Berwyn Mountains

Berwyn Mountains

Route Information

Stats: 17 miles & 2919 feet of ascent

OS Map:

Refreshments

Pistyll Rhaeadr Tearooms at the car park provide what you need. Lots of accommodation opportunities in the area.

Character

A cracking route with some long and epic descents that won’t trouble you, but which will get you grinning and wanting to return to the area for more routes.

This route is taken from our friends at Singletrack magazine, the best mag in the universe. If you don’t subscribe to them, you really should, so click this link and subscribe today. We haven’t even tried to improve on their route or description from where we first saw the route, it’s so good.

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Route

1. Starting from the road head at the base of the falls, head back towards Llanrhaeadr until you see a minor road bearing off to your left, follow this uphill until you pass some buildings on your left, with a track besides the second set.

2. Turn left and climb the steep and stony track as it winds up along the side of the valley. Over the top of the climb a less defined grassy track bears left, follow this track. This becomes singletrack, crossing the open moorland and heading eastwards to the right of the trees. Keep following this until you come to a well-defined farm track, which you follow down to the gates.

3. Go through all the gates and stay and follow the track down through the deserted farmyard, watching out for the hidden gates on the descent. This track will eventually drop down to meet a minor road. Look out for the sharp right hand bend too.

4. Turn left along the road and follow it for about 500 metres, then turn sharp right and follow the road along the valley side, keeping right at the junction, until a hair-pinned bend takes you sharply back to the right.

5. Bear left, just off this bend, and pick up the stony farm track. Keep following this track up, then in a straight line along the valley side. After a descent the surface becomes Tarmac. Keep following the road until you come to a crossroads.

6. Turn right and descend to Llanrhaeadr, watch out for the sharp bend in the dip. Go straight ahead, through the village and climb the steep road out of it.

7. Over the top of the hill turn right along the minor road, besides the white house. Follow this lane up hill, bearing left at the forked junction by the bungalow. Follow this uphill as it turns in to a stony track, then to a steep farm track, which climbs to the valley top. Stay on the same track as it traverses the valley side, keeping to the grassy track to the left after a water splash, and then continue on to a sheep pen and a bog. Go through the bog and on to meet a single track.

8. Turn right at this track and join the steep and well-defined farm track which then steeply descends, through a load of hairpin bends to the valley floor and then down to the farm.

9. Go through the farmyard, then keep left and climb the drive up to meet the valley road, turn left and head back to the waterfalls.