After visiting a friend in Manchester in between Christmas and New Year, I decided that a 96 mile detour via Snowdonia was in order on the way home. Any excuse to go back! My destination this time would hopefully be the end of a winding and steep looking road, which appeared to head deep into the Welsh wilderness. From here I hoped to then spend a night at Dulyn Bothy, a place I’d wanted to visit for months. It ended up being a cracking little trip that was worth every extra mile.
Gradients, Potholes and Gates
The narrow road I needed to take looked fun on the OS map and it certainly didn’t disappoint in person. The steepest sections are found near the start and easily hit 25% on the hairpins. Water was flowing down its slope after all of the recent rain and there was no way of knowing what was coming around the next bend. Lots of horn sounding and just taking deep breaths were in order.
From here the road flattens and you leave civilisation behind, as the mighty Carneddau range come into view. It’s an impressive sight only slightly spoiled by the two gates you need to stop and open along the way. Not particularly fun if the wind is howling and the rain is pouring, as it was for me. I guess those sheep need to be kept in some sort of order though! You can’t miss the car park as it’s literally at the end of the road.
The Route In
A clear track leads most of the way to the bothy and it is easy to follow. Despite enough experience to know better, the journey was still longer and harder than I anticipated though with plenty of climbing to get the legs and lungs working properly.
What I loved most about the walk were the fine views I got to enjoy at every turn of the track. You get a real sense of space in this part of Snowdonia. Wild horses grazing the land make it all the more amazing. It is certainly a watery world up here too with streams, rivers and lakes found along the way. On several occasions even the path itself turned into a stream. Waterproof boots were much needed.
The bothy itself is located in a wide open valley with Dulyn Reservoir at its far end. There appear to be two routes in, but I had read that the quicker one could become very boggy in winter. It appeared I had made the right choice when I met three hikers coming the other way. They informed me that this route was about thirty minutes longer but well worth it as one of them had ended up knee deep in mud on the other side of the river. She didn’t look particularly happy about it as you might expect.
Around halfway along the valley, the bothy comes into view in the distance. It looked tiny and the scale of the valley and mountains behind make it obvious just how wild and remote the building is. I reckon that’s how it should be when searching for these hidden gems.
Eventually after what seems like an endless track, you reach Melynllyn Reservoir and are then faced with a steep drop down towards Dulyn Reservoir. The views were again spectacular but the smooth wet rock proved lethal in places as I slipped on more than one occasion. Luckily, I stayed upright and didn’t embarrass myself in front of the spectating sheep.
Settling In At Dulyn
After nearly one and a half hours of blustery trekking, I arrived at Dulyn Bothy. It looked rather inviting from the outside, but my mind started to wonder who might already be at home. There was no smoke coming from the chimney and it appeared dark inside, as the light was already fading in the winter sky. Things were looking promising and I thought I might well have it to myself.
I tried to wrestle with the outside door for a few moments because it was very hard to open. Just then I heard some footsteps and then the door opened to reveal the man who had already settled in. After a shake of hands and a drop of my heavy pack, we got the fire going and started to chat.
I soon learned that my companion for the evening was called Mike and he was Polish. He told me that he’d lived in England for sixteen years with fifteen of them being in Liverpool. This meant he had one of the most interesting accents known to man. You could still very much tell he wasn’t English, but his scouse accent was unmistakable too. A great combination if you ask me!
He was a really friendly guy and we spent the next hour or so chopping wood for the fire and swapping stories about all the places we had visited. It seemed Mike was quite the adventurer with tales of seeing wild bears back in Poland and building snow shelters to sleep in during proper winter spells of weather.
Interestingly, he also had a family and told me how he’d just come up here for the night to have sometime to himself. It appears having three girls at home is pretty tiring work as I can well imagine.
Another Visitor Joins The Party
By 7.30pm, myself and Mike had filled our tummies and the alcohol was now flowing. The main room was also warming up nicely thanks to one of the best stoves I’ve come across.
I went outside to relieve myself of some of the beer I had just consumed and noticed a light making its way down the steep section I had tackled and nearly failed on earlier. My mood dropped a bit as I was enjoying it just being Mike and myself. I called him outside and we watched the light slowly get closer and closer to us. It appeared somebody else would be joining us for a night at Dulyn Bothy
Soon enough we met the light’s owner, a guy called Ed. He was thankfully quite normal looking and was in fact an Oxford University Student, who happened to come from Colwyn Bay just up the road. Two became three and we chatted about everything from the meaning of life ( he was a politics and philosophy student ) to the mind of a woman. Varied conversation to say the least.
A broken Night’s Sleep
It had been a windy walk in earlier in the day, but I had been aware that the forecast was for conditions to go rapidly downhill later in the evening. None of us could believe how strong the winds blew during the night. As we spread ourselves out on the bunks available for a night at Dulyn Bothy, it was great fun listening to the gusts howl around the building. I found myself drifting off only to be woken again by wind, which rattled the windows and challenged the roof. Thankfully Dulyn’s walls protected us and remained in one piece.
In addition to the wind, Mike appeared to be one of the worst snorers I’d ever shared a room with. It sounded painful, but he slept well until I heard him swear in the early hours. His mat had completely deflated. I thought he was a great chap but couldn’t help but think that a little dose of karma had been served up after he’d made me reach for my ear plugs earlier.
A Wild Journey Back
I was the first up and got the fire going as soon as I could before enjoying some porridge and coffee to wake me up. Conditions outside were grim to say the least with the wind still blowing strong and rain coming in sideways. I was certainly in no hurry to venture out in it.
Soon enough, Mike made his way to the fire place via the window. I asked him if knew what the weather was likely to do for the remainder of the day to which he just replied, ” F*cking Hell!” Yes I reckoned that summed things up pretty well.
Ed was partaking in some sort of sleep marathon as he didn’t materialize until nearly ten. We gave the bothy a bit of a sweep and clean before I pulled on all of my waterproof layers and signed the famous bothy book. It was clear from all the entries just how popular this bothy is and so I considered myself lucky that I had shared with only two others. I read several entries where there were twelve or more! Soon I said my goodbyes to Ed and Mike before bracing myself and taking on the Snowdonian weather.
Thankfully the wind was behind me most of the way. My days as a keen cyclist reminded me why tail winds were so great. This time it just meant that my face wasn’t likely to be stung by rain drops like it had been on a recent summer trip to Southern Snowdonia.
To Wrap Things Up…..
I loved my trip and night at Dulyn Bothy. It was great to enjoy the wild beauty of Snowdonia again and enjoy the absolute delight that is a bothy fire. The company I got to experience just made it all the more enjoyable. If you’re somebody who is worried about turning up solo and not getting on with others then don’t. My experience so far has been that virtually all visitors are like minded people, who are always open to having a good chat and a bit of a laugh. I can’t wait to go back and hopefully visit some new bothies soon. Watch this space…..