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!