North Wales offers great opportunities for cyclists of all ages, abilities and experience to ride through some of the finest coastal, hill and mountain scenery in the UK. This book is primarily aimed at people who seek safe, relatively undemanding cycling routes through this beautiful landscape past places of interest. These include both experienced and inexperienced cyclists, families seeking a safe enjoyable ride with their children, people interested in cycling for fitness purposes, and visitors who wish to include cycling in their itinerary.

Through my walking books and a recent rediscovery of the pleasure of cycling, I have found a wide range of designated cycling trails or suitable routes across North Wales. They offer mostly traffic-free, family-friendly rides of various lengths, with any linked roads either traffic-light or short in duration. I have brought these together in one book to encourage local people and visitors alike to explore on a bike the area’s diverse scenery and rich heritage.

The 32 rides are varied and most are linked to others enabling longer rides if required. They cover sections of National Cycle Route 5, mostly on cycle lanes or promenades, along the beautiful coast, passing through various seaside resorts. They include the World Heritage Site section of the Llangollen Canal, several dedicated railway routes, including the stunning Mawddach Trail in southern Snowdonia, and circuits of Trawsfynyd, Alwen and Brenig upland lakes.

There are trails close by the Welsh Highland Railway and around Beddgelert and Newborough forests. There are rides past Llyn Tegid at Bala, to Conwy and Caernarfon, with their impressive castles, both World Heritage Sites, and across the border to the Roman city of Chester. They visit nature reserves, Rhuddlan and Chirk castles, as well as the two longest piers in Wales.

Some routes are circular and others linear, returning the same way but with different views. They also enable you to simply turn round if you run out of energy or bad weather occurs. Those accessible by train, especially on the coast, allow for longer one-way rides. Most routes are hard surfaced and, unless specified, suitable for all bikes. Most are also used by walkers, so share with care!

Each ride has a map, route details, key information, including facilities and local bike hire, and usually notes of interest. The location of each ride is shown on the back cover and inside a summary of their key features. I have not included riding time as each person’s cycling speed will vary. Cycling through such stunning scenery is not to be rushed.