Wednesday 27th September 2017 Dolgellau - Barmouth - 9.5 miles

Wednesday 27th September 2017 Dolgellau - Barmouth  - 9.5 miles


This was it! Our last section! The weather forecast wasn't brilliant, rain coming in by 1 pm, so we opted for an earlier breakfast to catch the 9.50 am bus to Dolgellau. We felt that once we'd finished it would be a shame to have to collect the cars, so bus it was! For once we surprised ourselves and after another fab breakfast, we were at the bus-stop, boots on, at 9.30!

The bus goes directly to Dolgellau, but then goes all round the houses to change driver! Luckily the driver warned us of this, and we arrived safely back in the square to resume the route.

 Fortunately, the route leaves town via the main car park (and hence loos!) so all set for a relatively easy last leg. The route follows the Mawddach Trail all the way to Barmouth, a well signed foot and cycle way along the route of a disused railway. So, flat, wide, well-surfaced with regular benches!

A bit grey and blustery, so we decided to press on! We reached the toll bridge and the George III at Penmaenpool in good time (more loos!) and met a group of walkers heading to Barmouth for lunch. Our paths were to cross several times along the route!

The estuary walk is stunning even on a grey day with the mountains behind and the sea opening up in front of you with the iconic Barmouth estuary railway bridge gradually coming into view.

As expected, the rain begain to fall - sadly earlier than anticipated! Stopping to put on waterproofs, we were overtaken by 'the walkers', but then we overtook them when they stopped for coffee! Fortunately, although damp, it wasn't cold, so as soon as the rain lifted, off came the coats!

It was one of those days, off and on! The trail bends inland to cross a woodland, before finally coming alongside the railway line in readiness to cross the bridge.

Here we met up with the walkers again, and walked with them across the bridge into Barmouth. A train rumbled across the bridge into Barmouth just as we reached the bridge and down came more rain, so on went the coats again. The views from the bridge are fabulous - Barmouth is one of my favourite places - a proper seaside town, boats on the harbour, a lovely sandy beach, promenade, buckets and spades, candy floss, fish and chips, crabbing, a small funfair.

After crossing the bridge, and on close examination you wonder how they ever built it and how it ever stays up, you head downhill into town.

We left the walkers at the Last Inn for their well-deserved lunch and we headed for the Harbourmasters Office, our official end point. After much searching, we found our marker - a small disc, pinned on the noticeboard on the wall outside the office, amongst all the other notices!

After 280 miles, we had to laugh! We grabbed a passerby to photograph our MOMENT ( and who very kindly made a donation) and that was it.

28 days of walking

280 miles covered (we actually did 294 miles somehow!)

TA DA!


We had walked across Britain on behalf of McMillan Nurses

P.S. Barmouth was not at its best on Wednesday, very grey and rainy, but on Thursday it was stunning!

P.P.S The Tilman in Barmouth was a fab place to stay with very helpful, friendly staff. Many thanks for your help and generous donations. We will return!

Tuesday 26th September 2017 Drws y Nant - Dolgellau - 8.5 miles

Tuesday 26th September 2017 Drws y Nant - Dolgellau - 8.5 miles


Our planned mileage for today was 10 miles, so we were reasonably confident that, having walked further yesterday, it couldn't possibly be any more than 10! We parked in the main car park at Dolgellau before heading back to the cottages at Drws y Nant. Here we met a lady from one of the cottages, who was originally from Shrewsbury. Small world!

The route headed on up the lane past the cottages and followed it all the way to Bryn-Coed-Ifor. This was lovely walking; a very quiet, gated lane, through pretty countryside. Just before you reach Bryn-Coed-Ifor you see a lovely lych gate with a decorated interior roof! We went through to the church, small and simple with lovely stained glass windows. Well worth the slight detour.

The lane pops you out onto a slightly larger road through the village. As you walk up here, the guide gives the option of keeping to the road in poor weather. We nearly missed the footpath, but decided to go for it, retracing a few steps to take the footpath up over a field. Having successfully negotiated some muddy patches, I'd just said that we'd probably come early enough in the season to miss the worst of it, when we hit the really boggy bit! It did look muddy, so going first, I decided to take the fence side. Big mistake. Up in to the top of my gaiters and barbed wire on the top of the fence so nothing to grab! All I could do was wade on quickly! Irene next, taking a mid-line, fared better, but Linda came close to getting permanently stuck, just managing to heave her boot out with a huge sticky slurp!

All our advice, shouted across, led to more confusion! Marie opted to use her poles to take soundings in the mud and although a good plan, came to grief, as her run-over, squashed pole couldn't take the strain and snapped, nearly sending her face first into the mud! Hysteria ensued and Marie had to fend for herself, clinging to branches to pull herself across. We survived, but were all on the lookout for long grass to wipe our feet on!

On up, around a cottage and into a lovely wooded area, walking on a 'ledge; along the top of a gulley, with a stream running along the bottom of it. It was worth the boggy bit to get to this pathway! It led to a Roman Road at an old stone bridge, Pont Rhyd-y-gwair.

At this point, the 'road' is a rough stone track with stone walls, through some wooded and some open sections. This too was delightful, lovely views all around.

You cross another old stone bridge, Pont Helygog, and continue until the track becomes more defined and rejoins the road from Bryn-Coed-Ifor. This takes you to Brithdir, where you briefly follow the B4416 before heading off up a cycleway and then grass path. After making the climb, we opted to stop for lunch on a grassy bank enjoying the views.

Fortunately, you don't climb all the way up the hillside, but cut across down a narrow rather overgrown footpath between a hedge and a wall. This gets diverted very neatly past a newly converted barn with a very upmarket stone log store screening the windows!

A short stretch of road walking takes you over Pont ar Ddibyn and up to cross the new A470 which fortunately was quiet! The lane resumes on the other side, but you quickly take a stile into a wooded section of a field. This was boggy! In the end we opted to hop from tree base to tree base using the roots to balance on! Again we were looking for yellow posts, but given the terrain, there wasn't much choice. Fortunately we found the gate to take us to the 'rough' section before the Quaker House at Tyddyn y Garreg. This was a Quaker meeting house and burial ground in the 17th and 18th centuries. We went to look at the burial ground which had been adopted as a regular cemetery in more recent times. This meant it didn't have the distinctive look of a purely Quaker burial ground like the one we have in Coalbrookdale, but still worth the short diversion over a field recently spread with cow muck! Our boots were really taking a pasting today. At least the returning tractor went the other way round the field , otherwise it wouldn't have been just our boots!

From here, a concrete track leads down through woods to a lovely farmhouse and cottages where a tarmac drive takes you onto a lane which drops towards Dolgellau. Here you pass footpath signs, but the route sticks to the quiet lanes. The valley appears to drop steeply so perhaps thats why the lane was the best option!

Past a derelict pub or hotel and on down until you meet the road into Dolgellau. Here you go over a bridge and into the town square. Then we proceeded to wander in circles looking for the loos! We ended up near the car park, but after a quick comfort stop, we headed back into town for tea and cake before collecting the cars.

Back at Drws y Nant, Linda found a lovely card and donation from the lady we'd spoken to earlier. Wales has been lovely - thank you so much.

Monday 25th September 2017 Llanuwchllyn - (Dolddeuli) Drws y Nant - 6.5 miles

Monday 25th September 2017 Llanuwchllyn -  (Dolddeuli) Drws y Nant - 6.5 miles

Monday saw us set off (late as usual!) on the final stage of our epic adventure! None of us could actually believe this was it! It was grey and raining but we hoped to leave the rain behind as we headed west!

For once, this proved to be correct and as we neared Bala, the weather improved and the sun even come out! Dolddeuli was supposed to be off the A494, the Bala to Dolgellau road, but could we find it? Even the OS Map didn't help! In the end, we took the last left turn off the main road before Rhydymain. According to the map, our route joined this lane after Dolddeuli! Luckily, just up this lane, we found a parking spot opposite some cottages and on reading the route guide, this was exactly where the bridleway were to use joined the lane. An executive decision was made to park there and walk a bit further!

So, back tto Llanwchllyn, nip into the loos, thank you Wales, to set off opposite the community centre up the lane to pick up a bridleway. Fortunately, we'd had a quick look at the way ahead on our previous visit, so we set off confidently! The lane led up out of the village and climbed past a couple of dwellings before going straight through a farmyard! The guide gave the options at this point, but we went through the farmyard as it had obvious signing. The farmer working on his tractor tyre waved us through, so we were on the right track! Across a field and then picking up the track again , yellow posts clearly indicating the way ahead. Eventually we dropped out onto a lane before heading through another farm and crossing a lovely old stone bridge

before climbing up into conifer woodland. Fortunately, the track was clearly defined, but we missed the pond described in the guide, but found the clearing and the boggy bit! Luckily the boggy bit wasn't too boggy. The 'indistinct' path lived up to its name, but the yellow posts came to the rescue!

The path continues along the valley side, and we were quite relieved not to have had to climb to the top of the hillside, just high enough to get a view. Cadair Idris now in our sights ahead. The guide promised that the track would get rougher to one side of the field 'climbing steeply up to the left'. We were grateful to find it was the field climbing, not the track or us! The 'deep gulley' was more of a steep bank, but still a bit tricky being muddy and slippery - thank heaven for poles! The route took us past yet another farmhouse, but again the waymarking was clear and a new footbridge had been provided to save us fording the river. At this point, you are quite close to the line of the main Bala/Dolgellau road running through the valley bottom. At the next farm, you turn up and away from the road to walk through more woodland.

As you leave the woodland for more open countryside. The views are fabulous, even better on a really clear day, but despite following the contours of the hillside, this was hard work! The ground was very uneven and muddy - two steps forward, one back! However, after passing another farmhouse, an old Welsh longhouse, you pick up a tarmac track.

This took us down to another farm where we met a very friendly farmer who stopped for a chat. Wales has been very welcoming. The continued to the Mary Jones Way signboard Dolddeuili. It would appear that Doldeulli is the signboard and a cottage and thats about it! Parking would have been impossible even if we had found it!

From here, a lane takes you up to a track round the edge of more woodland, past an old ruined cottage and finally across open land on a by now grassy path right to our parking spot!


The extra mileage was only just over a mile! Plenty of time to collect the other car and head off to our hotel in Barmouth. We still managed to run over Marie's walking poles in our haste to get going - they'd been left leaning against the car!