Aber Falls & Carneddau Mountains Hike: Foel Fras, Llwytmor & Y Drum, North Wales Walk

This epically stunning 12 mile hike started in the beautiful, historical village of Abergwyngregyn, plenty of free parking in a carpark on the outskirts (LL33 OLD) or park for a charge closer to Aber Falls. The walk from here is easy going, suitable for most abilities, there are also stop-offs with information about the area, the ecology and its' rich history, an awesome touch and we very much appreciated it.

The 120ft fall's thunder can be heard from quite a distance, which just adds to the fun. It is a real natural wonder, the water rushes off the igneous rock slamming into the pool below and throwing a massive amount of spray into the air, dramatic! We spent some time here, just enjoying the atmosphere before we headed off into the mountains.

We pretty much followed the waterfall up the mountain until we met the Afon Rhaiadr Fawr, the river that feeds the falls. The path was not clear and the river in spate after all the recent rain so it was hard going in some areas and extremely slippery, not for the faint hearted, but so, so stunning. Behind us we could see out over the Menai Strait and Irish Sea, and the river was so alive with movement. The weather turned bad a few times during our way up our first mountain, Llwytmor (849m), but not too bad to turn home, although it did make finding a safe path up a bit more difficult, this is an exposed area which is not heavily used by walkers. Reaching our first peak was lovely, the views were tremendous and after the relentless up, we were in need of a tea break!

Next, we headed over to the high point of the day, Foel Fras (942m), this took a lot of down to go back up again and we had to walk through the Swamp of Mordor, the Dead Marshes, to get there but we love a trig point so we were happy as Larry😀

We followed a dry stone wall and stepping stones over to our last mountain in the Carneddau Mountain Range, Y Drum (770m), an absolute beauty, such unusual views from here, looking straight over Anglesey and Puffin Island. The sun was starting to set and we had a few miles to get through back to the car, so we decided to take the very distinct Roman Road home.

We had the best time, hardly saw a soul after leaving Aber Falls, a great place to feel free and reconnect. Aber Falls is just so special, and easy to reach, we would recommend it as a fantastic day out, get there and fall in love! Get it.....Fall?!

Thank you for being here, all the best, Ceri & Kat!

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