Betws-Y-Coed information

This article is about the place in Conwy. For other places called Betws or Bettws see Bettws. Betws-y-Coed is a small town in the Conwy valley in the county borough of Conwy, north-west Wales. It lies in the Snowdonia National Park in a valley near the point where the River Conwy is joined by the River Llugwy and the River Lledr.
The name Betws or Bettws , is generally thought to be derived from the Anglo-Saxon 'bed-hus' - a house of prayer, or oratory. Betws-y-Coed means Prayer house in the wood in Welsh.
Betws-y-Coed (ˈbɛtʊs ə ˈkɔɨd) was founded around a monastery in the late sixth century, and grew very slowly with the development of the local lead mining industry. In 1815, the Waterloo Bridge built by Thomas Telford to carry A5 road across the River Conwy and through the village brought considerable transport-related development. The village became a major coaching centre between Corwen (to the east) and Capel Curig (to the west) on the Irish Mail route from London to Holyhead, which led to the improvement of the roads south to Blaenau Ffestiniog and north to Llanrwst and Conwy.
The construction of Betws-y-Coed railway station in 1868, heralding the arrival of the railway line from Llandudno Junction railway station, resulted in a marked population growth, as shown in the table below:
The village has a large village green which is the playing field for the local football team. The green is bounded on its western side by the A5 Trunk Road with 19th Century buildings including shops, hotels, and the parish church of St. Mary. This church was built on the site of a former cockpit and fairground, and although it is of early English appearance, it was completed as recently as 1873, the internal roof timbers testifying to this relatively young age. The interior also features various types of stone - local bluestone, sandstone (and floor tiles) from Ancaster, and black serpentine from Cornwall. The square bell tower was added in 1907, and the integral church hall was added in the 1970s, the commemorative stone being laid by the Earl of Ancaster in 1976. (...) more....

Betws-Y-Coed travel guide by