A547

Route

The A547 spends much of its life running along the old route of the A55 (its original section was only the few miles west of Rhuddlan).

Section 1: Conwy – Llandudno Junction

The road begins northwest of Conwy at the diamond A55 J17 between the railway and the sea. It heads south then east, passing over the railway then under it again through a narrow arched bridge as we enter Conwy alongside playing fields.

As we enter the historic part of town (the town walls are very well preserved) the road splits to negotiate the one-way system. Eastbound traffic makes for the sea (or should that be the river estuary), running very close to a house reputed to be the smallest in Britain, then runs along the shoreline towards the castle. Westbound traffic runs through the town centre through narrow streets. It is easy to see why the town was so congested when this was the A55. The two traffic streams merge again as we pass the B5106 to Llanrwst and Betws-y-coed under the shadow of the fine castle.

Bridge over the River Conwy

We then cross the river by means of a 1950s-built bridge linking onto a much older causeway. To your right you see Telford's old suspension bridge, now a footbridge but the main road until the present bridge was built, and to the right of that is Stephenson's railway bridge: twin enclosed tubes of a similar style to his original Britannia Bridge. Both the old bridges have been designed to blend in with the castle above – the towers for both have mock battlements. The causeway is wide and is shared by road and railway. Pedestrians are able to walk out along a promenade on the north side.

At the east end of the causeway we cross over the A55 just to the south of the Conwy Tunnel portal. Then we cross over the Llandudno branch line next to the railway junction that gives Llandudno Junction its name.

Section 2: Llandudno Junction – Colwyn Bay

Shortly after the Junction we reach a roundabout where we cross the A546. We then continue east to another grade-separated roundabout with the A55 at J19, where we also cross the A470 via a short section of dual carriageway to a smaller roundabout.

Colwyn Bay

From here, we run immediately south of the A55, which runs on embankment to our left. To our right are the steep hillsides of North Wales; to our left the land is much flatter – we are on the edge of the coastal plain. We run through Mochdre then once again come alongside the A55, which is initially above us, but then below us. We pass an elongated diamond junction where the A547 and A55 cross the B5113 as we enter Colwyn Bay. We then run along the main street of Colwyn Bay and Old Colwyn, emerging at Penmaen Rhos where we are higher than the A55 running along the coast below.

Section 3: Colwyn Bay – Prestatyn

East of Abergele

We cannon with the A55 either side of Llanddulas (J23 is at the west whereas to the east there is no access between the two roads), then deviate south along what was the B5443 until 1985 into Abergele. Here we cross the A548 at a staggered (for that road) crossroads, before crossing the A55 east of the town at J24. The next turn to the right marks the original route of the A55 (now unclassified) and therefore the original start of the A547. We now run across very flat, low-lying land along a very straight alignment towards Rhuddlan where we meet the A525 at a roundabout outside town, views of the castle opening up in front of us. We turn left onto the bypass, a dual carriageway multiplex along the A525. At the next roundabout its a right turn back to another roundabout on the eastern edge of Rhuddlan where we turn left to resume the pre-bypass course of the A547 through the town centre.

The A547 originally ended in Rhuddlan (on the A525 to the west of town) - it was extended along the former B5117 in the 1950s. It's another run across flat land along a straight road to pass the northern edge of Dyserth. Once we reach the hill in front of us we bear left to take the easy option into the town of Prestatyn where we terminate at a T-junction on the A548 on the eastern edge of town near the site of a Motte-and-Bailey Castle.