Cambrian Way rerun: Dylife to Dinas Mawddwy

Wednesday 28th May 2025

Following the rain and wind of the previous day that had prevented me from doing any walking along the Cambrian Way I was disheartened to discover that it was still raining when I set off from the Star Inn in the former mining village of Dylife. The thirteenth stage of the trail is the longest at twenty-three miles so, with a lot of walking ahead of me, more rain was not welcome, however it soon stopped and rewarded me with clear weather in the midst of what was otherwise a poor week for weather. The waterproofs that I’d put on at first were soon found to be unnecessary as I climbed the hill with views over the valley behind me towards the hills I should have walked over the day before, rising to Plynlimon, the highest point in the Cambrian Mountains. My route took me over a hill, passing through low cloud and fields filled with sheep on faint paths that forced me to keep a close watch on my location to stay on route. I consoled myself with the thought that at least I was now walking a section of the Cambrian Way that I had not done the year before when I first attempted the trail before bad weather forced me to seek an easier route through Machynlleth. After descending the other side of the hill I entered a conifer plantation to climb again, navigating a complex network of paths that zigzag up the hill until I finally emerged at the highest point having successfully found the right way.

The navigational exercise continued over the hill through cloud before descending, with views to my left down the Gwydol Valley, to the pass at Bwlch Glynmynydd where the path beyond took me beside young conifers that delighted in drenching me as I passed. The sun was now beginning to break through the clouds so it wasn’t long before I dried off while trying to find my way through the grassy fields on the other side of the hill gradually descending to a woodland track that eventually brought me into the Twymyn Valley and the village of Commins Coch. After crossing the main road, railway and river I headed back uphill, soon stopping for lunch at a handy bench, before continuing to climb along the road, keeping straight ahead onto a track when the road turned sharp left. Ahead of me was an ominously steep hill, the southern slopes of Moel Eiddew, though fortunately my route soon veered left to cross the western slopes until I reached the access road for the Mynydd y Cemmaes wind farm. While wearily climbing the hill I realised that I had missed a turning, but, rather than descending back down, I kept on going until the gradient eased and then crossed over the fence to make my way through tall, boggy grass desperately looking for the correct route of the Cambrian Way. When I finally found the trail I was disgusted to see hardly any sign of a footpath which made the walking no less tiring.

While to my right the blades of the tall wind turbines whistled through the air, I tried to follow the trail along the western edge of Mynnydd y Cemmaes, which is supposed to provide you with fine views of the Dovey Valley. However, despite a great improvement in the weather, I never felt the views compensated for the difficult path when there is a wide track that serves the wind turbines, which would provide me with considerably easier walking. The access road was a pleasure to walk along and all I encountered whenever I tried to follow the bridleway was no path through rough, tussocky grass. At the northern end of the wind farm I came off the access road to come to the edge of a conifer plantation and then descend pathless slopes in the adjacent field until I eventually entered the wood where I finally had a path to follow, albeit very boggy, which led me out of the wood and down the hill beside a developing stream. With great views before me into the Dovey Valley this was an enjoyable descent, but when I reached a track I was frustrated to realise that I now had to turn right and climb back up the hill. One could take a direct course from the conifer plantation, but rough tussocky ground would probably make this even more tiring and take just as long. According to the Cicerone guidebook my route later turned left steeply up the hillside at a waymark, but I somehow missed this and stayed on the track until I eventually realised my mistake.

Again, rather than backtrack, I turned left to climb the rough grassy slope, wearily cursing the complex path which had been difficult to follow on this stage of the trail. I had hoped I would be able to go around the hill, but this proved hopeless and after much effort I eventually reached the steep eastern slopes where I was afforded with great views across Cwm Tafolog. When I was finally rejoined by the Cambrian Way I descended the steep hillside along a faint path to a ruined farm building at Craig-For where a farm track provided me with much needed easy walking for the rest of the day. I audibly moaned whenever the path began to ascend, but generally the track maintained a level course around the hill, first on the eastern slopes and then round to the north, until I finally descended into the Dovey Valley and the village of Mallwyd. The Cambrian Way crosses the valley and then climbs quite a way up the western slopes before descending through woodland to reach Dinas Mawddwy, but I was too tired for this and just walked along the road at the bottom of the valley until I reached the campsite when I stopped for the night. This was a very tiring, frustrating walk because of the lack of a good footpath to follow which made the walking difficult and forced me to be constantly checking my location. There was nothing to interest me on this stage of the Cambrian Way, except for the weather which improved markedly compared with the last two days and notably at the end of this walk I entered Eryri, better known as Snowdonia.