What to do, oh what to do, when you’ve got a bit of time off during the glorious British summer? You could go to the beach, but these days those places are full of staycationers who take up space and leave behind shit. You could maybe jet off to Europe for a few days and then complain on Good Morning Britain that you have to quarantine when you get back. You could maybe get yourself a hot tub and chill in your garden all day with a beer. Tbf, that’s a pretty sound idea.
Brendan and I decided we’d go for a drive into Wales and find some waterfalls to chill by. Well, I wanted to chill by them and he wanted to photograph them. And we wanted to stay out of Snowdonia – cos we literally always go to Snowdonia.
We set the satnav for Rhiwargor Waterfall in the Berwyn Mountains, just north of Lake Vyrnwy in Powys. Parking is free, but the car park is pretty small tbf so good luck finding a space on a weekend!
And of course, remember to stay 2m apart at all times!
From the car park, it’s about a 15 minute walk up the Afon Eiddew (“afon” is Welsh for “river” btw) to the falls. Eventually, they appear from behind the hill.
At the base of the falls there is a small open space containing one picnic table.
This is where most people come, take a photo and leave. But TWATS aren’t about that. We always want more.
There was no dry way to cross the river, so the shoes came off.
And stayed off.
It was a bit muddy on the other bank, and I just fancied being a hobbit and climbing the hill barefoot. At the risk of sounding like a hippy, it felt great to be more at one with nature.
If you climb up Rhiwargor Waterfall, you can find some more picturesque spots at pools most people can’t be bothered to reach.
The first pool is small, with enough space for you to dip your feet. The pool on the step above is much bigger and you really can go for a paddle – if you’re careful!
Waterfall + Brendan Clayton – other people = some pretty nice photos.
We were up there for about an hour – I was JCing as Brendan took photos. I fancied having a dip but I’d forgotten my towel and trunks and didn’t fancy skinny dipping – there were kids about. That didn’t stop me slipping into the water a couple of times – fortunately I didn’t get too wet or plunge off the edge of the waterfall.
You can climb right to the top of the falls, but the pools aren’t really accessible up there and the cascades aren’t so impressive.
With neither of us wanting to go for a swim, there was little reason to stay any longer. We made our way back down the hill. The muddy ground was more of a hazard going down and of course, at one point I dramatically slipped with both feet and fell hard on my arse.
If I wasn’t slipping, I was sinking.
Yep. Pretty glad I chose to keep my boots off.
We cleaned our feet on the grass and put our shoes and socks back on. It was time to go see a tower.
The Straining Tower on Lake Vyrnwy. Here, the water is strained of any material before it leaves the reservoir en route to Liverpool (around 70 miles away) via an underground aqueduct.
Half the tower is underwater, which reminds you how deep this reservoir is and why swimming is not advised.
Further on around the reservoir we came to the dam in Llanwddyn (that took me four attempts to spell, and I’m copying it off of Google Maps). It was a good place for an ice cream.
We’d spent so much time at Rhiwargor Waterfall. Brendan had planned on maybe seeing three waterfalls but it looked like we’d only be able to squeeze one more in.
About 13 miles away from Lake Vyrnwy is Pistyll Rhaeadr. The website says it’s Wales’ highest waterfall – but I see claims like that a lot. It is a tall one though.
This is more of a tourist hotspot, as the car park is not even a minute away from the falls. You have to pay £5 to park here. No thanks. We drove back along the road and parked there for free, amongst the throng of cars.
The pool at the base of the falls was, again, inviting. One chap embarrassed his daughter by going for a dip, fully clothed. There were a fair few people here and not a lot of space. It was tricky to maintain a 2m distance but I tried my best!
Eventually there was a break in the tide of people and we could briefly enjoy the falls to ourselves.
And with the light starting to fade, it was time to leave north Powys. Our chasing of waterfalls was done for the day. Although we weren’t really chasing them… more stalking them… but that’s not how the song goes.
Our next objective was to catch a sunset at Moel Famau…
#VidOnTour 