Bryn Tyrch Inn

This abode on the ravishing mountain road from Betws-y-coed up to Llyn Ogwen and the access to some of Snowdonia’s most superlative summits enjoys a very enviable location. From its windows, and still more so from its picture-perfect beer garden, views are the sort Turner might have conjured onto a landscape canvas: in the foreground, softly pastoral and laced by the ambling wood-flanked Afon Llugwy river, but with intermittent big peaks jutting out of the background. The inn is so long it looks like it has taken over a whole terrace of houses. Inside, the inviting eating area fans around a beautiful wooden bar in an assortment of leather sofas, wooden chairs and tables and pews, warmed by a wood-burning stove.

There are 12 bedrooms, individually, brightly and contemporarily styled, and named after mountains and rivers in Snowdonia National Park. Superior and Luxury rooms sport baths as well as showers. Expect a mix of exposed brick, elegant flowered wallpaper and vivid hues on furnishings from azure and daffodil yellow. Food is hearty upmarket pub grub: it could be sharing platters featuring Carmarthen ham and Welsh goats cheese, a good array of burgers, including one named after the fabled nearby peak of Tryfan (yes, it’s big), or perhaps, citrus-infused breaded fish. Local ales like Clogwyn Gold are on tap.

Some of the best hiking in Snowdonia, if not in Wales, begins outside the door. The iconic peak of Tryfan, a much more challenging climb than Snowdon and requiring some scrambling, is four miles up the valley. The tiny village of Capel Curig is under a mile away; the larger Betws-y-Coed is five miles.