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Eryri: Yr Wyddfa and LlanberisLlyn Padarn and the Slate Quarries
Circuit of the lake below Llanberis, through oak woodland and the enormous terraced quarry that made the village. Good when the mountains are in cloud.
- Distance
- 3.7 mi / 6 km
- Time
- 1 hr 40
- Ascent
- 90 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
A circuit, and the steep part comes first. Paths run along both shores of Llyn Padarn and can be linked into a circuit. The northern side climbs through Coed Dinorwig; the southern side follows the old quarry railway on the level.
Worth knowing
- Dinorwig quarry above is vast and largely unfenced. Stay on the marked routes; the levels are unstable.
- The National Slate Museum sits in the old workshops and is free.
- The classic photograph of Dolbadarn Castle with Yr Wyddfa behind is taken from the lake’s northern shore.
What you’ll see
Dolbadarn Castle, the quarry terraces, oak woodland, and Yr Wyddfa at the head of the pass.
Background
Dinorwig employed some three thousand men at its height. The quarry closed in 1969 and the landscape it left is now a UNESCO World Heritage Site.