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Sunday 22nd May, 2022
Dolgarrog Disaster
This walk heads out of Trefriw up over Cefn Cyfarwydd, the hill behind the village, to the Cowlyd valley. A steep walk to begin with, but with some stunning 360° views of Snowdonia and the coast. We will then cross in front of the Cowlyd dam and up over the shoulder of Moel Eilio to remote Cwm Eigiau and Llyn Eigiau and its dam. It was the breaching of this dam which caused the disaster in 1925. We will then follow the course of the floodwaters along the old trackbed of the Eigiau Tramway back to Dolgarrog, passing Coedty reservoir, high above the village (and where there are often cuckoos to be heard) before following the waterfalls down to Dolgarrog and visiting the memorial there. We’ll return to Trefriw on our minibus.
Please remember that it can be cold in the foothils of the Carneddau mountains, even in May, so make sure you’ve got warm, waterproof clothing, and good footwear.
Duration: All day. Please bring a packed lunch.
Distance: about 10.5 miles / 17 km
Grade: Moderate/Strenuous, with some steeper uphill sections, particularly at the beginning where the first 3/4 mile has some 800 ft of ascent.
Departure time: 10:30 a.m. from Trefriw Village Hall (LL27 0JH, SH781631)
Refreshments will be available in the Hall both before and after your walk. (More here.)
Walk Leaders: Idris Bowen and John Ellis-Jones
Click on the map to see the rough location of this walk.
Booking: To book a place, please click on the Eventbrite button below (opens in a new tab).
Please ensure that you have read the booking information, terms and conditions before you attend any walks.
Please note that, although we make no charge for our walks, we do ask for voluntary donations (card preferred, but cash accepted). More details on our funding page.