Snowdonia 
T2
An easy mountain hike that follows wide cart tracks and small paths. On the western side of Foel Cynwch, the terrain drops steeply into the Afon Mawddach valley in places. Here, a sure footing and a head for heights are required.
From Cardiff, follow the A470 via Merthyr Tydfil, Glasbury and Llanidloes to Dolgellau. Just before Dolgellau, turn right at the roundabout onto the A494 and leave it at the first opportunity, keeping left. Just before the Eurospar, turn sharp right towards Llanfachreth and follow the road for 3 kilometres past Hywel Sele Lodge and Nannau to the free car park for the Precipice Walk (on the left-hand side of the road).
52.77342078, -3.86064291
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For those in southern Snowdonia looking for a short walk offering maximum variety and scenic views, the Precipice Walk (Welsh: Llwybr Cynwch) comes highly recommended. This short loop north of Dolgellau, which was designated as a walking route as early as the late 19th century, circles the Foel Cynwch hill and offers magnificent panoramic and down-hill views. The inclines on this circular walk are minimal. As easy as the circuit is, on the eastern side of Foel Cynwch the terrain drops steeply in places down into the valley of the Afon Mawddachin. Sure-footedness and a head for heights are essential for this short excursion. We start at the car park near Nannau, pass the isolated house at Gewern Offeririaid and walk around Foel Cynwch in an anti-clockwise direction. Towards the end of the walk, we stroll past the western shore of Llyn Cynwch and return to the starting point via Gewern Offeririaid.
At the Precipice Walk car park, we turn to face away from the car park entrance and turn right at the southern end. A wide path leads us through the forest in a sweeping left-hand bend and eventually joins a wider forest track. We follow this path as it curves to the right, passing under a power line, and head north-west towards the Gewern Offeririaid house. Just before the building, we turn left and walk to the left of a stone wall through sparse woodland. After a right-hand and a left-hand bend, the woodland thins out and, before us, Llyn Cynwch lies picturesquely in a hollow. At this point, we also come to a fork in the path. We keep diagonally to the right and head towards the eastern slope of Foel Cynch via a meadow path.
After a short climb, the path turns right again and we follow a stone wall on its left-hand side. The path leads gently uphill and curves in a sweeping left-hand bend around the northern side of Foel Cynwch. There we come to the junction with the Copper Mine Trail (signposted ‘Gwaith Glasdir’), which we leave to our right. We turn slightly left and follow the path south-west into the valley of the Afon Mawddac. We enjoy the beautiful views down into the valley and can see ahead of us the estuary through which the river flows into the Irish Sea at Cardigan Bay. On the scenic high-altitude path, we continue walking south-westwards and cross the flank of Foel Cynch. In places, the terrain to our right is steep, so whilst we have the panorama in view, we must also keep our eyes firmly on the path.
Later, we reach a sparse copse and pass through a pasture gate there. After another traverse, we come to another gate and subsequently reach a more open area with gentler slopes. The path now turns left towards the east and we catch sight of the mountain range around Cadair Idris. Having reached the south-western side of Foel Gynwch, we cross its flank in a north-easterly direction along a stony path. Finally, we reach a stone wall, pass through a gate there and arrive at the southern shore of Llyn Cynwch. We now turn left and follow the western shore along a wide path. This takes us back to the fork in the path that we already know from the ascent. We then return to the starting point via the same route we took on the way up.
There are no places to stop for refreshments along the way.
| Elevation | Time | Total | Destination | ||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
 | 220 m | - 215 m | + 0:10 | 0:10 | Gewern Offeririaid |
 | 215 m | - 250 m | + 0:20 | 0:30 | Abzweig Gwaith Glasdir |
| 250 m | - 222 m | + 0:45 | 1:15 | Südufer Llyn Cynwch |
| 222 m | - 220 m | + 0:30 | 1:45 | Parkplatz Precipice Walk |
