). My Sat Nav link in the ‘Info’ section (scroll to the bottom if you’re reading on a mobile, otherwise see the panel on the right) will take you directly to a road called ‘Gannock Park’ to the point where the entrance of the path is. This is the quickest way up, so park anywhere near here, however the path can be picked up at multiple entrances if you want a longer route and it’s easy enough to work it out by looking at Google or OS Maps.
Follow the way marker down the narrow path and go through the gate at the end, then continue on the path round to the right, keeping a wooden fence on your right.
Where the wooden fence ends you’ll see a stile and gate on your right, ignore these and keep going up hill with a wire fence and field on your right (although there is an information board about the castle so you might want to nip over the stile and have a read, here’s a pic if not!).
Opposite a stile in the fence turn left uphill
You’ll see another information panel, keep going straight on, then a few meters from here turn left and follow the path up the mound all the way to the summit.
Have a rest and soak up the 360 views of the beautiful Conwy Valley from the top. Look out for Conwy Castle, Marina, and Golf Course, the peaks of Snowdonia’s Carneddau mountains, Llandudno town and the Great and Little Ormes….I could go, it’s magnificent, no other word for it.
Take your binoculars, pick a sunny day and enjoy!
There are lots of places for the kids to burn off their energy, so after taking in the view have a walk around and the kids can put their climbing skills into action!
Afterwards I would recommend driving to Deganwy Beach. There’s a cafe or two in the parade of shops opposite the station, then walk down Marine Crescent to pick up the path alongside the pebble beach. Then a bag of chips from nearby Llandudno should finish off the day nicely!
