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Eryri: Yr Wyddfa and LlanberisLlyn Dinas and Dinas Emrys
Round the lake and up the wooded knoll where Merlin is said to have seen two dragons fighting under the ground.
- Distance
- 3.1 mi / 5 km
- Time
- 1 hr 50
- Ascent
- 200 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
From the lake, a path climbs Dinas Emrys through the trees to the hillfort and the pool at the top, returning by the valley path.
Worth knowing
- The hill is where the red and white dragons of the legend were supposedly found, giving Wales its flag.
- Excavation found a real fifth-century hillfort with a cistern, matching parts of the legend more closely than expected.
- The climb is short but steep and slippery in the wet.
What you’ll see
Llyn Dinas, the hillfort ramparts and cistern, and the Glaslyn valley.
Background
Nennius recorded the dragon story in the ninth century. Excavation in the 1950s found a genuine post-Roman stronghold with a rock-cut pool.