RHYD DDU
Forest walk to Llyn Cwellyn with views of Snowdon
Affording wonderful views of Snowdon, this pleasing forest walk from Rhyd Ddu is well worth experiencing. It’s a great choice, whatever the weather, and there are usually few people about. Dogs will love swimming in the lake and the route isn’t arduous. But there is a section of the walk which is rather overgrown and which can get boggy after rainfall. There’s a choice of routes back from the lake to your starting point and plenty to see along the way.
Duration: 2 hours from the car park to the lake and back.
Terrain: Woodland paths and forest tracks
Starting Out
The walk begins on the edge of Rhyd Ddu, a small village at the foot of Snowdon. As you approach Rhyd Ddu from the Nantlle Valley road, you will see parking places on your right just before the sharp bend to the left. park here, if there are spaces available. Then, walk down the road towards the village and turn left into the forest track (there’s a large Rhyd Ddu sign here). If you find that there are no parking places available by the side of the road, continue to the village, turn right at the T Junction, drive a few hundred yards and there is a car park on the left next to the railway station. You can park there and walk back to the trail.
Follow the forest track through lovely woodland. After a while, you will reach an open area where you can enjoy a clear view of Snowdon, weather permitting. The trail is initially quite flat but eventually heads uphill. Keep following it until you reach a point where there is a fork in the track with a wider path to the left heading upwards and a narrower path to the right heading downwards. Take the path to the right. This can be boggy in places after rainfall.
Deep in the forest
The trail becomes quite difficult to navigate as it is narrow and somewhat overgrown but this portion of the walk can make you feel like an intrepid explorer in the rainforest! You will pass under a few fallen trees, one of which is so low, you will need to crawl underneath it! But it will only take you a few minutes to negotiate the narrow path before you emerge from the dense forest onto a wider track. This quickly joins another wide track at which point you should turn left and keep walking until you reach the lake.
At the lake and the return journey
There are great views of Snowdon from the shore of Llyn Cwellyn and dogs love cooling off in the lake. When you have enjoyed relaxing by the shore, you can decide which route to take on the return journey. You could simply retrace your steps but there is an alternative. Either way, you need to begin by retracing your steps along the wide forest track. You will soon reach the point where you can either turn right to walk back the way you came or continue straight on. If you choose to go straight on, follow the track until you reach a stile. Climb over this and walk past the camp site. Just before the entrance to the site, there’s a gate on your right leading to a grassy, uphill path. Take this path up and into the trees. When you reach a fork in the trail, turn left and follow that path upwards until it meets the main forest track. Turn left and walk back to the head of the trail.
Directions
From the Woollen Mill, drive to Penygroes and turn right at the crossroads in front of the white building. Turn right at the next junction and follow the road to the T Junction at Talysarn. Turn right again and follow the road up into the mountains and then down towards Rhyd Ddu. Just before the village, there’s a sharp bend to the left. You will see a lake in front of you. You can park on the side of the road here or continue to the village, turn right and then park in the car park that you will see on the left just as you exit Rhyd Ddu. Please note that this car park is very busy at peak times as it serves both the steam railway and the Rhyd Ddu path of Snowdon.
