Rhiwbach quarry, Snowdonia

The GuardianOct 29

‘Looming stone towers like Maya temples’: a hike through Snowdonia’s slate country

A new trail in the national park traces the legacy of Welsh industry, while offering some of the UK’s finest riverside and mountain walks The vital moment comes a couple of hours into the walk. I drop down from a tussocky hill towards the village of Y Fron. There’s an abandoned slate-quarrying machine and a grassy track that suddenly emerges on the rim of a deep lake-filled crater. The water is…

Old tramway incline descends to the old engine house.

15 things in this story

Yr Wyddfa (Snowdon)SightAppears on the horizon when the trail turns south.
Llwybr Llechi Eryri (Snowdonia Slate Trail)Trail83-mile loop around the national park, starting in Bangor.
Dorothea slate quarrySightVast abandoned complex of railways, cottages, and chasms.
Welsh Highland RailwayPlaceTrail occasionally follows its line into Beddgelert.
BeddgelertNeighborhoodGood base for hikers with pubs, cafes, restaurants.
Cambrian WayTrailOne of the grandees of the long-distance genre at 298 miles.
CnichtSightMatterhorn-shaped peak the Cambrian Way heads towards.
Cwmorthin quarrySightEpic quarry dominated by vast heaps of spoiled stone.
River CynfalSightMagical trail beside the tumbling river.
Rhiwbach quarrySightOld tramway incline descends to the old engine house.
Elsewhere
Burrito BlasusRestaurantBlaenau Ffestiniog, United KingdomGood cafe to find in Blaenau Ffestiniog.
Y PengwernHotelLlan Ffestiniog, United KingdomCommunity-owned pub with basic rooms and food.
St TudcludSightCwm Penmachno, United KingdomChurch contains an astonishing collection of inscribed stones.
Carausius StoneSightCwm Penmachno, United KingdomThought to be the gravestone of a Roman commander.
River ConwySightBetws-y-Coed, United KingdomPath joins the river near Betws-y-Coed.

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Rhiwbach quarry

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‘Looming stone towers like Maya temples’: a hike through Snowdonia’s slate country