A470 road

The A470 is Wales’s longest trunk road, stretching 299 km from Cardiff Bay in the south to Llandudno on the north coast. It links the capital’s waterfront, where the Wales Millennium Centre stands, to the seaside town at the foot of Conwy Castle. The road cuts through two national parks: the Brecon Beacons, where it reaches its highest point at Storey Arms, and Snowdonia, where it climbs the eastern slopes of Cadair Idris. Between Cardiff and Merthyr Tydfil the route is mainly dual carriageway, but north of the Taf Fawr reservoirs it narrows and twists through the uplands. Market towns like Llanidloes and Dolgellau once forced slow progress, but bypasses now let traffic flow more freely. The road’s modern form dates from the 1970s, when a campaign by the Western Mail pushed for a single north–south route ahead of the 1979 devolution referendum. The Welsh Office approved a central spine through the mountains, and in 1979 the new A470 was opened. Older sections still carry former numbers: the stretch from Rhayader to Llangurig was once the A44, while parts near Brecon were once the A40. Five deviations between Brecon and Builth Wells show how the route was stitched together from different roads. A drive north from Merthyd Tydfil follows the Taf Fawr reservoirs before climbing to Storey Arms, where the road crosses the Brecon Beacons. The descent passes Llangurig and Llanidloes, birthplace of railway pioneer David Davies, then crosses the Wye at Rhayader. Beyond Mallwyd the road enters forested hills, joining the line of the Roman Sarn Helen near the redundant Trawsfynydd nuclear power station. Sharp turns lead over the Crimea Pass to Blaenau Ffestiniog, where the A470 briefly joins the A5 before turning back towards the Conwy valley. The final miles run through Llanrwst and Tal-y-Cafn to Glan Conwy, where a dual roundabout meets the A55, before ending on Llandudno’s North Shore Parade.