All walks › Berwyn and Lake Vyrnwy
Berwyn and Lake VyrnwyArenig Fawr
Isolated mountain between Bala and Ffestiniog, with a lake below and a memorial on top to an American bomber crew who died there.
- Distance
- 6.2 mi / 10 km
- Time
- 4 hr 10
- Ascent
- 550 m
- Difficulty
- Strenuous
- Shape
- There and back
Where it is
The circle shows the general area, not the exact start. Use the directions link below to get to the car park itself. Contours and paths shown are OpenTopoMap, drawn from OpenStreetMap data.
The route
A track climbs from the road to Llyn Arenig Fawr, then a path gains the ridge and the summit. retrace your steps.
Worth knowing
- The summit memorial commemorates eight American airmen killed in a crash here in 1943; wreckage is still on the mountain.
- Wet peat on the approach and no shelter anywhere.
- The painter Augustus John based himself here before the First World War.
What you’ll see
Llyn Arenig Fawr, the memorial and wreckage, and a huge view over Eryri and the Berwyn.
Background
Augustus John and J D Innes painted at Arenig from 1911, and Innes buried a casket of his letters on the summit.