Pont y Pair, Betws-y-coed

Link to French translation

Pont y Pair, Betws-y-coed

This bridge is thought to have been built c.1500 by a Hywel Saer Maen (saer maen = stonemason). It was originally wide enough for packhorses, and subsequently enlarged. The old picture below, from the Library of Congress collection, shows the view upstream from the bridge in the 1890s.

The name Llugwy is probably an ancient reference to the Celtic god Lleu, god of the sun or light. To hear how to pronounce Llugwy, press play:Or, download mp3 (22KB)

Pair is Welsh for cauldron. The water below the bridge often swirls like boiling liquid in a cauldron. To hear how to pronounce Pont y Pair, press play:Or, download mp3 (35KB)

betws_y_coed_pont_y_pair_viewPont y Pair became an important piece of infrastructure in 1808, when the London to Holyhead coaches were diverted this way following completion of Pont yr Afanc, the stone bridge over the Conwy south of Betws-y-Coed. This diversion was a response to a fatal ferry accident at Conwy in 1806. Now coach passengers avoided the ferry by crossing the river Conwy much further south and using the road through Trefriw to reach the town of Conwy. The coaches stopped using Pont y Pair when they were diverted via Thomas Telford’s new road (now the A5) in the 1820s.

The riverbank upstream has long been a popular leisure area. In 1887 the Irish opera singer Leslie Crotty was strolling there with his wife and friends when he saw a boy miss his footing on the rocks and fall into the river near Pont y Pair. He dashed into the water and saved the child from being “carried over the falls and drowned”.

Some of the earliest concerns about the clutter caused by road signs were voiced in 1910 after a speed limit sign was erected on Pont y Pair, in a position chosen by the county council. Local (urban district) councillors thought it marred the location’s beauty.

Six years earlier, councillors had asked the company promoting a light railway from Betws-y-coed to Beddgelert to install a level crossing near Pont y Pair. They thought the proposed bridge over the road and associated embankment would spoil the views. The railway was never built.

Postcode: LL24 0BN    View Location Map

Telfords Irish Road Tour label Navigation go East buttonNavigation go West button
button-tour-slate-trail previous page in tournext page in tour