All walks › Eryri: Ogwen and the Carneddau
Eryri: Ogwen and the CarneddauNant Ffrancon
The old road up a textbook glacial valley, with hanging cwms on both sides and Penrhyn quarry’s terraces at the bottom end. Level walking under serious mountains.
- Distance
- 5.6 mi / 9 km
- Time
- 2 hr 50
- Ascent
- 150 m
- Difficulty
- Moderate
- Shape
- There and back
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
The old road runs along the western side of the valley from Bethesda to Ogwen, away from the A5. Walk it in either direction and head back the same way, or use the bus.
Worth knowing
- The valley is the classic U-shaped glacial trough used in every geography textbook.
- Walking up and taking the Sherpa bus back down makes this straightforward.
- Penrhyn quarry at Bethesda was once the largest slate quarry in the world.
What you’ll see
The glacial valley floor, hanging cwms above, waterfalls off both sides, and the quarry terraces.
Background
The Penrhyn quarrymen’s strike of 1900 to 1903 was the longest industrial dispute in British history and split the community for generations.