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Aran Fawddwy Walk – routes, parking and all you need to know

Aran Fawddwy stands proudly at 905 metres (2,970 feet) it is the 16th highest in Eryri (Snowdonia), just 30ft short of being one of the big 3000 footers. It is part of the Aran Ridge with its slightly smaller sister peak Aran Benllyn.

Yet, despite its stature, it often remains an unsung hero when compared to its more famous northern counterparts. You can see my full checklist of peaks in Eryri/Snowdonia.

If you want to skip all the information and go straight to the Aran Fawddwy Route – Click HERE

How is Aran Fawddwy Pronounced?

ARR-an VOWTH-wee

I have recently had the privilege of exploring its rugged terrain and I’ve absolutely fallen in love with the solitude and the epic views. I’ll take you through my route up Aran Fawddwy from Llanuwchllyn, where I parked and how I found the Aran Ridge walk in this post, plus plenty of pictures to get your feet itching!

Where is Aran Fawddwy?

Aran Fawddwy is a mountain in the southern part of Eryri / Snowdonia National Park, located in Gwynedd, Wales. It is just south of Bala and north of Dolgellau. there are plenty of nice areas to stay on that coast if you’re planning on doing a few others in this area of Eryri, Cader Idris is perhaps the most famous in southern Snowdonia.

Llanuwchllyn village acts as a gateway to the stunning landscape of the Aran Mountains and is an excellent starting point for various walks including walking up Aran Fawddwy.

Which map to use for walking up Aran Fawddwy

Where to park to go up the Aran Ridge to Aran Fawddwy and Aran Benllyn

It’s easy to find! Park in Llanuwchllyn. Drive through the village (coming from Bala direction) and the car park is just before a left bend over a bridge – I would say you can’t miss it! There’s room for around 12 cars.

How long does it take to climb Aran Fawddwy?

It depends on the route you take (there are many, and some of the 100+ on my OS Maps are a bit sketchy looking!)

In this post I’m sharing the route up the ridge walk and back (it’s not a circular route) from Llanuwchllyn which will take you around 5 hours minimum unless you’re a bit of a fell runner who doesn’t stop for pics and snacks. It’s much more about the views for me than personal bests, I always make time to stop and actually enjoy it, unless the rain starts closing in… short answer – I’d leave yourself 7 hrs to really enjoy the walk and take time for stops.

The Route: Aran Fawddwy Walk from Llanuwchllyn

Before you start it’s a good idea to double check the weather. I usually start checking from 3 days before the walk up until the morning of the walk. I use http://www.mountain-forecast.com which has been fairly accurate for me to date. Click for the latest Aran Fawddwy Weather Forecast

When starting from the carpark just make sure you are the correct side of the river – go through a gate onto a track to start the ascent. It’s signposted which will give you some confidence as you progress up! Walk along the track until you see the path start to the right and start up the hill.

It is a fairly well marked route. From Llanuwchllyn there are sign posts up to the Aran Ridge, unless the weather is absolutely vile with zero visibility it will be hard to go wrong. The path is clear from start to finish.

Boggy Areas

As well as a few pools of water (great for dogs!) there are some boggy areas to walk though so wear some waterproof boots or trainers. I didn’t as I expected it to be dry as it’s a ridge walk and my feet got wet before we reached Aran Benllyn.

Aran Benllyn

As you progress up the ridge there are steep drops to the left side so make sure you are a good navigator if walking up in challenging weather conditions, stick to the right of the fence as you ascend if in doubt. There are a few styles to cross the fence on the way so you can take a good look at the views.

The path keeps climbing with a slight drop down before you start the final ascent of Aran Fawddwy. It’s not a scramble but compared to the previous terrain it’s a little more rocky.

There’s a nice Trig Point at the top and the views are absolutely spectacular. I saw two other people the entire walk, if you like the feeling of being remote then its the perfect walk.

The weather was looking ominous in the background and looked like it would be coming in very quickly. With the Aran Fawddwy Weather Forecast showing there would be thunder and lightening on the way in just a few hours I decided to abandon the circular route and head back the same way.

I’d recently read some scary posts about being struck by lightening on the Aran Ridge like this rather fun one The Aran Mountains – A shocking Experience, or more seriously there’s a memorial for a mountain rescue chap that got killed by a lightening strike up there too.

The rain caught up with me and Ziggy so had the lovely smell of wet dog on the way home but as I was driving through fork lightening was very pleased we made it down quickly, took around 2hrs down from the top going at a fair pace.

I’m not a professional mountain guide, just a passionate walker who enjoys sharing my experiences through blogging. So, why don’t you check out some other write-ups I have shared below about this Aran Ridge walk and the surrounding area? It’s a perfect option if you’re looking to escape the crowds while still enjoying the breath-taking views.

More reading: Aran Fawddwy Best Routes

Walking the Aran Ridge, another Snowdonia secret – https://www.markhorrell.com/blog/2015/walking-the-aran-ridge-another-snowdonia-secret/

Aran Fawddwy northern approach Snowdonia/Eryri Walk – https://www.walkingbritain.co.uk/walk-2937-description

This links to over 400 reviews of walking up Aran Fawddwy – https://www.walkhighlands.co.uk/hewitts/aran-fawddwy