All walks › Llanidloes & the Cambrians
Llanidloes & the CambriansDylife Gorge and Ffrwd Fawr
An abandoned lead mining settlement high on the mountain road, a spectacular gorge and one of the tallest waterfalls in Wales dropping into it.
- Distance
- 3.7 mi / 6 km
- Time
- 2 hr 15
- Ascent
- 250 m
- Difficulty
- Demanding
- 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
From the village, walk out to the gorge rim for the waterfall view, then loop through the old mine workings on the hillside before returning. Rough underfoot around the workings.
Worth knowing
- Ffrwd Fawr drops around 45 metres into the gorge and is best seen from the rim path.
- The mine workings are extensive and include open shafts. Keep to the tracks.
- The mountain road from Machynlleth to Llanidloes is one of the great drives in Wales and gets closed by snow.
What you’ll see
The gorge, the waterfall, mine spoil and ruins, and views over the Cambrian mountains.
Background
Dylife was one of the largest lead mines in Wales with over a thousand people living here in the 1860s. Almost nothing remains but the inn, the chapel and the spoil.