All Betws-y-Coed Tours & Excursions in 2026

Betws-y-Coed is Britain’s first artists’ colony, nestled at the entrance to Snowdonia National Park. On this self-guided walking tour, you’ll stroll down this village’s charming streets, riverside paths, and historic bridges to find out how this woodland paradise inspired generations of landscape painters. The tour starts at the historic Betws-y-Coed Railway Station. As you explore this picturesque settlement – meaning “prayer house in the woods“ – you’ll find out how painter David Cox established Britain’s first art colony here in 1844, forever changing the Welsh village’s fortunes. Other landscape artists, unable to travel to Europe during the Napoleonic Wars, soon discovered its dramatic beauty and, as railways brought Victorian tourists, the once-peaceful artist haven evolved into the gateway to Snowdonia we know today.

Seek out the hidden gems of Snowdonia without having to do any research on this self-guided tour and treasure hunt. No need to pick up any equipment—the treasure hunt is accessed via an app on your smartphone and can be started at any time you like. Once you start playing, follow a map with hundreds of pins, which you can then visit to earn points and prizes.