Walk with us :: Above Cwmorthin

Hi there everyone 😀

We must have been feeling very enthusiastic … as the day following our walk up to Anglesey Barracks … we were back out on another adventure.

It was another glorious day and this time, instead of taking the path across the bridge and away from the waterfall … which leads to the Stwlan Dam … 

… we took the steep path up on the right …

The path follows the river and the views looking back are just amazing …

As we climbed upwards we passed pools that were perfect for a bit of adventurous cold water dipping …

… though, because of the lack of rain, the river was barely a trickle …

It will definitely be good to come back after we’ve had some rain and see how different things look.

Towards the top of the path we came across the first of the significant quarry building ruins and the lake overflow system …

Once at the lake we opted for the left hand path … unfortunately you can’t walk all the way round …

This way took us past the ruined quarry building …

… and alongside the lake …

Towards the end of the lake the path leads away to the left …

… and the ruin of the old chapel …

Further along … before the path starts to head up across the hills … we came to Cwmorthin Terrace … where the quarrymen used to stay …

This is clearly now a sheep shearing spot too … with a fair series of pens and gates …

… and evidence of recent activity …

After having a good look around we decided to retrace our steps and make our way back …

We decided not to explore the old quarry manager’s house … tucked away off the path in the trees …

… but had a slow amble back along the path … it was just beautiful … pretty warm by now though …

Once back at the car we grabbed our picnic and found a spot on the rocks by the waterfall for lunch …

… and I just had to dip my very warm feet in the water … which felt absolutely amazing …

We were both pretty much done in but we were so pleased we’d managed this walk. It was also fabulous to find a waterfall with some water in it 😀

We will definitely be back to this one again and maybe next time we will have a look at the other side of the lake … which also looks like a very good spot for paddling 💦

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Walk with us :: Anglesey Barracks, Llanberis

Hi there everyone 😀

This one is another walk that, up until a few months ago, we never could have imagined ourselves doing.

Anglesey Barracks is another beautiful spot that I’d seen photos of on Facebook and had resigned myself to never actually seeing it for real.

Whilst they are called Anglesey Barracks … they are not in Anglesey. They are two parallel rows of 11 ruined terraced houses, up above Llanberis, in the Dinorwic Slate Quarry.

They were built to house quarry workers who traveled long distances from Anglesey and other parts of Gwynedd and could not go home every night.

Having had a couple of nice slow days following Jackie and Phil’s visit we felt up to a challenge.

I had done lots of research on the different ways of getting to the barracks and, in the end, I opted for the route which was the shortest distance … up the ‘zig zags’ … and yes … that’s them … up the top …

The zig zags are a steep, historic trail constructed of loose slate winding up through the massive waste heaps of the quarry. They are known historically as the Llwybr Main (the "Narrow Path"), which was painstakingly flanked by dry-stone slate walls … built by expert quarry masons … to give workers a direct route to the barracks and higher working terraces. 

The trail starts from the side of the road … just before the power station entrance …

The path starts in the woodland and is a series of very rough rocky steps and metal staircases …

It’s quite hard going but not long before you are up high enough to take in some pretty impressive views of Dolbadarn Castle back across the lake …

Once you actually hit the ‘zig zags’ it’s not as bad as it looks. Don’t get me wrong … there’s still a fair way to go but the gentler slope doesn’t feel quite a rigorous as climbing the steps up through the woodland …

It’s definitely fair to say that the higher you go … the more spectacular the view … in all directions …

When you get to the old winding house you are very nearly there …

It looked like a great viewpoint but we decided to save it for on the way back down.

The barracks kind of just appeared with no warning and it was a really magical spot … and definitely lived up to all the hype …

We had a good wander around … having the place pretty much to ourselves …

… before getting up a little bit higher for the best view …

On the way back down we stopped at the winding house …

… and took in the view …

… before bracing ourselves to head back down …

There are a number of routes which can make this a nice circular walk but, as we weren’t entirely sure of the route, we decided to retrace our steps. 

We took it very steadily … with plenty of stops … mainly to chat to different groups of walkers making their way up …

Once we got back into the woodland it was very hard going on the knees as some of the steps are huge …

We made it safely back down to the bottom …

… and it was back to the lake for a very nice spot for our picnic lunch …

We were both feeling it but were really pleased we’d made the effort. It’s definitely one to do again … maybe trying to make it a circular next time 😀

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