SNOWDONIA
Isolated CWM PENNANT has been called ‘the most beautiful valley in Wales’. We tackle its 12-mile length in search of its secrets: ruined quarries, a fabled bothy, a giant waterwheel hidden in the hills and atmospheric wild camp spots, all in the shadow of the dramatic Nantlle Ridge.
Nestled in the southern folds of the Nantlle Ridge, Cwm Pennant is surely one of the most beautiful and tranquil valleys in all of Eryri (Snowdonia). There’s a good reason for that. There’s only one road in and one road out. It’s the same road. This means it has remained quiet and unspoilt – certainly compared to bustling Ogwen or Nant Gwynant, where these days even a 6am start doesn’t guarantee you a parking spot. Cwm Pennant’s location in the west of the National Park has also helped preserve its peace. While seasoned walkers are drawn to the Nantlle Ridge and Moel Hebog, most tourists and day-trippers tend to ignore the area in favour of Yr Wyddfa’s (Snowdon’s) well-trodden paths.
labelled this the ‘u That suits m to leave Cw keep its plenty the feiour of Yr Wyddfa’s (Snowdon’s) well-trodden paths One well-known walking routes website has even labelled this the ‘unfashionable’ side of Eryri. That suits me fine. I’d prefer the hordes to leave Cwm Pennant alone, so it can keep its secrets to itself. And there are plenty of them. Over the centuries, the valley’s secluded and romantic feel has given rise to speculation, intrigue and mystery. Local legends held that the people who lived here were partly magical beings, a result of intermarriage with the ‘tylwyth teg’ – the fairy folk. ❯
Trum y Ddysgl Mynydd Tal-y-Mignedd Obelisk
NANTLLE RIDGE
Quarry
BEDDGELERT FOREST
Quarry Quarry
Castell
Moel Lefn
CWM CIPRWTH
CWM PENNANT
Afon Dwyfor
CAE AMOS BOTHY
Garndolbenmaen
Craig-y-garn PLAS HENDRE
Afon Dwyfor
JUNE 2024 TRAIL 37
As well as generations of possibly enchanted farming families, inhabitants have included harpists, preachers, surgeons and ‘bonesetters’ (which, before the NHS, was where you’d go to get a broken leg fixed). And just like in the Lake District, there were poets too.
They get everywhere, don’t they. Eifion Wyn, a Welsh bard from the turn of the 20th century, penned some famous lines about the valley: “Pam, Arglwydd, y gwnaethost Gwm Pennant mor dlws?
A bywyd hen fugail mor fyr?” Roughly translated, it means: “O Lord, why did you make Cwm Pennant so beautiful and the life of a shepherd so short?”
In 1964, English avant garde novelist B.S. Johnson w
