The south-bank platforms
A short staircase from the turnstile puts you right above the tiers, and this is the view in every photograph.
A waterfall you enter through a coin-or-card turnstile, and have paid to see since 1913, when the second Lord Ancaster handed the falls to the local council and the money at the gate went towards the £15,000 debt Betws-y-Coed had run up putting in water and electricity. The fee is now around £2 a head, which makes it one of the cheapest tickets you will buy in Wales and one of the least demanding waterfalls in Snowdonia: park a few steps away, go down a short flight of steps, and the River Llugwy is roaring through a wooded gorge in front of you, dropping roughly 42 m in a chain of tiers. The newer Welsh name, Rhaeadr Ewynnol, means the foaming waterfall; the older one, Rhaeadr y Wennol, refers to a rock that splits the torrent into two forks like a swallow's tail. Getting there from Betws-y-Coed is simple: 3 km west along the A5 towards Capel Curig, about five minutes by car. The Sherpa S2 and the TrawsCymru T10 both run this stretch of the A5 and can put you down at the Swallow Falls Hotel, though check the current timetable before you rely on one. The turnstile is beside the hotel; behind it, two viewing platforms on the south bank are reached by a short staircase that rules out pushchairs, though walking children will love it. For the free version, follow the north-bank footpath from the Miners' Bridge just outside the village, about 3 km each way over usually muddy ground. That view is closer and more dramatic, but it needs proper shoes and at least an hour. Be honest about the timing: the whole stop takes twenty to forty-five minutes, and after a dry July week the falls can look thinner than the postcards, because it is rain that makes the noise. It is at its best after a wet night and in October, when the trees around the gorge turn. In summer the lay-by and hotel car park fill before midday, so make it your first stop of the morning or your last on the way back; the site is open year-round from dawn to dusk, so there is no closing time to worry about. In winter the daylight is short and the steps get slippery, but the water is at its most powerful. The only café here is the hotel restaurant next door, a bar-led place, so do not count on it for halal food; eat in Betws-y-Coed itself. The verdict: a short, satisfying stop on the road into the mountains. Do not give it a day, do not drive back for it, but do not drive past it either.
A short staircase from the turnstile puts you right above the tiers, and this is the view in every photograph.
A free walk from the Miners' Bridge, about 3 km each way, muddier, closer to the water and more dramatic.
The real roar comes after a wet night, and October colour around the gorge doubles the value of your £2.
Holyhead Road (A5), Betws-y-Coed, LL24 0DW
The £2 is worth it if you are driving the A5 anyway; these are the easiest falls in the area to reach and the biggest drop close to the village. If time is short, the Pont-y-Pair bridge in the centre of Betws-y-Coed and the Miners' Bridge offer handsome rocky rapids with no fee and no steps, and they suit a pushchair better.
Walking children will enjoy it and the distance is tiny, but the steps and platforms rule out pushchairs and wheelchairs; there are railings, yet the ground gets wet, so hold small hands.