All walks › Eryri: Ogwen and the Carneddau
Eryri: Ogwen and the CarneddauLlyn Idwal
A circuit of a lake in a hanging valley under the Devil’s Kitchen, and the walk that most people in Wales do first when they want mountain scenery without a mountain.
- Distance
- 2.8 mi / 4.5 km
- Time
- 1 hr 30
- Ascent
- 150 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 made path climbs from Ogwen Cottage to the outflow of the lake in about twenty minutes, then loops round the water. Take it anticlockwise for the best view back down the Ogwen valley. The path underfoot is pitched stone and rock throughout.
Worth knowing
- Britain’s first National Nature Reserve, declared in 1954, and the plants on the cliffs are why. Stay on the path.
- The Devil’s Kitchen, Twll Du, is the black cleft at the head of the cwm. It looks climbable from below and is not a walking route.
- Ogwen car park fills by nine on any decent weekend. There is overflow parking further along the A5 towards Capel Curig.
What you’ll see
The lake, the Idwal Slabs where generations learned to climb, and arctic-alpine plants on ledges above the water.
Background
The cwm was gouged out by a glacier and the moraine at its lip holds the lake in. Legend says no bird will fly over the water because Prince Idwal was drowned in it.