Category: Walking Blog

Logged distance: 4.83 miles

Walking Time: 1hr 45 mins

Out Time: 2hr 7 mins

Ascent: 1081 ft

I am still getting use to the OS walking app on my phone, but also walking generally and by that I mean getting use to wide open spaces which have a published foot path but not a clearly defined walked route. I tend to find that on each walk I have at least one “deviation” from the route but have been reading up on the OS map legends to understand “free access areas” a bit better as well.

So for those of you joining us for a walking stay or just wanting to walk in the area, what about this walk?

Once again, its a simple loop from the house and the time displayed included me taking some photos and checking my location etc.

Leg 1 – Glan Gors to Llyn Du Bach

So lets start by saying I did not get to Llyn Du Back but that was the intension of this planned walk (but more on that later!). This leg has a good altitude climb. Easily walkable but worth mentioning. Following the path adjacent to the house you traverse the stile and then walk up the wide path until you get to a kissing gate on the left hand side. From there it is a simple bearing walk following the fence line with a few additional kissing gates swapping sides of the fence for some reason. It is hard going under foot as there is no fixed path and you traverse the steam a number of times but it is well worth it for the views you get.

As you approach the bearing change to move towards Llyn Du Bach you find yourself near the base of a rock face outcrop. The natural line seems to be to follow the base and then turn up but this is where I think I made my error and next time I will try taking the left hand route and see if that keeps me on track better. Having visited Llyn Du Bach on a previous walk I can at least tell you what is there and what you find is a beautifully clear lake which is used for trout fishing.

Leg 2 – Llyn Du Bach to Llyn Glas

Walking to the end of the lake, you then take a right and start a shallow descent towards Llyn Glas. Once again the footpath is not well marked but with either a simple bearing or a visual marker you quickly pick up a natural route down to these two small lakes.

Leg 3 – Llyn Glas to Llyn y Manod

Follow the small lakes to the end and you quickly see a well marked path bearing up and off to the left. This has a gradual uphill incline but worth it as you take the right turn at the top and drop down towards Llyn Y Manod.

This lake is just beautiful! With Manod Bach rising up against the right hand bank, the marked footbath takes you around the left hand bank although there is a kissing gate that appears to loop you around the right hand bank as well.

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Leg 4 – Llyn y Manod to A470

That is the hard work done as the walk down towards the A470 is well marked with good footpaths and some great views along the way. At the time of walking this was active farm land with sheep scattered around and signs asking for all dogs to be kept on leads.

You come out near the main road that runs through Blaenau Ffestiniog (the A470), just by a small local football pitch.

Leg 5 – A470 to Glan Gors

Once you are on the road, it is a simple right turn then literally a 5 minute walk along the road to return back to Glan Gors

Logged distance: 2.54 mile

Walking Time: 52 mins

Out Time: 1hr 45 mins

Ascent: 757 ft

Since I rekindled my love for walking, I subscribed to the OS app and map subscription. One of the great things about this is the ability to create routes on your laptop and then open them up on your phone and is basically a walkers sat nav. For “born again” walkers like me, this has removed the dependence of maps and compass but more importantly for me, especially at the moment as a lone walker during this period of restricted lock down, it allows me to both check my route as I go but also before my walk I send a screen shot to my kids, let them know when I have started then if I am not back by a pre-arranged time they can start to worry…..

It is perfect when exploring new routes you have never walked before as it gives you the confidence to ensure that you are near to the designated footpaths where sometimes they are not well trodden.

For this walk I plotted a simple 2 mile circuit out to Llyn Du Bach which is a local lake. The plotted distance was 1.9 miles and was estimated at 1hr 1 min walk time with the 2nd quarter of the walk having quite a significant steep elevation. On this occasion I was taking the clockwise route.

Glan Gors to grid ref SH 70781 45814:

A short walk from the house leads to a fork in the road where Manod Road splits from High Street and after walking past a few properties the number of houses reduces and the lane starts to give you a rural feel. Its not long until you pass the first nice view where the main waterfall can be found.

Once you have passed this part it is an easy walk along the track until you come to the end of the lane. To the right you will find an access gate that leads you onto the mountain.

SH 70781 45814 to SH 71679 46044 Llyn Du Bach

So the first world of warning, although its a lovely walk, this section is steep. The overall elevation is just over 750 ft and most of this is covered in this leg which accounts for 1/4 of the walking distance. Its a fairly well marked out track and is basically in two sections. The first section was straight forward but the second section needed a couple of checks on the GPS as there were two options you could take. Did I say it was a long uphill? Luckily the end result was the arrival at Llyn Du Bach which is a small lake known for Fly (Trout) fishing.

SH 71679 46044 to  SH 71107 45432

From the lake, you start the downward descent which regularly intersects with the stream and small waterfalls. The first thing to note is that the first section down to SH 71378 45798 did not have a clear footpath and it would have been easy to get the wrong side of the fencing. Luckily there were a couple of crossing points further down. The second half was much more defined and easier under foot.

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 SH 71107 45432 to Glan Gors

The final drop down to Glan Gors is a wide rural road track which is well walked and sure underfoot. Once you get to the bottom you get clear visibility of the house and just pop over a stye to pick up the lane that runs alongside the back garden.

As you can see from my stats, my actual tracked distance was 25% over the OS plotting and almost an hour over the walk time. I put the timing down to the ascent phase but also me enjoying the scenery and taking loads of pictures as you see from below!

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