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Rhayader & the Elan ValleyGilfach Nature Reserve
A Radnorshire Wildlife Trust reserve in the Marteg valley built around an old upland farm, where salmon leap in autumn if you time it right.
- Distance
- 2.2 mi / 3.5 km
- Time
- 1 hr 15
- Ascent
- 110 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
Waymarked trails of varying length start from the visitor centre; the main circuit drops to the river, follows it upstream past the falls, then climbs back over the hill pasture. Signposted with coloured markers throughout.
Worth knowing
- Late October and November is when the salmon run. Stand at the falls and wait; patience is the whole technique.
- Pied flycatchers arrive in the oak woods around the third week of April.
- The longhouse is open on some days and gives a proper sense of how these farms worked.
What you’ll see
The Marteg, sessile oak woodland, upland hay meadow, and salmon at the falls in late autumn.
Background
Gilfach is a longhouse farm, worked in the traditional upland way for centuries. The trust keeps the old farming pattern going deliberately, because the habitats here were created by it and would disappear without it.