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Nantlle Ridge & Prince of Wales Quarry

Day breaks over Yr Wydffa as seen from the slopes of Y Garn, Snowdonia.

A great days hike up along the first half of the Nantlle Ridge with beautiful views of Snowdon and a visit to the ruins of the Prince of Wales Quarry.

The Nantlle Ridge Route

We start in the valley at the side of the B4418 just northwest of Llyn y Gader and follow the main route up the side of Y Garn. This is a bit of a slog but every step forward takes us higher up the valley. Once at the top of Y Garn we stop for a rest and views across to Yr Wyddfa and right down the valleys to the coast.

Next we follow the ridge up to Mynydd Drwsy-y-coed. This is the rocky scramble section, that looks scary from below but is actually pretty easy. But we have to be careful as there are steep cliffs to the right. This section is spectacular. Once over this, we descend a smooth ridge before climbing to the peak of Trum y Ddysgl for a well earned rest.

Key Info

Route length: 6.4miles
Elevation Gain: 670m, 2200ft
Height at the Peak: 709m, 2,260ft

Route Difficulty: Challenging – The ridge includes some scrambling but in general the path is clear and obvious. The initial climb is a bit of a slog but the descent is long and pleasant with a visit to the Prince of Wales Quarry and Beddgelert forest to finish the day.

With the climbing over it’s time to descend into the valley along the wide ridge. This takes us down to the Prince of Wales Quarry where we’ll spend time exploring the ruins. Finally, we make our way back down one of the most beautiful little woodland tracks into the forest and then back to the start point.

This is a great dawn walk as the initial climb is easy in the dark (there’s only really one way you can go… up!) Plus you get the added bonus of the sun rising over the Snowdonia range, in May and August the sun rises almost directly over Snowdon itself from here. The walk times perfectly to reach the top of Y Garn for dawn itself. It’s also a good daylight walk and in terms of Sunsets, I prefer to walk the other way around ensuring we are at the top of Y Garn for the sunset itself.

I will be running a paid walk along this route over the Easter weekend for £65pp, details are below.

Upcoming photo walks along the Nantlle Ridge

This autumn I am running photo walks that include this route climbing the Nantlle Ridge in Snowdonia. The details of the next available walk are shown below.


Easter Weekend 2022

£65

per person, up to a
maximum group size of 8.

Price Includes

  • 4/5 hour photo walk
  • Pre walk planning session

Not Included

  • Travel to and from the chosen location
  • Food and drink
  • Camera equipment or personal injury insurance
  • Accommodation

Essential Equipment

  • Camera (camera phones are fine)
  • Warm waterproof clothing
  • Sturdy footwear
  • Food and fluid

Recommended but Not Essential

  • Tripod
  • Filters
  • Change of lenses
  • Torch
  • Other camera accessories (eg trigger remote)

Looking for an exclusive Walk?

If you’d like to book this route for your own group or for a one on one workshop then please click below for details.