The weather is unseasonably cool today, it’s overcast and to borrow a phrase from Christopher Robin ‘Tut-tut it looks like rain”. After my early morning stroll with the boys it is time to settle down to do some work. So it is early afternoon when we hop in the car and drive to the car park at Morfa Mawddach Station to then walk to Barmouth.
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Category: Gwynedd
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Sand On The Tracks
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Fred’s First Otter
Staying on Abergwynant Farm is a real treat, the early morning walk alongside the Abergwynant down to the Afon Mawddach is always interesting. This morning it is especially so because as I walk on the banks of the river I see my first ever wild, Otter. Unfortunately it was far too quick for me to take a picture, but the memory will live with me.
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Back to Abergwynant
When we abruptly ended our grand tour last year, due to a minor health scare which at the time was, quite scarily, suspected Lyme’s disease, we had reached a cracking site just outside Dolgellau. So having decided to take to the road once again it seemed logical to return to Abergwynant Farm to commence this mini tour.
The drive from Much Wenlock to Dolgellau through the Cambrian Mountains is outstanding. For too many years I have avoided visiting Wales, following a most inhospitable experience over 30 years ago. But last year the locals were very welcoming everywhere we visited and the scenery was superb.
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Castell y Bere
After another restless night with itchy legs we agree that we should avoid going on too long a walk today. First thing in the morning I will be visiting the GP surgery. We drive to Dolgellau and pick up the A487 heading south for a few miles before forking right to pick up the B4405. We are now on the other side of Cadair Idris and the road takes us close to the edge of the beautiful Tal-y-llyn Lake at Abergynolwyn we turn right at a crossroads in the centre of the village.
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There’s Gold In Them There Hills
Today there are showers forecast and it all feels a bit muggy. It is another hazy day and the long distance visibility is not great so there is little point climbing up high for views. Instead we drive to Ganllwyd and park in the National Trust car park alongside the A470.
On leaving the car park we turn right to walk along the pavement through the village alongside the busy road. There are some nice cottages with pretty gardens but the constant backdrop of traffic noise must make it difficult to relax here. We leave the village via a minor tarmac road on the right with a ‘No Through Road’ sign.
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Cregennen Lakes
A question we have been asked frequently by people we have bumped into in this area is “have you visited Cregennen Lakes?” It is another cracking day so we head off along the A493 towards Arthog and just before the village turn sharply uphill. This is what the Freelander is designed for and we negotiate the steep road without difficulty.
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Cadair Idris
It’s another fine sunny day with good visibility, so obviously it is time to walk up Cadair Idris. We can see the summit from our caravan site and I am reliably informed that two and a half hours good walking will get us to the top. Of course, there will be another two and a half hours to come back down. So a good days walking, especially as the peak is 2,930 feet and we are starting from close to sea level.
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Barmouth Bridge
As I mentioned yesterday one of the factors that led to us staying at Abergwynant was watching Julia Bradbury walk the Mawddach Trail. This is a footpath going from Dolgellau to Barmouth, a distance of 9.5 miles using the old track bed of a disused railway line. As Julia walked the route I was struck by how stunning the scenery was, I thought at the time it might be a trick of the camera, but in real life it is even better.
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Afon Mawddach
Today is another moving day. We have had an enjoyable stay at Rhydhalen Farm CL, a well-kept site in a quiet location with easy access for dog walking, so it ticks the boxes for us. Our next stop is a bit further north at Abergwynant Farm, just outside of Dolgellau.
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