Walks at Moel Smytho, Snowdonia
Lockdown has been tough for us all, however restrictions here in Wales meant we were restricted to a five-mile radius of travel for what seemed like an age. This really forced me to put my thinking cap on, I always felt that the walking around my home in Caernarfon is pretty limited, however I’ve found a number of local loops that I’ve really enjoyed exploring.
As soon as we were able to travel up to five miles from home I decided to get out and explore the area around Waunfawr, which is just under four miles away.
I have done some walking at Waunfawr before, there’s a lovely walk over to Llanberis which we enjoy however we’ve spent a lot of lockdown walking on the opposite side of the valley in the vicinity of Moel Smytho.
Here there are many walks to enjoy here and the footpaths are just charming, lovely old roads protected on each side by stonewalls and overgrown just enough to be picturesque rather than impassable. The path that takes us up from afon (river) Gwyrfai is my favourite, crossing the Welsh Highland Railway and heading steeply upwards, through a farm and over a long-forgotten cattlegrid.
From up here there are panoramic views over towards Newborough beach and Ynys Llanddwyn, a cheeky glimpse of Elidir Fawr just behind Moel Eilio and of course Snowdon, there’s just one thing missing and that’s the crowds – what more could you hope for? During lockdown this has been our happy place.
I have two routes to share one that is a quick jaunt and another slightly longer. Both walks start at Waunfawr, we tend to park on the road opposite-ish Gwynedd Fire Safety HQ though anywhere would be suitable as these are both loops end in the town.
Both walks begin by following the blue sign for the Lon Gwyrfai cycle track which is a single-track road on the righthand side as you approach Waunfawr on the road from Caernarfon. You can either walk down the road or take the public footpath through a field (both join Lon Gwyrfai).
Follow the road until you reach house on the left hand side, here Lon Gwyrfai continues straight ahead leading back to Caernarfon (this is a lovely walk too!) however follow the steep track down to the left which takes you down to afon (river) Gwyrfai where a bridge crosses the river – you might well bump into horse riders – there are lots of riding schools in Waunfawr.
After the bridge turn left over a cute stile made from old rail track, surely these predate the ‘reopened’ Welsh Highland Railway. The walk heads up quite steeply and crosses the narrow-gauge railway onto my most favourite section of the walk. This section is a gentle uphill until you reach the overgrown cattlegrid.
You can follow a short loop or longer walking loop from here:
5km loop
Approximate route guide here *
*These route maps are approximate and meant as a rough guide to be used with an OS map.
From here if you head left it’s a short walk past some houses until you join a single track road that takes you back down to the road, turn left when you get to the road and head back to Waunfawr, you might want to make a pit stop at Parc Snowdonia – a pub that has a campsite, microbrewery, beer garden and the Welsh Highland Railway passes very closely by.
6km Loop
Approximate route guide here *
*These route maps are approximate and meant as a rough guide to be used with an OS map.
At the cattlegrid ignore both the path to the left and right go straight ahead over a rickety gate or barbed wire fence, this is far from ideal, but there is a right of way on the OS map and really it should be more accessible, once you’ve navigated this obstacle continue straight ahead at the go through the gate (at least I think there was a gate, possibly just a gap) in the wall there are footpaths to the right and left ignore these and continue straight ahead on the ghost of a track until you come to a single track road, this location is marked as a view point on the OS Map, although there’s just a layby the views are quite special, one of these days I’m going to head up here for a quiet coffee – just me, the view and my thoughts.
From the viewpoint continue along the track on the other side of the road before long you’ll notice drystone walls and to the left, keep and eye out for a green gate that is signposted ‘Llwybyr Llechi Eryri or Snowdonia Slate Trail’ head down this steep path – here I wished I had a set of poles as I’m pretty good twisting my ankle on this kind of terrain.
The path descends past some ruined quarry houses or farms that have a magnificent view, before long you’re back in the treeline alongside Parc Dudley, crossing a stile you join the single-track road, turn right and continue for a short time before joining the road close to Parc Snowdonia. From here turn left, making you way back to Waunfawr.
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