Dee Valley & the Horseshoe

2 days · 3 driving roads · 54 miles of them · best April–October

Llangollen as a base, two days on the roads that leave it. The Horseshoe Pass is the famous sweep above the Dee; Telford's A5 then runs the valley to Betws-y-Coed; the B5105 comes back through Clocaenog Forest to Ruthin. A compact north-east Wales weekend that sits next to the Evo Triangle without repeating it.

Worth knowing: The Ponderosa Café on the Horseshoe summit closed in 2024 — eat in Llangollen. The pass can shut briefly in snow. The A5 through Betws is a trunk road with average-speed cameras on stretches; Clocaenog is forest, logging lorries, and no fuel. Fill in Llangollen or Ruthin.

The roads, in order

1. Horseshoe Pass A542 · Llangollen → Llandegla · 7 mi · 15 min ⚠ Can close briefly in winter snow 📷 Horseshoe Pass summit · ☕ Dee Valley Café & Bistro · ⛽ Texaco, Llangollen · 🍽️ The Sun Inn, Eryrys
2. Telford's A5 — Dee Valley Run A5 · Llangollen → Betws-y-Coed · 30 mi · 45 min 🍽️ The Corn Mill · 🍽️ Rhug Estate Farm Shop & Bistro · ☕ Conwy Falls Cafe
3. Clocaenog Forest Run B5105 · Ruthin → Cerrigydrudion · 17 mi · 30 min ☕ Cafe R, Ruthin Craft Centre · 📷 Bod Petryal · 🍽️ Y Llew Gwyn (White Lion)

Drive it

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