Get your walking boots on - there's plenty of walks to choose from that can have you either strolling in lovely river valleys, alongside tranquil lakes or scrambling about in the hills and mountains.
Most areas produce their own maps of walks and trails in the immediate vicinity. For instance there's a leaflet on Trefriw trails and another on walks in the forests around Betws y Coed, and the Llanberis Heritage Trail. Or wander along trails, quarrymen's paths and even former railway tracks to discover some of the industrial history of slate quarrying in Snowdonia using Slate Valley Trails as your guide. There are lots of other guide books and free leaflets available in local shops and the tourist information centres.
But if you are feeling energetic and want to say that you've climbed Wales and England's highest mountain at 3,200 ft and incidentally Britain's most climbed mountain- then perhaps you're in the mood to tackle Snowdon.
There are a variety of ways of doing it, the easiest and longest way is the Llanberis Path (5 miles) which follows the Snowdon railway line out of Llanberis and takes about 3 hours to the summit. Three routes go up from Peny y Pass, The Miner's Track (4 miles 2.30min) the easiest, the stonier Pig Track (3.5miles 2.30min) and the Snowdon Horseshoe (8 miles 5-7 hr) described as one of the finest ridge walks in Europe but not for the faint-hearted. There are also three southern routes up Snowdon, the Snowdon Ranger Path, the Rhyd Ddu Track and the Watkin Path. Leaflets detailing the various routes are available.
Otherwise here are a selection of fairly easy walks to get you started:
1 Betws y Coed: A riverside walk as far as Swallow Falls. Drive to the centre of the village. Cross the bridge and park on the left. The path is marked alongside the nearby river Llugwy, follow the signs crossing by the Miners' Bridge coming back down the road on the other side of the river.
2 Crafnant Lake: Coming from Conwy to Trefriw turn right in the centre of Trefriw village before the woollen mill and follow the signs for Crafnant. The scenery is magnificent - almost like a bit of Switzerland in Wales. There are walks around the lake and in the surrounding woodland and a cafe in a pretty white-washed Welsh cottage.
