Last walked July 2014
I have been to the coast at Barmouth and Harlech many times but mostly I have been looking seawards. Little did I realise that there is a fantastic walking area just a few miles in land; the Rhinogs. Some friends were staying in a little cottage in the tiny village of Llanfair (just before Harlech) so when the invite came to go out for a days walking I didn’t hesitate.
We could have walked from the cottage but as we had four dogs with us, we wanted to get off the road (albeit a beautiful and minor one) as soon as possible so drove to the car park at Cwm Bychan (gr SH645314). There is a honesty box and a recommended charge of £2 per car. Despite meeting quite a few cars on the narrow road, there were less than half a dozen vehicles there which was a good sign.
We left the car park and turned east along the road, then took the signed footpath (right, through a gate). It is a straight forward route to start with, following the old, well trodden path up trough a small wood, over a couple of stiles and eventually out along a stream. You cross the stream a number of times and you are now on the Roman Steps. You will see the summit of Rhinog Fawr straight ahead. Take time to look back as there too are some amazing views, down into Cwm Bychan with the lake and a rugged mountain called Clip.
Keep on the main Roman Steps path until you reach the col. The steps are easy to walk on most of the way but in wet weather can be slippery as water flows down them in many places. When you reach the top of the path you will be rewarded with another fantastic view, Llyn Trawsfynydd and the mountains of eastern Snowdonia straight ahead of you.
The path gets almost grassy here and you will see what used to be a confer plantation in the near distance, now clear felled. There is a a display board straight ahead, nearer still. Don’t go that far down, in stead find a path in the heather which skirts the outcrop to the right of you in a southerly direction and then turns southwest a bit further on. The path now gets tricky, is narrow and rocky again, through thick heather and bilberry bushes. In places you will need your hands and at times there is no real path, just rocks.
Eventually you top out with the fantastic Llyn Du (lake) in front of you. From there on its a free for all. There are descriptions of paths on the internet but on the ground they were non existent. Its just a steep slope of scree, rocks and a little bit of grass, almost terrace like.
But when you get to the top its worth it for the breathtaking views (on a clear day obviously, which we were lucky enough to have picked). Away to the south lies Rhinog Fach with Y Llethr beyond it and between the two summits Llyn Hywel.
There are several routes back to the car park. We retraced our steps as the rocky slabs are relatively easy to descend and we needed to make time as it was getting late. A very enjoyable 5 miles.
I few pictures below and also our route here.
walkingbuddies 