Beddgelert, river and mountain walk.

Distance: 7.5 miles

Terrain: Hills and river valley.

Walking along side the river on a rocky path, with hand holds secured into the rock at one point, this walk has a bit of everything. The Welsh highland railway with steam locomotives follows along part of the river walk and adds some interest. Gelert's grave is on the route (An interesting tale of the brave dog).

Walking uphill from the river along the line of the old disused cable car system from the Sygun copper mine.

The views from the top are second to none in the whole National park. the sea can be seen in the distance over the tops of the surrounding hills.

Return is down to the Lake (Llyn Dinas) and past the copper mine with its guided tours along the Afon Glaslyn to the start. There is, among the pubs and cafes, an ice cream parlour that is well worth a visit.
There is an option to detour and visit Dinas Emrys, where legend has it there is a dragon buried and Merlins seat is there. Some rather pretty waterfalls and woodland.
Can be muddy after rain.

Walking poles are recommended.

Dogs must be on a short lead at all times.

Walking at a gentle pace to suit the terrain with ample stops.

The Legend of Gelert the Dog
by B Johnson
One of the best known, and loved, folk-tales in Wales is the story of a faithful hound.
The story goes that in the thirteenth-century, Prince Llywelyn the Great had a palace at Beddgelert in Caernarvonshire, and as the Prince was a keen hunter, he spent much of his time in the surrounding countryside. He had many hunting dogs, but one day when he summoned them as usual with his horn, his favourite dog Gelert didn’t appear, so regretfully Llywelyn had to go hunting without him.
When Llywelyn returned from the hunt, he was greeted by Gelert who came bounding towards him …his jaws dripping with blood.
The Prince was appalled, and a horrible thought came into his mind …was the blood on the dog’s muzzle that of his one-year old son. His worst fears were realised when he saw in the child’s nursery, an upturned cradle, and walls spattered with blood! He searched for the child but there was no sign of him. Llywelyn was convinced that his favourite hound had killed his son.
Mad with grief he took his sword and plunged it into Gelert’s heart.
As the dog howled in his death agony, Llywelyn heard a child’s cry coming from underneath the upturned cradle. It was his son, unharmed!
Beside the child was an enormous wolf, dead, killed by the brave Gelert.

Llywelyn was struck with remorse and carried the body of his faithful dog outside the castle walls, and buried him where everyone could see the grave of this brave animal, and hear the story of his valiant fight with the wolf.
To this day, a cairn of stones marks the place, and the name Beddgelert means in Welsh ‘The grave of Gelert’. Every year thousands of people visit the grave of this brave dog; slight problem however, is that the cairn of stones is actually less than 200 years old!
Nevertheless this story has great appeal.
Sygun copper Mine
500 million years ago
Copper rich Ordovician rocks are formed
2100BCE to 750BCE
Bronze age in UK mining begins as surface excavations
Roman times
Tunnels were dug to get to the mineral viens deeper in the mountain. After the Romans left mining continued on a small scale until the Industrial Revolution started
1700 to 1900
During the Industrial Revolution tunnels were drilled lower down the mountain to reach the copper rich veins deep in the mountains core.
mid 1800s
Electricity increased the demand for copper wires so they needed to import cheaper copper from abroad and Snowdonia mines couldn't compete
1898
Flotation Process was developed at Sygun which meant they could get more Copper out of the ore.
1903
The mine closed - unfortunately there wasn't enough copper to make it worth keeping open.
the 1900s
after the mine was abandoned Stalactites and Stalagmites were formed as water trickled through the old tunnels
1986
Sygun Copper Mine was renovated and opened it's doors as an educational tourist attraction.