If you’ve ever fancied tackling the Snowdonia Way but aren’t quite ready to commit to the full route in one go, Emma’s got you covered. In this three-day stretch from Machynlleth to Beddgelert, she shares her experience of the trail, from quiet lanes and lush valleys to unexpected challenges and some very interesting characters.
“I’m going to jump it,” said my friend Haf before launching herself across a boggy area near the foot of Cnicht – one of many beautiful peaks along the Snowdonia Way.
Sadly, with her rucksack on, she didn’t quite gather the momentum she’d hoped for and ended up on her side with one leg knee-deep in the sticky, brown bog.
After ascertaining that she was unharmed, she wiggled her leg out of the muck and managed to stand, and for the next ten minutes we couldn’t stop laughing.
It was raining, we were filthy, but we were delighted – this was nine hours into day three of the Snowdonia Way. As the Welsh say (and which quickly became our motto on this route) – “Yma o hyd!” or, roughly translated, “We’re still here!”
The Snowdonia Way runs from Machynlleth to Conwy, winding through forests, mountains and some of Wales’ most beautiful countryside. The route includes epic climbs of mountains like Yr Wyddfa and Cadair Idris and takes a few days longer than the lowland route, which we opted for.
In July 2025 Haf and I hiked the first three days from Machynlleth to Beddgelert and are planning to tackle the other three days of the route in May 2026. This is the story of our experience walking the first half of the Snowdonia Way – complete with warm pub welcomes, bog swimming and low-flying jets.
Day 1 – Machynlleth to Dolgellau
The night before we started walking we stayed at the eccentric and cost-effective Toad Hall in Machynlleth. We ate a big dinner at a local pub, then wandered over to the river with a bottle of wine to watch the swallows by the bridge as the sun set. We had an early night after some good faffing with our bags, repacking and checking we had everything we needed for the following day.
The first day on the route was quite blissful and started out with easy laneways past the Centre for Alternative Technology.
Later on we were amazed to see the huge mountains of spoil tips and the slate quarry as we passed through Aberllefenni. The information boards about this area and its history were fascinating, and we felt a little like we were walking through the past.
As we navigated up the lane out of the village, we chose the easy laneway rather than the footpaths and quickly sped up as we passed a field with a large bull grazing behind a low fence. The lane climbed extremely steeply out of the valley, passing through a forest and necessitating several snack stops on the way up.
Finally we made it to the top of the hill, and were surprised to see many cars and people looking out over the land below. We’d seen barely anyone all morning and suddenly found ourselves walking past at least 20 cars.
We heard loud jets swooping low – very close to the hillside – and realised people were there to watch the Mach Loop, an area regularly used by the Royal Air Force for low-level flight training.
We continued on down the other side of the hill towards the main road between Mach and Dolgellau and were amused to see a family of four battling their way up the steep hillside on bicycles – the youngest child did not even look school aged. Afterwards, whenever we were struggling, we consoled ourselves with the fact that at least we weren’t four years old being dragged up a steep incline on our summer holidays!
We crossed the main road and followed idyllic paths through farmland down into Dolgellau where we stopped for an early dinner at a cafe. We got some supplies for the next day at the Co-op before heading onwards out of town to our accommodation for the night.
We’d booked a shepherd’s hut at the brilliant Motocamp Wales, which was right on the trail, and we were delighted to be met by some lovely dogs and one of the best showers we’d ever had. The common area was great, covered in photos of motorcyclists (including the owner Steph Jeavons, who rode a motorcycle around the world and wrote a book about it, which I later read) and with comfy sofas, a CD player and a functioning kitchen.
We relaxed there all evening enjoying the warmth and the fact that we had the place to ourselves. We slept well in our lovely shepherd’s hut and were refreshed and ready for the next day’s adventure.
Day 2 – Dolgellau to Trawsfynydd
On day two we had an exciting start to the day as we found ourselves gingerly moving along a very narrow, crumbling path running along a steep, forested hillside. Even now, I’m not sure we were on the right route, as it did feel a bit perilous and never-ending at times.
The weather was very warm, even early on, and I was sweating profusely as we tried to move along delicately, despite our big bags.
Finally we arrived on wider forest paths and had a lovely jaunt down to Ganllwyd and Coed Y Brenin forest.
To begin with we enjoyed following the river along flat paths that I knew from other trips to the area. Then, we climbed up and up relentlessly in the heat through the forest. We came out of the trees onto high farmland and along stone tracks, the sun beating down in a most unexpected way for Wales. We enjoyed the views of the Rhinogs, even as I cursed the sun and tried to ration my water.
After a long while we came out onto lanes and down into Trawsfynydd where we dipped into the first open pub we saw for a much-needed pint of Coke. We enjoyed the young woman running the bar, who was loudly watching videos on her phone and mostly ignoring customers – we silently agreed it was one of the stranger places we’d been on our travels.
We were pleased with the Llety Glyndwr bunkhouse we’d booked a room in for the night as it was very clean and the kitchen was great and newly furnished, plus we had the whole place to ourselves again. We collected keys from the wonderful little shop below (as well as grabbing more supplies and some pasta to cook for dinner) and settled down for showers and a rest for our sore feet. We knew the next day was going to be a long one and were ready for an early start.
Day 3 – Trawsfynydd to Beddgelert
Just before 7am we went to the shop downstairs and were pleased to see they’d opened slightly early so we could get a coffee from the machine. We sat outside while we got ourselves sorted for the day.
I was nervous about the weather as it looked like it was going to be horribly hot again. We set out with a detour around the edge of the lake as the bridge was out of action, and continued along flat lanes and paths past sheep fields.
We got terribly lost in a wooded area and ended up having to walk through a field of cows with their young, which Haf and I hate doing with a passion. We found our way back onto the route and rested by a small lake to celebrate. After following much easier paths, we found ourselves by the coast and followed the pavement into a small town.
We walked into the pub in Penrhyndeudraeth (try saying that after a couple of pints!) to whooping and cheering from some men at the bar. How did they know we’d been walking since 7am and needed some encouragement?
It turned out that they were celebrating any woman who walked in – even ones as scruffy and sweaty as us. They looked like they had been enjoying a few ales already (no judgement, although it was literally only just 12pm) and were settling in for a raucous day. We were as polite as possible while trying to get our pints of Coca-Cola quickly so we could finally sit down.
We took a table outside away from the rowdy lads but they came outside one by one to chat to us and ask to borrow Haf’s lighter. They were very impressed that we’d come from Trawsfynydd that morning which boosted our morale a bit. We eventually got going again but only made it as far as the shop where we bought more food for the afternoon and sandwiches for lunch. We ate them while sitting on the wall in a car park and befriended a very happy spaniel that belonged to a friendly man working on a roofing job on the building opposite.
Overall, we found Penrhyndeudraeth a cheerful place and were sad to leave, though we needed to get a move on.
We climbed steeply uphill out of town and were momentarily confused about which lane to take, though we sorted ourselves out quickly enough. Through more woodland and fields we continued. By about 3pm, we were ecstatic to find ourselves in drizzly mist as we’d had enough heat the last couple of days, and enjoyed soggy snacks in a pretty, old woodland.
We followed laneways and then some boggy moorland (where Haf had her knee-deep bog incident) to Nantmoor and by this point were giddy, laughing all the way despite sore legs and feet.
Beddgelert was almost in sight and we’d booked a nice Airbnb and a posh meal to celebrate that evening.
We’d thought it would be a simple march along the river into town. Instead, we came upon a very rocky and wet path where we had to watch every step – not easy after 18 miles with heavy bags. Our legs shook and the novelty of the rain began to wear off by the time we made it onto the flat, paved home stretch. As we soldiered on, every step now painful, I had to ring the restaurant and ask if we could be seated later as time had escaped us and it was already coming up to 6.30pm. We blamed our long stop in Penrhyndaedraeth and getting lost earlier in the day.
We finally reached Beddgelert and laughed at each other as we waddled slowly and painfully up the stairs to our room for the night. After quick showers and a change of clothes (Haf had bought a dress for the occasion and actually looked very presentable – unlike me!) we went to the restaurant which was mercifully next door and devoured rich risotto and delicious red wine.
Needless to say, we slept well that night and had a relaxing journey back home the next day when Haf’s dad kindly picked us up.
Reflection on Walking 3 Days of the Snowdonia Way
We’d had a brilliant time out in the lush, mossy green of North Wales and enjoyed passing through places we knew, as well as ones we didn’t.
Writing this a few months later, I’m already excited for the second leg of this adventure – which will take me through far more unknown territory than the first. Wales never disappoints!
Author: Emma Sawyer
Emma Sawyer is a travel and hiking obsessed woman from Shropshire, where she currently lives so she can enjoy walking in the Shropshire hills. She pays the bills by working in charity finance and writes in her spare time.