The first section of this proposed route is based on Jenkins 278 which refers to a “Roman bridle path from Dinorwic.” By this he would have meant not the present village, but Llys Dinorwig SH56256321 GAT2426, both (presumed) Roman and Mediaeval occupation. This is a scheduled ancient monument within a large caravan park. He does not describe the initial course of the route until “coming through the Pass of Llanberis over Gorphwysfa, down past Cwm Dyli by the side of the river, and through the land of Hafod y Rhisgl, until it crossed over at this point on “this old relic” [by which he meant the clapper bridge at SH64875272 GAT11719] It then kept under Gallt y Wenallt, along the brink of Llyn Gwynen, behind the hill between Bwlch Mwrchan (modern Mylchan) and the lake, passing Bwlch Mwrchan, and fording the river right in front of that farm. Thence it passed Plas Gwynant and joined the Segontium road — which we have already traced to the Bridge of Aberglaslyn — beyond Blaen Nanmor”. The bridge he refers to is not Roman in the conventional sense of the word, in the section ancient trackways I argue that it is part of a prehistoric east west route. Until it reaches Llyn Dinas it is a packhorse trail, as Jenkins suggests, a via vicinalis corresponding to a “C” road in modern terms. There is now documentary evidence that this classification existed in Roman Britain, see Bibliography. Beyond SH64565172 however, the construction is more robust, suggesting it was a route created afresh rather than being a existing route. It runs through the hills to Cwm Nanmor (Nantmor on some maps and not the same location as the hamlet of that name), continuing in a straight line down to the Glaslyn estuary and with further isolated traces to Traeth Mawr. 1795 evidences a coach road crossing to Harlech at this point

1795 and 1818 show no roads in the area of Llys Dinorwig at all, although the latter marks “Turbary” (ie the right to cut peat for fuel) around Rhydau Dion. Until what is now the A4086 was built in 1825, there was no access along the shores of Llyn Padarn on either side, so any path had to climb Fachwen and into what is now Padarn Country Park reaching a height of 731ft, 222m. The most obvious route connecting Llys Dinorwig to Llanberis Pass is a bridleway which runs from Brynrefail southeast across Yr Clegyr past Rhydau Dion SH56506261. This is now the only occupied house in the area, having been run by the same family for 50 years as accommodation for outdoor pursuits enthusiasts. In April 2024 there were a few cattle grazing, but no sheep, the land has effectively been abandoned. Past the abandoned Fron Goediog SH56716249 (4 people living here in 1851) a rough trackway climbs the hill on a substantial terraceway. It probably carried straight across some scrubland, since there is a path blocked by a tree at SH56826340, to reach Bron y Gadair SH56786227 (another 4 inhabitants in 1851). There is slight evidence of a hollowway to the left of the main path here. It then passes through a Victorian gate into a detached area of Padarn Country Park, and makes a right angle turn to climb to the top of the hill, coming down to join Lon Fachwen at SH56996197. Throughout it is a packhorse trail, although there is no evidence of culverting. The lane coming up the hill from the west here was built in 1824 GAS XD2/6619 to replace this route, and allow better access to slate quarries being developed on the hillside by the Glynrhonwy estate, and from 1840 by Vaynol. See my article on the Vaynol Estate in Lockdown on a Welsh Mountainside.

The route now becomes part of Lon Fachwen for about 800yds/730m, although there are some hints the original route may have been a little to the south. The modern lane then turns north to reach the village of Dinorwig, but at SH57696167 there is a packhorse trail with kerbstones in the grounds of PenyBryn. It then passes more deserted houses, with further evidence of a packhorse trail, until it reaches Cae Goronwy SH58126143, which I can remember as a ruin. It has now been illegally but successfully blocked by the present owners who have provided a diversion. It then crosses Afon Fachwen and climbs the hillside again, with evidence of a classic packhorse trail construction at SH57686168, the remains of 4 culverts, eg at SH58396074 & SH58176096, hollow ways SH58396075 and SH58366078, a “stranded” path SH58416072, and where terraced being revetted on the lower side with blocks of stone. The surface has been eroded by water action down to the bare rock. The culverts are of random stone and slate, so appear to be pre-industrial revolution. By “stranded” path I mean that at the junction of two paths the older one has been left stranded above the newer one, whether by design or erosion. Two other examples are to be found at SH64545159 belowand SH57015984 in Ancient trackways section Capel Curig to Caernarfon. The section in Coed Dinorwig is shown as a road 1795 leading to PenyrAllt. At the bottom of the hill modern slate workings destroy any evidence, but it would have linked up at Castell Dolbadarn SH58605979 GAT5550 to the trackway over Llanberis Pass.

Another possible path less well evidenced through Dinorwic Slate Quarry is represented by a right of way in danger of collapsing under the slate tips. There is a packhorse trail construction at SH60455906 but nothing else.

The section up the pass is described (in reverse order) at Capel Curig to Segontium

From Pen y Pass there is a track descending into the Glaslyn valley. It is now a RoW, there are hollow ways on it from time to time but its main characteristic is that it comes straight down the brow of hill between Afon Trawsnant and Nant Cynnyd, apparently with a zigzag on the steepest incline. [nb about five years ago this path had a major upgrade by the National Trust and others, to provide a better route from the campsite at Llyn Gwynant to PenyPass, and it may have altered as a result – I haven’t been there since]. After crossing the packhorse trail at right angles SH65575465 it fords Nant Cynnyd at SH65625461, the mapped 1891 path/RoW then climbs the hill on a steep but viable course, but there appear to be no traces on the ground. In practice walkers use what appears to be a steep, somewhat degraded terraceway running on the E side of the wall line marked on the map from SH65635467 through SH65655441 to meet the early turnpike at SH65685436. This wall is hardly more than an irregular revetment of the terrace, it is not a dry stone wall in the conventional sense. However, the line continues on up the hill beyond the modern track still as a wall/terraceway, although the terracing becomes progressively less distinct. Examination of the intersection between the two clearly shows that the construction of the turnpike terrace has interrupted the gradient of this line, indicating thereby that it is older. Although this latter section is not a RoW, walkers still use it to gain access to the prominent viewing point and car park on the A498 above at SH65825416. However, in its present form the remnants of the wall end at a bluff at SH65765417; to the E of the bluff at SH65775411 there is some fragmentary evidence that could represent a way through, but further S the hillside is completely overgrown with bracken in summer conditions, so that nothing can be observed. I haven’t visited this recently, and more work needed here. The interest of this possible route is that it appears to be surveyed and laid out to stay on open higher ground as much as possible, crossing the valley of Nant Cynnyd at its narrowest point, and completely avoiding the “valley bottom” characteristic of the “ancient trackway”, see Pen y Gwryd to Criccieth.

Leaving Pen y Gwryd on the eastern side of the triangle shown on 1795 the first 1803 version of the turnpike leaves the current A498 at SH65925547. This course runs to the W of and below the modern A498, rejoining it by the N end of Llyn Gwynant. This is of a very substantial construction, still a public albeit gated road useable by all terrain vehicles, It was completed and in use by 1811 (Hall p38), mapped as it is now in 1818, of which it forms the western boundary. The question must be considered whether it has been superimposed on an older route, as has happened elsewhere in the UK, since there are suggestions of Roman surveying, eg the upstream zig zag at SH65845480, and the steep gradient of the straight downhill pitch S of it at SH65735455, which is what led to its later abandonment. Open Street map regards it as a Roman road, but I imagine whoever thought that has not read Margary’s cautionary tales about turnpikes being mistaken for Roman roads. If there had been a Roman course here, it seems very unlikely it would have been abandoned for the sodden hollow ways further down the valley to the west. See section on ancient trackways.

However, in relation to this part of the route we do have (GAS XD2/17258) a letter dated Sept 3 1832 by John Williams of Tremadoc, presumably either Secretary or Surveyor to the trust, he was later County Sheriff, commenting that he had been repairing the road from Capel Curig to Beddgelert. Mr. Faudrey and other Commissioners were anxious to make a new line to ascend “Gwryd hill” and he had been instructed to make a survey for the next Grand Meeting. Although this would be a great expense for their depleted funds he feels it to be necessary if enough were to be attracted to pay tolls. Clearly this document must refer to the modification which now constitutes the main road, and reflects the concern that the first attempt, particularly SH65735455 below, was as Hall observes a deterrence to potential traffic. So by 1838 the steep hill had been superseded by the the present more gentle gradients of the present A498, which even now is wide enough for two cars but not two HGVs, as I have regularly experienced.

A little further south GAT4524 four “prehistoric” hut circles at SH6515244 may indicate the route. The track leading to them from the A498 on modern maps does not appear on older maps, so is probably a means of accessing the site. The Coflein 6349769 regards them as Roman.

Beside Llyn Gwynant itself the present main road runs at the lakeside with no obvious signs of any predecessor to it, and little or no scope for any course further up the valley side. However at SH64565172, just S of the side stream Afon Cors-y-Celyn, a footpath/RoW leaves the road and strikes due S, initially as a modern access track, with a wall to the E of it. A little way up, there is a suggestion between this wall and the stream of a hollow way. At SH64555159 the footpath leaves the track by some steps and goes directly up the hill, whilst the access track heads for the same destination by a series of zig zags, already mapped in 1838. The first definite evidence this could be a road is where a small stream has been culverted at SH64555151, since the culvert is some 6-7m long running skew. A slight scatter of metalling is then in evidence, followed by a hollow beside the stone wall on the E. This is a very steep section, which would explain the creation of the later track. The zigzag comes back to the line at SH64555147 before turning away on a further leg, but the original track/RoW continues straight up the hill, the later track coming back onto it for the final time at SH64545135. From this point on the gradient eases and it becomes a well metalled track between stone walls, 4-5m wide.

Our route goes straight on, although at SH64485119 the mapped path diverges SW across a meadow going past two old barns before entering the woodland as a stony track. At SH64475119 we pass through a gateway, and the line becomes a terraceway, with a low stone revetment on the E side, and a wall now on the W side sitting on the outer edge of the terrace. The track continues with several culverts until ending at SH64355098. Although a little used path (present on 1891) wanders through a cleared crosswall at SH64365097 until it finally breaks back onto the RoW through the wall on its E side at SH64185076, it would seem the original line turned west before the crosswall, although there is no field or Lidar evidence, and fell in with a now blocked track at SH64255094, since the footpath resumes its course to the S with regular evidence of kerbstones on the W lower edge. This is currently wellgrown Sitka spruce with some patches of deciduous wood, so there is no grass underfoot, and it is this lack of cover that has allowed the metalling to become exposed. A ladder stile at SH64155061 over a long since patched wall shows this has not been used as a road for a considerable period. Jenkins 267 refers to a landowner who in 1809 started developing woodland on this hillside, and building numerous stone walls for his plantations, presumably this is the origin of this wall. Back in the wood the metalling is again exposed as it crosses Nant Gwynant SH64135058. At SH 63995025 another stile brings the path out of the wood, so the metalling disappears again. However the footpath does appear to faithfully follow the original line, and where a stream is crossed at SH63914998 there does appear to be a small, collapsed, zigzag on the S side, although it is not very obvious. A barely perceptible terrace on the side of a small hillock at SH63874967 with some metalling leads to the crossing of the Afon Llynedno at SH638249587 where there is a small weir with a paved ford on the upstream side. Finally the line becomes a lane between two walls again, running into the tarmac road which now joins it from Plas Gwynant to the NW at SH63714944. That road now forms the northern link between Blaen Nanmor and Nant Gwynant,in effect replacing the disused section just described, and is present on 1818. (Cernioge Inn OSD305)

This whole section passes through land which has effectively been abandoned, even though it is not open access land, a phenomenon that is becoming more common in recent years across the whole area. It is rare to see anyone else here, just very occasionally walkers going down to Bryn Gwynant youth hostel. In places the footpath is becoming very overgrown and quite difficult to negotiate.

For several miles SW the present (very) minor road down Blaen Nanmor (on 1818) continues the line, across the old coach road at Bwlchgwernog at SH6116945245, over the A4085/turnpike at SH60714462, and past Hafod Garregog SH60494431GAT4738. At SH60404435 GAT48 there is a very degraded feature known as Llwbr Rhys Goch which is described as Roman coming in from the west at a right angle. The track then passes out onto Traeth Mawr at SH60014349, where it is lost for some time. There seems to be a continuation at SH59744027, where a bridleway goes across Bwlch Glas (“blue gap”) then a footpath across an embankment which in its present form is clearly part of the draining of Traeth Mawr by William Maddocks in the 1810s. It is followed by a hollow terraceway up onto higher ground, where it is close to a Roman period hut group SH60033939 GAT1192, then GAT3887 SH60453894 a “very ancient track” passing on to the estuary of the Afon Dwyryd in the vicinity of Aberhafren which is the crossing of Traeth Mawr towards Harlech, as mapped by Ogilby route 87 and 1795.

All this constitutes a straight line through very broken country, and it is interesting to note that a transmission line from Cwm Dyli power station follows the same course about 200m to the E, reinforcing the impression of a carefully surveyed route. It has clearly been abandoned for a very long time, having lost its original purpose and been superseded by the turnpike to Beddgelert, a village of C6th origin which it completely ignores. On several occasions Jenkins appears to refer to it as a “well known Roman bridlepath”

Addendum. I haven’t had an opportunity to follow up the following comments.

Jenkins 333-5 refers to an “ancient little building is Pen y Groes [SH59614620] – so called from the fact that the old road branched into two at this point” p334 “A few yards below Pen y Groes one may see traces of an old road, twisting round so as to cross the present road leading to Penrhyn Deudraeth. It skirted Bryn Gelli’r Ynn [SH59954599] … and at the farthest end of the hillock crossed a little bridge [SH60014584], which some think to be of Roman origin. By stooping to peep under the arch, it is easy to see that the little bridge did service for generations as a narrow bridge of a bridle path; and its width was, doubtless, doubled to cope with the increased business of the quay. [The same feature can be seen under Aberglasyn bridge] It spans what was once the bed of Cwmcaeth rivulet….A causeway once ran along the marshes as far as the bend of the river opposite Dinas Ddu [SH59454539]; then a winding path mounted the bend in Bryn y Gwynt, where it turned to the right. This path must have branched off in two directions near the lake of Hafod y Llyn, the one making for Hafod Garegog…and the other passing Hafod y Llyn [SH59794412] and Ferlas [SH59764360]. The former is called Llwybr Rhys Goch…It is excellently constructed, resembling even in details the recognized Roman roads. In order to guide the foot over the swamps, should it be dark, stones were set on edges on each side. The path led on by Ynysfor [SH60124257] and Careg Hylldrem [SH61244315], turning off at the latter place to the left, as the tide washed right up to the bridge… Many take this to be a genuine Roman road, made to join Aberglaslyn and a road in Lower Merioneth, somewhere near Penrhyn Deudraeth”. p336 “Hafod y Llyn Isaf is at the lower end of Bryn y Gwynt, and a path from there to Ferlas [SH59764360] is kept open by a beam over Nanmor river, where the ruins of an old stone bridge may be seen, stretched across the river bed”.