Conwy

Walk five minutes north along the harbour railing to the stone steps at Berry Street — this is the only complete medieval town wall walk in Britain, 1.3 km around all 21 towers. Climb to Tower 1 and follow the parapet clockwise; the upper stretch between Towers 8 and 13 hangs over slate rooftops and opens onto the Carneddau range to the south. You'll pass directly above your lunch stop before descending at Upper Gate.

Tip: Walk clockwise from Berry Street, not anti-clockwise — this direction puts Snowdonia in front of you the whole way instead of behind. The northwest stretch between Towers 14-16 has narrow stone treads worn smooth; hold the inner wall, not the outer rope, which is wired into the masonry but wobbles.

Descend Upper Gate Street five minutes downhill — you'll smell the bakery before you see the green-tiled storefront halfway down the High Street. Edwards has been Conwy's butcher since 1888 and the pies are why locals still queue: order the steak & ale pie (£5.50) or a Welsh lamb sausage roll (£3.20) hot from the counter, plus a wedge of Snowdonia Black Bomber cheddar (£4) for the mountain later.

Tip: Take your pie to the bench on Lancaster Square sixty seconds away — Edwards has no seats and the standing slots inside burn ten minutes of queueing. Ask specifically for the lamb-and-leek pie if it's on the day's tray; it's a regional speciality and sells out before 14:00.

Walk three minutes north down the cobbled lane past St Mary's Church — High Street ends at the quayside, and you'll spot the blood-red 1.8-metre-wide cottage wedged against the medieval wall. A guide in traditional Welsh costume runs five-minute visits up the impossibly narrow staircase to the single upstairs bedroom. Afterwards, walk the quay east two minutes to watch the mussel boats unload against the castle backdrop.

Tip: The defining photo is shot from the boat ramp ten metres east, low and angled up — this exaggerates the size contrast with the regular cottage next door. Visit at 13:00-13:45 while coach tour groups are at lunch; after 14:30 the doorway queues twenty deep and the costumed guide rushes everyone through in two minutes flat.

From the quay, walk fifteen minutes west along Marine Walk and under the railway viaduct — the path begins where the pavement ends at Mountain Road. The climb is steep for forty minutes through gorse and the ramparts of an Iron Age hillfort, then opens onto a 244-metre summit ridge with the most decorated panorama in North Wales: the full castle below, the Conwy Estuary curling out to the Irish Sea, and the entire Snowdonia massif unrolled to the south.

Tip: Reach the summit by 16:00 for the low afternoon sun raking sideways across the castle below — this is the brochure shot almost no day-tripper actually climbs up to take. Descend the same path; the loop trail to Sychnant Pass looks tempting on the map but adds ninety minutes you don't have, and the last bus back from the pass leaves at 17:10.

From the mountain trail base, walk fifteen minutes back through the town gate to Chapel Street — the green awning of Watson's is on the right, three doors down from Plas Mawr (pause sixty seconds to photograph its 1576 Elizabethan facade as you pass). The kitchen is the most consistently praised in Conwy: order the Conwy mussels in cider cream (£12) and the Welsh black beef fillet (£32), and ask the front of house to pace the courses around your train.

Tip: Phone to reserve by 17:00 the same afternoon — the dining room seats only 32 and walk-ins after 19:30 are turned away in summer. Pitfall warning for the day: ignore the three 'harbour view' restaurants on the quay (Mulberry, Liverpool Arms, Anchor) — the estuary views are real but the kitchens reheat frozen mussels at twice the price, and the seagulls will steal chips off your plate. Last northbound train from Conwy to Llandudno Junction departs 22:43.