Cambria Sports Culture CIC Cymraeg

All walksBerwyn and Lake Vyrnwy

Berwyn and Lake Vyrnwy

Llangynog and the Craig Rhiwarth Quarries

Slate and lead workings on a crag above the village, with a hillfort on top and the Berwyn closing in at the head of the valley.

Distance
4.3 mi / 7 km
Time
2 hr 45
Ascent
380 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

Tracks climb steeply from the village through the quarry ground to the crag, returning by a loop. Steep and rough.

Worth knowing

  • The lead mine here was among the richest in Wales in the eighteenth century.
  • Craig Rhiwarth has a hillfort with hut circles on the summit plateau.
  • The quarry ground is loose; keep to the tracks.

What you’ll see

Slate and lead workings, the hillfort and hut circles, and the Tanat valley below.

Background

Llangynog lead made the Earl of Powis a fortune in the 1700s, and slate quarrying continued into the twentieth century.