All walks › Dyfi Valley and Machynlleth
Dyfi Valley and MachynllethDinas Mawddwy
Wooded hills and riverside around a village at the foot of the Bwlch y Groes, once notorious for a gang of red-haired bandits.
- Distance
- 3.7 mi / 6 km
- Time
- 2 hr 10
- Ascent
- 250 m
- Difficulty
- Moderate
- Shape
- Circular
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
The way up through the woods above the village and return by the Dyfi and the old railway formation. Steady climbing.
Worth knowing
- The Gwylliaid Cochion Mawddwy, the red bandits, terrorised this valley in the sixteenth century until a mass hanging in 1555.
- Bwlch y Groes above the village is the highest public road in Wales.
- The old railway to Cemmaes Road closed in 1951 and parts are walkable.
What you’ll see
The Dyfi, hanging oak woodland, and the pass climbing north out of the valley.
Background
Baron Owen was murdered by the surviving bandits in 1555 after sentencing eighty of them to hang, and the spot is still named for it.