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Cwm Anafon Carneddau Trail Run or Mid Level Walk

By Dave Roberts   

on September 5, 2014    No ratings yet.

Cwm Anafon Carneddau Trail Run or Mid Level Walk

Route Essentials

Route Summary

See the end of the article for local information about parking, public transport facilities, pubs and cafes.

Distance

8.26 km

Ascent

360 m

Time

Calculate the time using Naismith’s Rule and factor in your own pace.

Start Location

Difficulty

Hazards

Weather Forecast:

Met Office Snowdonia Mountain Weather

Check out our Best Mountain Weather Forecast?
Remember that we cannot outline every single hazard on a walk – it’s up to you to be safe and competent. Read up on Mountain Safety , Navigation and what equipment you’ll need. 

Cwm Anafon Carneddau Trail Run or Mid Level Walk Ordnance Survey Map and GPX File Download

View the full route map

Download file for GPS

Cwm Anafon Carneddau Trail Run or Mid Level Walk

Always on the lookout for some runnable terrain, the track from Aber into Cwm Anafon ticks all the boxes. It takes you deep into the hills, feels wild, runnable without being heavy going and you can even cheat by starting off at 200m or so!

The Route

You’ll need to get to the carpark at the top of the Aber road. You can get to this by entering Aber village, following the signs for the waterfalls until you reach the bridge to your left. Then instead of turning right into the car parking you need to continue on this lane simply until there’s no more lane. Avoid at busy periods as you may not get parked as there’s only room for a handful of cars, depending on how competent others have parked.

1 – From the car park, you can see a stile next to the wall. Cross this and follow the wall for around 400m, the trail being mainly grass with some rock, and generally good going.

2 – Turn right after this initial section, taking a zig-zag route up towards Cwm Anafon, and this climbs steadily to a gate which you pass through. You could ascend directly here from the car park, but I like a bit of a warm up first!

3 – This land rover track climbs steadily, relentlessly perhaps, up towards the scenic Cwm Anafon. It’s never particularly steep, but neither does it let up, so you’ll get a decent work out from this run.

cwm_anafon_101

4 – The ascent is only over once you reach the lake, which feels remote. Another 200m of ascent, and 1km in distance would see you on the Carneddau range itself, though that’s a run for next time!

5 – You can just follow the exact same descent route, or you can set off along the river just before the track begins to ascend out of the bottom of the valley (at around SH683 712) and follow the river and then the wall back to the starting point. It’s more interesting, but a bit slow going and eroded in places making it’s running a bit more awkward. If you do follow the original route back, you’ll can cut directly down the slope just after passing through the gate.

 

Local Information and Recommended Maps and Guidebooks

Route Summary:

Route Start Location:

Distance
Ascent
Time
8.26 km 360 m

Calculate the time using Naismith’s Rule and factor in your own pace.

Activivity Type: 

Summits and Places on this Route

Facilities

Check out the businesses nearby for more places to stay and drink.

Hazards

Remember that we cannot outline every single hazard on a walk – it’s up to you to be safe and competent. Read up on Mountain Safety , Navigation and what equipment you’ll need.

Parking :

Public Transport:

Traveline for UK Public Transport

Weather Forecast:

Met Office Snowdonia Mountain Weather

Check out our Best Mountain Weather Forecast?

Recommended Maps

Guidebooks:

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Dave Roberts

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