Bwlch Drws Ardudwy

This is a circular route of 6.7 km (4.2 miles), starting and finishing at Coed Graigddu Car Park, with only about 155 m of climb. Short on paper, but rough and wet enough underfoot that you should plan for about 3 hours. Some descriptions quote 2 hours; that only holds if the ground is kind to you and you never stop to pick a line through the boulders.

• Leave the car park on the gravel forest road and go left at the first junction.
• Pass Graigddu Isaf farm, cross the bridge, and pick up the signed track towards Bwlch Drws Ardudwy.
• Enter the Rhinogydd National Nature Reserve and climb through rough heather and rock to the gap.
• Bwlch Drws Ardudwy, the pass between Rhinog Fawr and Rhinog Fach, is the destination. No summits involved.
• Descend alongside the plantation and return by the river, passing Pistyll Gwyn waterfall on the way back.

Call it upper-moderate, around 6/10. The grading disagreement between agencies makes sense once you are on it: the ascent is modest, but you get mud and standing water, exposed boulders, and narrow uneven paths. There are gates and steps along the way. Expect to slow right down in the reserve section, which is where the extra hour goes.

There are no route markers inside the nature reserve, so carry a map and know how to use it.

• Strong waterproof footwear, not trainers
• Layers
• A map, plus the general preparation you would make for any three hour hill walk

You start in woodland and forest track, then break out into the rocky, heather-covered Rhinogydd. The reserve protects heathland and woodland along with mosses, liverworts and fungi, and it is good habitat for insects, birds and bats. Worth keeping your eyes and ears open, though nothing is guaranteed on any given walk.

Start and finish at Coed Graigddu Car Park, which is free, reached by a gated minor road off the A470. Natural Resources Wales notes the turning sits on a straight, fast stretch of road, so approach carefully and follow the posted directions. Leave the gate as you found it, open or closed, and park only in the designated areas.

Dogs are welcome on the public footpaths under close control. Use a lead near livestock or wildlife, and note that on open-access land a lead of no more than 2 m is required from 1 March to 31 July. Take extra care around the farm animals near Graigddu Isaf.

If 3 hours of wet, rocky ground is more than you want, the Coed Graigddu Circular starts from the same car park and runs 4.8 km, about 2 hours, graded Moderate. It keeps to the woods and tracks rather than pushing on into the rougher reserve.