![\"Breakfast\"](\"https:\/\/www.alananna.co.uk\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/10\/Breakfast.jpeg\")
<\/a>We set off on the easy, flat ride back along the Mawddach Trail to Penmaenpool. Here we paid our 50p toll and click-clacked across the bridge, where a large tree trunk on the muddy shores looked like a walrus basking beside the estuary.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
<\/a><\/figure><\/div><\/a><\/figure><\/div><\/div><\/div><\/div><\/div>\n\n\n\nWe now started the very steep climb up alongside the Afon Cwm-Mynach. It was steep indeed and went on for ages. Eventually it levelled off somewhat and turned into a gravel fire road through the woodland around Llyn Cwm-Mynach. I don\u2019t think I\u2019d been here before.<\/p>\n\n\n
<\/a>It had stopped raining by the time we had crossed the river, so my waterproof shorts and jacket were now redundant as we made our way through the forest tracks towards Coed y Brenin.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Mike wanted to check out the waterfalls in Cwm Camlan, so we made a bit of a detour down a slippery, rocky descent that was fun. We thought we\u2019d gone the wrong way, so we returned to the start, decided it was the correct way after all, and did the descent again! We dismounted and clambered over slippery rocks to the falls for some photos.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
<\/a><\/figure><\/div><\/a><\/figure><\/a><\/figure><\/div><\/a><\/figure><\/div><\/div><\/div><\/div><\/div>\n\n\n\nWe then returned to our bikes, climbed a little to regain the trail and continued on our way. We soon came across familiar tracks and signs for various parts of the Tarw Trail. I\u2019ve raced around here several times and know it well, so rather than stick to the fire roads, we took in some sections of slippery singletrack that follow them as we dropped down to the tunnel under the main A470. These trails didn\u2019t look as though they are ridden as much as they used to be.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
We then made our way to what\u2019s left of the Coed y Brenin visitor centre. This used to be a bustling hub of activity, with a visitor centre, really nice caf\u00e9, car park, playgrounds, bike shop and trail centre. Nowadays much of this is closed. The toilets and showers are still open, as is the bike shop, but the caf\u00e9 and visitor centre are currently closed. Mike took his bike in to get a new Shimano XT rear derailleur fitted while we sat in the sun eating the lunch we\u2019d brought with us. Lunch in the caf\u00e9 would have been ideal if it were still open, but the chicken korma flatbreads were a pretty good alternative.<\/p>\n\n\n
<\/a>I\u2019d had enough of my waterproof overshorts, so off they came along with my jacket. The sun was now out, but no doubt this move would bring the rain back! <\/p>\n\n\n\n
The bike repair didn\u2019t take too long, so in less than an hour we were on our way again, first along some of the Coed y Brenin singletrack and then onto the road that climbs through the middle of the trail centre area. I soon decided that lycra cycling shorts without overshorts were much more comfortable \u2013 the roadies had it right all along. Mike seemed to think I was cycling in just my underwear!<\/p>\n\n\n\n
The tarmac soon gave way to gravel forest roads and then the rocky cobbles and step-ups of the Sarn Helen Roman Road, a feature that would become a constant companion along this trail. Again, I\u2019d raced my MTB along here before, so I was aware of the steep section ahead of us. I knew it would be unrideable for me, especially with a rack and bag on the back of my bike, so I didn\u2019t even attempt it. Mike, with the aid of his motor, managed most of it though.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
<\/a><\/figure><\/div><\/a><\/figure><\/div><\/a><\/figure><\/div><\/a><\/figure><\/div><\/div><\/div><\/div><\/div>\n\n\n\nWe then had a lovely section contouring along the hillside with panoramic views of the Rhinogydd to the west, parts of North Snowdonia ahead of us and Cadair Idris behind us. A few sharp showers rattled through, creating rainbows as they went. Mike stopped at one point and mentioned the fact that I had climbed all of the hills and summits we could see. I looked around and mentally checked them off \u2013 yep, he was right; I had indeed summited every high point we could see. Mike seemed quite impressed by this feat.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
After the climb out of Coed y Brenin, we soon found ourselves rewarded with a winding descent on a small tarmac road all the way back down to the A470, which we crossed. We were now only about a mile from our final destination of the day, but first we had a clockwise circuit of Llyn Trawsfynydd to complete.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Llyn Trawsfynydd is a large artificial reservoir covering 1,200 acres, built between 1924 and 1928 to supply water for the Maentwrog hydroelectric power station. It was subsequently enlarged in the early 1960s to provide cooling water for the Trawsfynydd nuclear power station and is now about five miles long. It is also larger than Wales\u2019s largest natural lake, Llyn Tegid.<\/p>\n\n\n\n