Conwy County Borough

Conwy County Borough
Bwrdeistref Sirol Conwy (Welsh)
View across the Conwy estuary from the Great Orme to Penmaenmawr and Snowdonia (Eryri)
View across the Conwy estuary from the Great Orme to Penmaenmawr and Snowdonia (Eryri)
Coat of arms of Conwy County Borough
Motto(s): 
Welsh: Tegwch i Bawb, lit.'fairness to all'
Conwy shown within Wales
Conwy shown within Wales
Coordinates: 53°08′26″N 3°46′14″W / 53.14056°N 3.77056°W / 53.14056; -3.77056
Sovereign stateUnited Kingdom
CountryWales
Preserved countyClwyd
Incorporated1 April 1996
Named forConwy
Administrative HQConwy
Government
 • TypePrincipal council
 • BodyConwy County Borough Council
 • ControlNo overall control
 • MPs
 • MSs
Area
 • Total
435 sq mi (1,126 km2)
 • Rank6th
Population
 (2022)[2]
 • Total
114,290
 • Rank15th
 • Density260/sq mi (102/km2)
Welsh language (2021)
 • Speakers25.9%
 • Rank5th
Time zoneUTC+0 (GMT)
 • Summer (DST)UTC+1 (BST)
ISO 3166 codeGB-CWY
GSS codeW06000003
Websiteconwy.gov.uk

Conwy County Borough (Welsh: Bwrdeistref Sirol Conwy) is a county borough in the north of Wales. It borders Gwynedd to the west and south and Denbighshire to the east. The largest settlement is Colwyn Bay, and Conwy is the administrative centre.

Conwy has an area of 1,126 square kilometres (435 sq mi) and a population of 114,290 in 2022,[2] making it sparsely populated. The population is concentrated along the coast, along which are several seaside resorts and the county's largest towns: Colwyn Bay (34,284), Llandudno (20,701), and Conwy (14,753). Inland is much less populous, and the only town is Llanrwst (3,323).

The geography of Conwy is shaped by the River Conwy, which forms a wide valley down the western half of the county, bordered by the Denbigh Moors to the east and the mountains of Snowdonia National Park to the west. The River Elwy, a tributary of the Clwyd, drains the eastern half of the moors. The Conwy forms a wide estuary as it reaches the coast, which has by wide, sandy beaches and the limestone headlands of the Great Orme and the Little Orme. The highest peak within the county is Carnedd Llewelyn, at 1,064 metres (3,491 ft), which is on the boundary with Gwynedd and is the third-highest summit in Wales. Around Betws-y-Coed is the Gwydir Forest, which is mainly given over to plantations. There are several reservoirs in the valleys, the largest of which is Llyn Brenig, which has an area of 3.7 square kilometres (1.4 sq mi) and extends into Denbighshire.

  1. ^ "Council". Conwy County Borough Council. Retrieved 6 August 2024.
  2. ^ a b c "Mid-Year Population Estimates, UK, June 2022". Office for National Statistics. 26 March 2024. Retrieved 3 May 2024.
  3. ^ "How life has changed in Conwy: Census 2021". Office for National Statistics. 19 January 2023. Retrieved 6 August 2024.