Hiking During a Wet September

On a wet afternoon in September we decided to head out on a little countryside walk in the beautiful Snowdonia National Park, we set off from the small village town of Beddgelert which wasn’t very far from our campsite of Llyn Gwyant. In the town we parked at the local car park by Beddgelert Train Station which the Welsh Highland Railway run from. There were quite a few spaces in the car park and it cost from £2 for 4 hours (September 2018 prices) but I expect it will get quite busy during the summer months when there’s good weather so would recommend arriving early.

Beddgelert Train Station

We then headed up to the train station to have a little look and see if we could spot any trains. There was a member of staff at the information box on the station and she happily let us look on the platforms and see the train arriving and departing. It was a very well looked after train station ran by the Welsh Highland Railway predominantly as a tourist attraction with a narrow gauge railway. We saw a beautiful steam train arriving with a range of different carriages not forgetting a buffet car and a singing guard who sang the station stop plus announced the weather. The guard then inserted their token from travelling the single track line from that section of line from Porthmadog and took a token for the next bit of the line to Caernarfon. Train tickets on the Welsh Highland Railway start from £25 and run throughout Summer and on parts of the route in Winter. We then after watching the train depart set off along the walking path that goes underneath the railway and upstream along a country lane to the first open section of the walk.

Lon Gwyrfai Trail

Once at the top of the lane walking up a gentle gradient you reach a right turning to follow the Lon Gwyrfai trail. The Lon Gwyrfai trail has been created as a multi-use recreational path for walkers, cyclists and horse riders with plenty of space for all. The path starts in an open plain looking across the beautiful countryside with an open valley to your right and hills to your left in the distance, it has a few ups and downs but is an easy walk for all and continues for a short while until you enter Beddgelert Forest.You immediately come across a stream and bridge which you can either walk across or use the footbridge. Once in Beddgelert Forest the paths widen and you start making your way down to Meillionen Station Halt next to Beddgelert Camping & Caravan site, from here you then hear the sound of another running stream which you follow on your right uphill and then cross to keep following the Lon Gwyrfai trail through Beddgelert Forest crossing lots of beautiful streams and in the cover of the trees.

Arriving in Rhyd Ddu

At the end of the walk you’ll arrive in Rhyd Ddu where you can relax at the local pub The Cwellyn Arms. It has a range of cask ales on tap and once inside you’ll notice the jumble of bygone artifacts and can relax by the log fire before catching a train back to the start, make sure you check the train times before though! If you arrive between 09.30 and 17.30 and not on a Tuesday why not try popping into the Ty Mawr Tea Rooms with a range of coffees, breakfasts, sandwiches and snacks.

To return to Beddgelert you can walk along the A4085 but be warned it doesn’t have any footpath along the side so isn’t recommended with smaller children, if that’s the case check the local bus and train times before to get yourself back to the start.

Bus Times to Beddgelert – No Service Sunday
Train Times to Beddgelert