From whichever direction you approach Rhos on Sea you can’t fail to notice the impressive rounded bulk of Bryn Euryn. Geologically, this is a limestone hill rising to 131metres (365 ft) above sea level and designated as a HUMP, (a hill of a Hundred Metre’s Prominence), which means it has a drop of over 100 metres on all of its sides. Known locally simply as ‘The Bryn’, it has long been an important and well-utilised community resource and the hill’s upper region was designated as a Local Nature Reserve in 1984/5, when restrictions on agricultural, cultivation, building and development were imposed within the designated area. It is owned and managed by Conwy Borough Council. 

For those not too familiar with the pronunciation of Welsh names, Bryn Euryn is pronounced Brin Eye-rin, which in English roughly translates as Euryn’s Hill.

LOCATION of BRYN EURYN LOCAL NATURE RESERVE & HOW TO FIND IT

Grid Reference: SH 83220 79847 Postcode: LL28

Most guides tell you the hill is located in Rhos-on-Sea, but of course it was here first, so should be the other way around; Rhos on Sea is actually located around Bryn Euryn! As I said before, you can’t really miss it once you know where it is, but this is how to access it on foot, by car, by bus or train. Please note there are no cycle tracks within the reserve. 

By car from the A55: Exit at junction 20 for Rhos on Sea. Follow signs for the B5115, Llandudno Road and stay on this road until you reach a set of traffic lights where you take a left turn into Rhos Road, following the brown Bryn Euryn Nature Reserve sign.  Continue straight up here a short way to the junction with Tan y Bryn Road and you will see the access drive to the Reserve almost immediately opposite. The access is only really wide enough for one car, but the car park is just a few metres up on your right-hand side.

By car from Llandudno: Leave Llandudno on the Colwyn Road, the B5115, heading for Penrhyn Bay. Continue along the seafront, pass by the bulk of the Little Orme on your left, taking the right hand lane down the hill to the roundabout. Take the 2nd exit here towards Colwyn Bay. At the next small roundabout continue straight on, passing the golf course and Llandrillo College on your left. Continue on up the hill and pass by St Trillo’s church. Almost immediately after that you’ll see a brown sign for the reserve indicating a right turn, which has ‘Hickory’s Smokehouse’ restaurant on the corner (formerly The Ship pub). Take the turn into Tan-y-Bryn Road, and very soon you will see the sign for Bryn Euryn Nature Reserve on your right-hand side. There is a narrow access to the site, wide enough for one car. The car park is a few metres up on your right-hand side.

On foot from Rhos-on-Sea village centre. 

From the village centre there are two routes, the first fairly direct, the second longer but more scenic. Both involve walking uphill as you are heading up the lower slopes of the Bryn itself.

1) The most direct walking route is to follow Rhos Road, which starts in the village centre.

Follow it upwards to the traffic lights up to its junction with with the B5115, Llandudno Road. Cross the road here and continue on to the top of the road where it joins Tan y Bryn Road and you will see the signpost for Bryn Euryn Nature Reserve almost in front of you on the opposite side of the road. There’s a car park a short way up on the right where you will find a notice board and an interpretation guide to the site.

2) If you’re feeling a bit more energetic, follow the promenade in the direction of Penrhyn Bay, (towards the Little Orme) until you reach Abbey Road on your left and  cross the road into it. Turn first right into Church Road and follow it (uphill!) to its junction with the B5115, Llandudno Road. Cross here and carry on straight past Hickory’s (formerly The Ship pub), into Tan-y-Bryn Road. Carry on down here and on your right you will shortly see the signpost for Bryn Euryn Nature Reserve. The car park is a short way up on the right where you will find an interpretation guide to the site.

By bus: The number 12 bus travels through Rhos on Sea en route to/from Rhyl and to/from Llandudno. There’s a bus stop handy for the Bryn located just inside Church Drive, opposite Hickory’s. From there you need only cross the road and walk a shortish distance down Tan y Bryn Road to find the Reserve signposted on your right (as directed in travelling by car).

By train: The nearest train station is Colwyn Bay and the trainline passing through it runs from Holyhead to London Euston via either Chester or Crewe, and also down to South Wales. Travelling from the Chester direction other local station stops are at Flint, (Shotton), Prestatyn, Rhyl, (Abergele & Pensarn). From Holyhead there are station stops at Bangor, (Conwy), (Llanfairfechan) and Llandudno Junction. Not all trains stop at the places in brackets, some do on request, so you do have to check. The number 12 bus route also runs through Colwyn Bay (see above).

Bryn Euryn’s place in the landscape

The hill is a virtual island, surrounded by the housing of Rhos on Sea and Penrhyn Bay on its West, North and East flanks and both the railway and the A55 North Wales Express run along the bottom of its South side. Despite this, the panoramic views from the summit are as breathtaking as the climb up to it.

The summit was once the site of an ancient hill-fort, now it has a rather more prosaic, but much-photographed triangulation (trig) point.

 

 

Rhos on Sea is clear to see, then there’s the neighbouring town of Colwyn Bay and of course the sweeping arc of Colwyn Bay itself.