The cover image for my most-used local walking book, Walking in the Conwy Valley, is from Cadair Ifan Goch overlooking the Conwy Valley from the east. It’s one of those walks that promises a breathtaking view, but the images don’t really capture the grandness of the place, and so it took a surprising amount of time for me to seriously consider a visit.
We went on a weekend when my husband could go with us — a good idea, as the drive up from the main road to the start of the walk was seriously steep and could have worn me out on its own. We parked in a tiny car park and headed into the woods.
The trail was pleasant but didn’t prepare me for the main attraction. As we came up out of the woods, we walked right out to this view:
Sadly, the images don’t do it justice (just as the ones from my walking book didn’t really capture it) but the combination of the valley with the river below us and the hills on the other side were breathtaking. I didn’t want to leave.
I also came across this plaque for Thomas Arthur Leonard, which reads:
Believing that “the best things any mortal hath are those which every mortal shares” he endeavoured to promote “joy in widest commonality spread”.
After leaving, we followed my book’s suggestion for a circular walk (instead of walking straight back to the car the way we came). It wasn’t the most inspired path, but we did have a highlight walking through a field of cows. We dubbed them “Dad’s girlfriends” after my dad fed one of them an apple core and they adoringly followed him through the field.
Expat Linguist 
dad’s girlfriends…I like that 🐃🐂🐄
Lovely view.