Ancient tracks and byways
of Secret Snowdonia

Follow in the footsteps of the ancients:
Prehistoric megalith builders - the Romans - the Drovers - the Royal Mail Coaches

and the Slate Miners and Quarrymen

| Introduction | Itinerary | Price List |

Introduction
This walking holiday is based in Llanbedr (www.snowdonia-holidays-llanbedr.co.uk) a pretty village on the only coastline of the Snowdonia National Park. This is secret Snowdonia where buzzards soar over uncrowded and unspoilt mountains, valleys, and beaches.

The Cambrian Coast is steeped in myths and legends such as Cantre’r Gwaelod, a drowned land stretching fifteen miles under what is now the Irish Sea. At low tide the remains of ancient forests can be seen in the sands and Sarn Badrig emerges from the waters, a walkway to Ireland so the legends say. We even have our own King Arthur's stone.

A succession of great Ice Ages sculpted the ancient Welsh landscape of the Snowdonia National Park into magnificent rocky mountains and deep sheltered valleys. The fertile coastal plains and richly wooded hillsides provided prehistoric settlers with all they needed and generation after generation left their mark on the landscape. Standing stones, stone circles, burial chambers, settlement sites and trackways litter the hillsides as testament to bygone lives.

After the Megalith Builders came the Romans, in search of lead, gold and copper at the edge of their empire. The Roman routeways can still be traced across the Welsh hillsides and Sarn Helen, named after a Welsh princess who became a Roman Empress, can be followed through the region and beyond to the South Wales coast.

From the fertile coastal plain and over the mountains the Drovers left their mark as they herded cattle and sheep from local farms across the mountain tracks to markets in the English Midlands.

Until the coming of the railway people traveled in horse drawn coaches over the mountains to get to London and its still possible to follow the old coaching road.

During the Industrial Revolution the area became famous for its natural slate which was quarried for roofing tiles. This was exported all over the world, and North Wales slate roofed the houses of millions of people in the great industrial cities. The miners created miles of byways into the mountains to get to their quarries and to take the finished slates to great ships anchored off the coast at Porthmadog.

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Itinerary

An example of our Deluxe 7 night stay with 5 days walking and one day optional sight seeing, staying at the Bryn Artro Country Guest House. ( www.llanbedr-brynartro.com )

Day  1 Arrival Day
Arrive at Bryn Artro Country Guest House by 2.00pm and have an afternoon/evening walk along a drovers road through the beautiful Aber Artro woods, following the Artro river and then into the Nantcol Valley to some beautiful waterfalls and views of the surrounding Rhinog mountains. 3 hours walk

Day 2 The Prehistoric Trackway 15km (9 miles)
Visit the Megalith Standing stones in the village before setting out in the footsteps of our prehistoric forefathers as you follow the old trackway high above the Dwyryd Estuary and over the hills towards Trawsfynydd. You will have panoramic views over the Snowdonia mountains’ and, eventually, see Snowdon itself. Along the trackway you will pass standing stones, small burial cairns and eventually arrive at the spectacular Bryn Cader Faner, this “crown of thorns” standing on a remote hillside was originally a large burial mound before the covering stones were removed.

From Bryn Cader Faner you descend to the valley and visit the ancient Celtic Pilgrim Church of Llandecwyn before being picked up for your return to your Guest House and a home cooked evening meal.

Day 3
The Roman Steps 15km (9 miles)
This natural routeway between the Ardudwy coast and the Trawsfynydd valley would have been a packhorse route, avoiding the long trek around the Rhinog massif.
From the head of the Cwm Bychan valley the footpath wends its way between the peaks of the northern Rhinogs and Rhinog Fawr. As you reach the Bwlch, (pass) a panoramic view unfolds of the high Trawsfynydd moorlands and the hills beyond, stretching mile upon mile towards the English border. From here the path drops into the Crawcwellt forest and re-emerges at Bwlch Drws Ardudwy, the pass of the door to Ardudwy. Drws Ardudwy forms the head of the Nantcol Valley, and the path leads down to the road head at Maes y Garnedd. From here you can either walk the length of the Nantcol Valley back to Llanbedr or arrange to be transported back to your hotel.

Day 4

The Harlech to London Coach Route and Drovers Road 16km (10 miles)

Today there is an option of a high level walk or low level walk.
Drovers gathering cattle from the Nantcol Valley farms would climb a low saddle between Y Llethyr and Moelfre and avoid the long walk around the mountains base. In the drovers time this area was alive with bandits awaiting the arrival of drovers whose pockets were full of money from their sales at the English markets. Mountain inns and hostelries provided the drovers with places to sleep safely overnight. From the pass on the flanks of Moelfre our track descends to the service road for Llyn Bodlyn reservoir, passing the ruins of a drovers inn , Ty Newydd. The path descends to the delightful Pont Scethin bridge. Amazingly, the horse drawn coaches crossed this before they would have to climb the steep slopes ahead. Pass the memorial to the lady who walked this way almost daily, and zigzag your way up slope to the grassy ridge at 1600ft. Beyond the ridge, a view of the magnificent Mawddach Estuary now unfolds and the majestic peak of Cader Idris can be seen to the south. The path descends a long grassy ridge crossing Bwlch (pass) Rhiwgyr then following a mediaeval road descending to the coast and Barmouth.

The other option is to follow the gravel track from Gors y Gedol, a 15th century manor house and then south-eastpassing King Arthur’s Quoit, the remains of a prehistoric neolithic burial chamber. The road now leads to Ty Lloegr,(the England House), a shoeing station where drovers stopped to shoe their cattle for the long walk to England. Cross the pretty bridge of Pont Fadog over the Afon Ysgethin and climb steadily towards Bwlch Y Rhiwgr, passing the remains of an impressive stone circle in the fields on your right. The drovers path now turns west towards to Dolgellau, but today your path descends into Barmouth, your journeys end.

Day 5
A day to relax and enjoy some of the attractions of the area such as Harlech Castle,Portmeirion, and a ride into the mouintains on the narrow gauge Ffestiniog railway.

Day 6
The Slate Miners Trail 16km (10 miles)
From the little village of Croesor the slate miners track climbs gently up Cwm Croesor to the pass at Rhosydd. Here the true extent of the mining activity in these valleys becomes apparent. The derelict quarry workings and village at Rhosydd provide a fascinating glimpse of the enormous industry that dominated this landscape for over one hundred years. The quarry inclines climb the slopes of Moel Yr Hydd and the waste tips cover the hillsides. The track descends into Cwmorthin where the bare bones of the Quarrymen’s houses, and even a chapel, stand as testament to industrial past. The track skirts the beautiful Cwmorthin lake and drops towards, the once bustling, mining village of Tanygrisiau (under the stairs). From Tanygrisiau the steam railway that once carried slate to the port, now carries tourists and you can either follow the path alongside the steam railway to Plas Tan y Bwlch, or catch the train through the fabulous Vale of Ffestiniog.

day 7 Departure day

Harlech Beach	Bryn Artro	Bryn Artro Dining Room

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