Lyn Padyrn Lake walk

          After the indulgences of the last few days, maybe a brisk walk would be a good idea.  Unfortunately Mother Nature has decided to make it a little too brisk for me today so I’m delving back into the files for some exercise instead.

          On one of our trips to Snowdonia we set off on one of the circular walks from Llanberis, I’ve already shown you the first parts of this walk in “Cwm-y-Glow circular walk“, “Down to Cym-y-Glow“, and “Lyn Padyrn Path“.

          In the first post we climbed high above the houses in the High Street and our path wandered through Glyn Rhonwy slate mine.  I was amazed at how the trees managed to grow in such a barren landscape and would be interested to go back and see how much more of the old slate tip the plants have managed to reclaim.  When we passed that way, something was in the process of being built, a visitor centre maybe ?  I guess we definitely need another walk in that direction.

          After we’d reached our highest point and stopped to admire the view, we sort of gave up on our little map and followed Hubby’s sense of direction in a downwards walk to the main road and in my third post, after negotiating with a field of cows for right of way, we finally found the Lyn Padyrn Path and joined one side of the lake walk to make our way back to Llanberis.

          As you walk away from the stone tunnel which is literally a hole cut out of the mountain, you have two choices, you can either continue along the old road we’ve joined (picture above) and follow it back to Llanberis, or you can take the slightly more uneven path to your left, with much better views, and follow the path mapped out for you by the white stripes on the posts around the lake. (picture below)

          I’ll take you again to see the beautiful views around the lake, by now my feet were getting tired and my camera seemed to be heavy so I only lifted it now and again for the rest of the walk home.

          One or two things managed to catch the last of my attention though.

          And finally we came to the open view of the lake which meant Pete’s Eats would soon be on our right for a very well-earned sit and eat.

           More from before : a circular walk between “Llanberis” and “Cwm-y-Glow“.

Lyn Padyrn path

          If you joined me on my circular walk to “Cym-y-glo” last time I visited Snowdonia with Hubby then I think I left you high and dry at the start of the Lyn Padyrn Lake path.  I hope you found your way back ok, I’d hate to think of you still sitting there, even if you are enjoying the view across the lake.

          Follow the old road in a general lake direction, you’ll have to go through a gate, remember to close it as this piece of path goes along between two fields.  Cows live in both and cross the road through a gateway from each field.  If they are crossing when you cut through their territory, they seem friendly enough but I do recommend you let them have right of way.

          Close the gate at the other end, and it’s ok, you can breathe normally again now.  Before long you’ll come to a slate gateway on the side of the pavement, this will take you down to join the Lyn Padyrn Lake walk.

          Looking back at the bottom of the steps, you’ll see a tunnel cut out of the rock which the road above is built on.  Also the wooden post with the white line around it shows that you’ve now joined the lake path.

          Don’t go through the tunnel, walk on towards Llanberis with the tunnel behind you.  It’s not far now and it’s a nice quiet stroll alongside the gentle lapping of the lake.

          The Lake walk is a good walk to do in its own right and if that’s the way you’ve been, you’ll approach the tunnel from the other side.  It’s not a very long tunnel and you can see through to the end.

          Sometimes it’s good to see the light at the end of the tunnel.

           More from before : a circular walk between “Llanberis” and “Cwm-y-Glow“.

Down to Cym-y-Glo

          I left you at the highest point in the “Cym-y-Glo circular walk“, admiring the view with a couple of joggers.  It probably won’t surprise you at all that as we set off on our downwards path it wasn’t long before the joggers caught us up, and passed us.

          Our little leaflet became a bit confusing as to which way to go next, leaving us looking about for clues …

          Yes, that is a road sign which says beware of frogs !

          Luckily Hubby has a much better sense of direction than I do and we were soon on a path, if not the right one, heading in the direction of the lake.  For anyone trying to follow us, we took a left turn into Lon Bwlch, opposite a holiday cottage signposted Cefn Bwlch.  I’ve since checked on a map and before you reach Lon Bwlch there is a footpath on your right, we started to follow it but as it seemed to be heading back up the mountain we turned back and looked for another option.  The yellow salt and sand box by the post doesn’t exactly enhance the picture, but hopefully will help anyone trying to follow the route from a little paper leaflet too.

          A short way down the lane we came to a footpath on our right and, again using Hubby’s direction, we turned off the roadway and onto a track.

          After a little while we came across a very helpful signpost, it said you could either walk this way, that way, or the other way …

          Hubby decided the best way to look for water was down hill so set off in front of me.

          The footpath we were on finally joined the top end of another road, with the sign post Allt Goch at the bottom,

          and from here a right turn took us onto the A4086 between Caernarfon and Llanberis.

          Now the map shows another small road opposite which is possibly the way the leaflet wanted us to go, but if like us you’ve been looking out for the Snowdon Inn (which unfortunately has now been turned into a block of flats) and you miss the shortcut, don’t worry, follow the A4086 in the Llanberis direction and turn left at the next junction where you’ll shortly find a small road on your right running towards the lake, we spotted a small bridge and Hubby remembered it from when we walked around the lake last time.

          The pictures in this post were more for landmarks than for great views, but just incase you’re feeling a little cheated after walking down to Cwm-y-glo with me, here’s one of the first views along the lake for you, enjoy.

           More from before : a circular walk between “Llanberis” and “Cwm-y-Glow“.