4.5 Miles / 7km – 2-2.5Hrs

This is a short, but moderate route including some steep narrow sections and  the fording of several small streams.

Dog Walkers: Apart from the road sections, sheep graze the entirety of this route. Please keep dogs on a lead, especially during lambing. There is one unavoidable stile without a dog gate.

The walk follows the route the postman would take around the village, on both sides of the River Dyfi.

The full route can be followed using this Ordnance Survey map

Park in the small parking area in the centre of Llanymawddwy just before the graveyard of Llanymawddwy Church (Grid Ref SH 903190), by an old phonebox.

From the parking walk back along the road towards Dinas Mawddwy.

Llanymawddwy and Dinas Mawddwy were on the ‘pilgrim’s route’ from North Wales down to St. Davids in Pembrokeshire in the South. Many travellers would therefore pass through this tiny village.

Points of interest:

There used to be five pubs in the village – Credit, Crown, Sun, Bull Bach and the Bull Mawr

The main church of Saint Tydecho is here. Other local churches include Mallwyd, Cemaes and Garthbeibio, most of which are also linked to St. Tydecho. Football and quoits used to be played in the graveyard.

Continue for 1.5km (1 mile) along the road towards Dinas Mawddwy, to a junction with the small lane on the left. Continue straight on, past the junction, for 50m then take the signed footpath on the left into a field. 

Points of Interest:

1. Cilwern – This is the home of musician Thomas Davies

2. Ty Isaf – This is the home of a country carpenter who made wooden rakes – the rakes are now at St Fagans Folk Museum in Cardiff.

3. The school called Y Werin – ‘The Folk’ was closed but a privately run community school was opened in it’s place.

4. The hill is Rhiw’r Cawr – the giant’s hill. Remains of a giant was found while building the road in the 18 century.

The path leaves the field to join the small lane after 100m. Turn right along the lane and follow it for 100m, over a bridge to a broad track on the left with a footpath sign.

Follow this track, climbing gently and taking care to avoid the lower track leading to Coed Cae farm. Just above the first farm buildings the path narrows and crosses a stream and then a stile (no dog gate).

Walk 50m on to a wide track and then follow this for 200m until, at a metal gate, a footpath bears left off the wide track. This is marked by a single roundel and is easy to miss!

Follow this footpath for just over 1km climbing gently and then descending to river level at the farm of Wern-gau.

Points of Interest:

5. The local people called this side of the river Dyfi Canada, because it is ‘the other side of the water’

Follow signs behind Wern-Gau farmhouse and cross a stream on a new footbridge. Follow the signed path alongside the River Dyfi for a few hundred metres  to Ty’n yr Wtre, crossing another stream at a footbridge at the left edge of the farmyard. Follow the wide farm track on the other side to Troed y Foel Farm.

Here the route goes through the middle of the farmyard, passing through a small gap between the two large barns. Keep right, alongside the right hand barn and then bear right, uphill for a 50m to reach a new gate. Turn left onto a broad, newly made (in 2022) forestry track and follow it for 1km to reach the next Farm. Here bear left, on the farm access track, to reach the road. Turn left onto the road and follow it for 1km back to the parking.

Points of Interest:

7. View of ‘Tap Nyth yr Eryr’ – ‘Eagles Nest Crag’ on the other side of the valley

8. This is the Bryn mansion, the childhood home of the first Archbishop of Wales. The Owl Service (a novel by Alan Garner) series was filmed here in 1969. The novel was based on the Blodeuwedd story in the Mabinogion. It is said that a ghost haunts the mansion.

9 The main church of Saint Tydecho. Llywelyn Fawr of Mawddwy, a giant who was very strong, is said to be  buried in the church. Football and quoits was also played here at times.

10. Llanymawddwy: At one time, there were five pubs in the village – Credit, Crown, Sun, Bull Bach (Small Bull) and Bull Mawr (Big Bull).