At a glance
Llyn Bodlyn is a remote reservoir deep in the southern Rhinog mountains above Barmouth — approached by a full day's walk across the roughest terrain in this part of Wales, with Cardigan Bay and Cadair Idris visible from its shore. For experienced mountain walkers only; the effort required is the point. One of the least-visited lakes in Snowdonia.
About Llyn Bodlyn
The Rhinogau are the awkward mountains of southern Snowdonia — not the highest, not the most dramatic, not easily accessible by any route, and consequently among the least-visited significant upland areas in Wales. Their Pre-Cambrian gritstone bedrock produces terrain of a particular character: heather at ankle height or knee height or chest height depending on the section, interspersed with boulder fields of the kind that require every step to be planned. There are no maintained paths in the Rhinog interior worth speaking of. What there is instead is a landscape that has been substantially left alone, and which reflects that fact in every direction.
Llyn Bodlyn occupies a shallow basin within this terrain, enclosed by the ridge that carries the Rhinog summits to the north and falling away south towards the Mawddach Estuary and Cardigan Bay. The reservoir was constructed to supply Barmouth, whose water needs have been met from this remote source for generations. The dam is modest and unobtrusive; the lake beyond it has the quality of upland water in an upland setting — cold, dark, clear, attended by the sounds of wind and occasional birds and very little else.
The approach from Pont Scethin — the old ford crossing on the ancient drove road that once moved cattle from north Wales to English markets — traverses the kind of ground that rewards careful map reading and comfortable footwear above all else. The Ardudwy landscape through which the approach passes has its own deep history: the standing stones and burial chambers of this western coastal strip predate the Romans, and the drove roads that subsequently criss-crossed it connected communities for centuries. Llyn Bodlyn sits at the far end of a walk that crosses all of this, and that crossing is as much the point of the visit as the lake itself.
Find it on the map
Frequently asked questions
Llyn Bodlyn is a reservoir in the southern Rhinog mountains of Gwynedd, above the coastal town of Barmouth and the Mawddach Estuary. It lies at around 300 metres in a remote section of the Rhinogau — a range characterised by exceptionally rough terrain, heather moorland, and boulder fields that make the Rhinogs arguably the most challenging walking country in Wales outside Snowdonia proper.
Several approach routes are possible to Llyn Bodlyn, all involving long walks on rough terrain. The most common is from Pont Scethin on the Ardudwy track, heading north-east into the Rhinog interior. The route involves crossing heather, bog, and rocky ground without maintained paths. Allow a full day for the round trip and have navigation skills, appropriate footwear, and weather-appropriate clothing. This is not a lake for the unprepared.
The Rhinog mountains are among the roughest and least-visited mountain areas in Wales. Unlike Snowdonia's main ranges, the Rhinogs have no paths maintained to a standard suitable for casual walkers — the terrain is heather, bog, and boulder from base to summit. The rock is ancient Pre-Cambrian gritstone, and the landscape has the quality of having resisted interference: few trees, no tracks, no facilities. The reward for those who enter it is a degree of wildness that most of Wales's national parks cannot provide.
The Rhinog moorland around Llyn Bodlyn supports typical upland birds: red grouse, meadow pipit, skylarks on the moorland edges. Ravens are frequent. Peregrine falcons nest in the area. In winter, the reservoir can attract wildfowl. The remoteness of the location means the birdwatching is undisturbed, and the absence of other visitors gives species the kind of space they find in increasingly few places in Wales.
The view from the reservoir is extensive on clear days. Cardigan Bay lies to the south-west, its curve visible from Barmouth to the distant headland of Braich y Pwll on the Llŷn Peninsula. Cadair Idris rises to the south. The Rhinog summits of Rhinog Fach and Rhinog Fawr are close to the north. It is the kind of panorama that becomes available only after the walk that earning it requires.
Wild swimming in Llyn Bodlyn is possible but should only be considered by experienced open-water swimmers who are comfortable in cold, remote mountain water with no assistance available. The water is cold and clear. The remote location means that any difficulty in the water would have serious consequences. Those who do swim here typically treat the approach walk as an integral part of the experience.