Upper Wye Valley
Abergwesyn Common
Open hill country on National Trust common land, with drovers’ routes crossing it and one of the emptiest landscapes in southern Britain.
- Distance
- 5.0 mi / 8 km
- Time
- 2 hr 50
- Ascent
- 300 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 and paths climb from the valley onto the common and loop back by the Irfon. Pathless in places with big open views.
Worth knowing
- The common covers over sixteen thousand acres and is one of the largest holdings the National Trust has.
- The Abergwesyn pass road to Tregaron is spectacular and single track with a hairpin called the Devil’s Staircase.
- Red kites are constant overhead here.
What you’ll see
Open hill, the Irfon valley, drovers’ tracks, and red kites.
Background
Drovers took cattle from mid Wales to English markets across these hills, and the routes are still visible as hollow ways.