Beach between Pensarn and Llanddulas Beach between Pensarn and Llanddulas. Photo: Eirian Evans / Geograph (CC BY-SA 2.0)
Open the interactive map → Map of NCN 5 - North Wales Coast avoiding uplands

Official route · Sustrans

NCN 5 - North Wales Coast avoiding uplands

117.2 km 735 m climbing A day 2% off road Road cycling North West England

The route follows the North Wales coast from Chester, staying low throughout and avoiding the uplands inland.

The surface is almost entirely road. The line threads through a chain of settlements from Chester to Bangor before crossing to Menai Bridge, with the built-up sections giving way to shorter gaps between villages on the coastal stretch west of Colwyn Bay.

The figures

Distance117.2 km
Climbing735 m
Off road3 km, about 2% of the route
Riding timeabout 5 hours, a long day
RegionNorth West England
Route fromSustrans

Worth knowing before you go

Resupply is straightforward for most of the route; settlements appear at close intervals all the way to Bangor. The route passes through Snowdonia. Navigation through the early kilometres around Chester, Saltney and Queensferry runs through dense urban ground where junctions come quickly.

Put your own dates on this and TourTrax splits it into days at your pace, finds somewhere to sleep at the end of each one, estimates what it will cost and gets you to the start without flying.

Plan this route → Download the GPX

Other route guides

NCN 5 - North Wales Coast avoiding uplands is an official route from Sustrans (their website).