Round Rhinogiau – Cylchdaith Rhinogiau
This is a brilliant bikepacking round. It has everything: mountains, lakesides, ancient and new woodlands, and sea views. It feels remote, yet passes through good resupply points. It’s great for wild camping, campsite stays, or even more luxurious accommodation. It includes singletrack, doubletrack, pushing track, a major cycle path, and some very nice, quiet country lanes.
Start: Begin at the Lakeside Café near Trawsfynydd Power Station. There’s a car park a little way towards the power station where you can leave a vehicle. Since the route is circular, you can of course start wherever suits you best.
On a three-day trip, you might camp wild at Pont Scethin—there’s a good site just downstream of the bridge—and again somewhere in Cwm of the Afon Melau.
There are two tempting campsites: one at Cwm Nantcol and another at Cefn Maelan near Dolgellau. For a two-day option, I’d consider the bunkhouse near Barmouth and travel as light as possible. Off-season hotelling is also a good choice—cheaper than you might think—with Llanbedr and Dolgellau making ideal stopovers.
It’s slightly surreal how nice the route is at the start, as you cycle through lakeside native woodlands with a decommissioned nuclear power station on your right. This is followed by a very tidy dam controlling the flow to a hydroelectric station at Maentwrog. The track here is level and tempting enough to continue around the lake (my GPS track shows that I did!), but you should turn right not long after the hydro dam. A bumpy track runs along a conduit—likely to deter gravel bikers. After some pushing over rough ground and along a drainage ditch, you’ll reach Nant Pasgan-mawr, an attractive ruin. It’s a lovely area, though expect a bit of a bog and some pushing.
The uphill bridleway heading west is a definite push, but it’s a beautiful old track steeped in history. A roofless ruin on your left might make a good spot for a break. Continue uphill until you can turn right—it’s marked as a footpath, but it feels like an old, well-travelled route. This ancient way leads up to Bryn Cader Faner. The track is built-up and surfaced in places, and it steepens toward the end with some boggy crossings. This is real “wild” bikepacking! Look for a curious bit of wall on your right—ideal for leaning your bike while you visit the Bronze Age site.
Bryn Cader Faner is an exceptional archaeological site, considered one of the wonders of prehistoric Wales. It’s well worth dismounting to marvel at a structure built by our ancestors over 3,000 years ago.
From here, it’s a fantastic ride south on flowing tracks, mostly gently downhill and very enjoyable. There’s the occasional push, but nothing too challenging. Head to the south of Moel Geodog, eventually joining tarmac.
Now come some great lanes—fast enough to make up time, but don’t miss Coed Crafnant, which deserves appreciation. There’s a possible stopover at Campsite Dinas, then another at Cwm Nantcol.
Just when you’re tired of tarmac, a rough track heads southeast to Pont Scethin.
Pont Scethin is a real gem—an 18th-century packhorse bridge, once a main route to London from Harlech. Its converging walls guided livestock across its narrow span. The bridge is a beautiful stone structure adorned with polypody ferns and maidenhair spleenwort. It’s a place to linger, with a good wild camping spot just downstream. The bridge stands as a man-made jewel amidst a landscape scarred by overgrazing—featureless hills of rush, mat grass, and purple moor grass, with few birds beyond meadow pipits. To make matters worse, the track is badly damaged by off-road vehicles. The ruts make cycling impossible in parts. Surely this can’t be sustainable—or appropriate?
Next comes a big push—up to 560m above sea level. You might wish you were riding down instead, but the reward is worth it. The descent via Braich is sensational. On a clear day, the views are spectacular. After a few rough ruts, the riding becomes fast and flowing. Even the slower sections are historic and satisfying, as you eventually roll down to Barmouth at sea level.
Now for the easy bit.
Barmouth Bridge is a highlight in itself. Opened in 1867, it’s the longest and oldest wooden viaduct in use in Britain—and it has a cycle path. This leads onto the iconic Mawddach Trail—a route some mountain bikers scoff at, but in a loop like this, it’s perfect. Nine miles of flat, off-road riding give you time to look around. The estuary is rich in birdlife and native woodlands. While the history of the old railway line is well recorded, the conversion into a trail isn’t. Likely one of the earliest rail-to-trail efforts—kudos to Snowdonia National Park. Before you know it, you’re in Dolgellau.
I’ve arrived in Dolgellau by bike before and found it tricky. The cafés are small, the pavements narrow, and there’s nowhere to safely leave a bike. After circling past impatient locals, I’ve tried two cafés—neither worth a revisit. I ended up eating Co-op snacks under the trolley bay in the rain.
Quiet lanes now lead uphill to the hamlet of Llanfachreth, and from here the quality steps up. Quiet bridleways cross the hillsides through beautiful woodland with wonderful views. No need to rush. You’ll eventually descend past the delightfully named Ystum-gwadnaeth (with its tennis court!), nervously hoping you’re not losing too much height.
But don’t worry—your left turn is obvious. A steady, enjoyable climb leads up to old mines below Moel Cors-y-Garnedd. Through the scrappy woods of Ffridd y Castell, you’ll suddenly notice your track contouring dramatically around the hillside, to the forested bwlch between Rhobell Fawr and Dduallt. This is truly superb riding.
A final climb up a forestry road brings you to the summit and a standing stone. Then it’s downhill again—great mountain biking through woods and onto a hydro track, dropping into the upper Afon Mawddach valley. It’s a great place just to be.
Tarmac gives way to forestry trails—ignore most of the bridleway signs. A beautiful riverside trail eventually leads you to the Coed y Brenin Gold Mines. It might feel surreal to suddenly join the Coed y Brenin MTB Trails—after so much quiet and remoteness, it’s a shock to see families zipping past on the Minotaur Trail, conquering what to a six-year-old must feel like Alpine passes.
Cross a bridge and turn left, then cross another and double back at Ferndale, heading up to NCN 82. It’s a long climb, but your last. From here, it’s minor roads all the way back to where you started.
The way is clear, simple—and downhill—back to the Lakeside Café. The smart will time their arrival for breakfast.
This truly is a “best of everything” round—varied, ever-changing, and memorable. The slow bits deserve your full attention, and the fast ones will still make you pause to admire your surroundings. I’m looking forward to a return trip in better weather.
Mike Raine - Bikepacking 
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