Lôn Las Cymru Trip: Machynlleth to Barmouth

Despite the two A roads through the middle of Machynlleth, it seems a lovely town; I saw a good range of independent shops, and recommend visiting the vegetarian cafe and wholefood shop for immediate and portable sustenance respectively. While here I was joined by a couple of guys out on motorbikes, separately. One of whom happens to work at Bristol’s Lost & Grounded brewery, which happens to be a favourite, so I can only assume that means we’re now Best Friends and I get discounts off all future purchases...but maybe that’s just wishful thinking.

Those of you with Alpine tendencies may well mock, but the 1300’ climb out from Mach was firmly embedded in my mind as a Big Climb, and I was a little nervous of overdoing it and getting knee pain again. The ascent is quite gentle over 10 miles however, maxing out around 13° toward the end. I chatted to a few residents, and even got to feed Maggie - the local, semi-domesticated magpie - from my hand, which was an unexpected pleasure!

From Aberllefenni, soon after Corris, the empty road begins the final climb from between the spoil heaps of old slate mines. There has been mining here since at least the 16th century, and though quarrying has ceased there is still some slate processing today. Some of the spoil heaps are now protected for the wildlife living in it, watched over by the mine entrance which looms over the valley from high up the northern side. This area was a definite favourite of the whole trip. The road continues through beautiful woodland, into a gated section which opens out for some views back during the final stretch. The baking sun and lack of airflow made this open section hard going, but stopping at a small stream to top up my water bottle allowed my temperature to drop while I admired the view back down the valley. The terrain from here over to Dolgellau seemed much more rugged than the areas I’d passed through so far, and I really felt I was getting into Snowdonia proper.

Dolgellau itself is small and nice enough, and I grabbed a pint and sat outside one of its pubs for a bit, then topped up with supplies at the shop before heading down the broad Mawddach estuary. At the mouth of the estuary the path crosses a wonderful wooden viaduct alongside the railway, though since Barmouth seemed like a rather bog-standard beach holiday town I scuttled through quickly to search out a campsite further on.

The campsite – Tyn-y-Pant - was an odd one. It billed itself as ‘back to basics’, which was really a euphemism for ‘an uneven sloping field full of decaying farm machinery’. The combination of unpleasantly bizarre site and the skies opening the moment I got there left me feeling pretty miserable while cooking curry in the dark & rain, though having had the foresight to buy a small bottle of wine with dinner ingredients I did have some comfort.

In the end, the site wasn’t as bad as I’d initially feared, but I feel it was more geared up for those with self-sufficient caravans than a small tent. The owner was an extremely friendly and helpful guy, interested in my journey and wanting to share his local knowledge. I resolved to recall the beauty and peace from the day’s riding in my head, and try to enjoy the campsite for what it was – a good enough spot to pitch my tent for the night – rather than comparing it to better things.