Located in the heart of North Wales, sandwiched between the towns of Denbigh and Ruthin to the east, and the vast Snowdonia National Park to the west, Alwen Reservoir is a truly beautiful hiking destination. What’s more, its well managed and maintained trails are perfect for getting your kids in on the action.
Formed in the Hiraethog (translated to ‘The Hills of Longing’), one of north Wales’s less famous and therefore quieter ranges, the reservoir is 3.1 miles/5km in length and is situated beside the slightly larger, but slightly less picturesque, Llyn Brenig. The circular and waymarked Alwen Trail, that takes you around the Alwen reservoir, covers a distance of 7 miles/11.3km and offers a lovely mix of lakeside trails, forest tracks and moorland paths to keep you and your family more than interested en-route. As well as its overall distance the undulating trail offers an elevated gain of 700m/2297ft, so can therefore be classed in the easy to moderate category of difficulty.
Due to its length and undulation, ensure that you have a carrier if you are attempting this with younger children, or plan a few rest stops (of which there are some truly beautiful ones) if hiking with older kids. Trail shoes or lightweight boots are the order of the day in terms of footwear as you’ll encounter a few sections of large loose stones on this particular ramble. If walking with a carrier my personal preference would be to opt for lightweight boots, which offer you a little bit of additional support and protection. You’ll also struggle to find any sort of phone signal anywhere here so a whistle is a must if you’re the lone adult.
As the trail is multi-purpose, and can be used by hikers, mountain bikers and horse riders, hikers are encouraged to walk in a clockwise direction around the lake, crossing over the bridge adjacent to the free car park. Riders, therefore, are asked to go anti-clockwise in the opposite direction. This arrangement works well as, although the paths are pretty quiet, they are narrow in places, so being able to spot other trail users coming towards you is a good safety measure, particularly if you have critters with you.
In terms of planning rest stops I have two personal favourites. My first, at the 3 mile mark, after you have climbed up through the forest, you reach your first section of open Hiraethog moorland, at the top of which is a wonderful vista over Alwen and Llyn Brenig beneath you. As it’s pretty exposed moorland, this one is definitely a fair weather stop. However, on a nice day it makes for a perfect brew stop and photo opportunity (see feature photo). My other favoured rest stop is at 4.5 miles when you have dropped back down from the moors and walk parallel to the lake for a fair distance. At several spots along this area, it is possible to drop down off the trail and get yourself lakeside for a picnic or a competitive game of skimming stones.
In order to further immerse your kids in their surroundings, illustrated signs have been placed at several spots around the Alwen reservoir and trail. These provide you with information about local wildlife and folk tales, including the story of the ‘Freckled Fairy Cow’ and her endless supply of milk! It is, therefore, well worth taking a nature card with you to enable your kids to chart what they see and when. As well as red squirrels and large heath butterflies, you may also see otters, rare black grouse and over 40 species of other birds, including several birds of prey.
All in all, the Alwen reservoir and trail is a great half- day hike for families with kids looking for manageable trails and stunning scenery. The fact that there is no visitor centre or cafe I take as a bonus as it ensures that the site remains relatively quiet. However, anyone desperate for buttery flapjacks at the end of their hike only needs to head about a mile down the road to the Llyn Brenig visitor centre. Add to this the free car parking and you really have got the perfect recipe for a day playing outdoors.
To see and download the trail route on the Ordnance Survey website or OS Maps app click here.
Address:
Alwen
Cerrigydrudion
Conwy
LL21 9TT
Wow what a day out. Again your photos really sell it they look stunning. This is why I love blogging My partner and 1 would love to do something like that but would have always thought it not possible with a 1 and 2 year old yet reading this you have showed me that clearly is! Thank you so much for sharing, I look forward to seeing your next adventure! Thanks for linking up with #familyfun. Hope you can come back next week xx
Ah thanks so much. That’s it isn’t it…I love getting ideas and inspiration from other bloggers. Thanks for hosting.
just beautiful … we have so much to offer in the UK and I think sometimes we are guilty of not appreciating what we have here. I’d love to take my children hiking here – mine are older but would be wonderful for them to have such space and a break from the wifi! Thank you for sharing #FamilyFun
Yeah I’m sure they’d love it. There’s another lake called Llyn Brenig literally less than 5 minutes drive from this one too so loads to do.
wonderful – thank you for the tip – will look into it x
I love the scenery and everything that UK has on offer. Seeing you geared up with 2 children just reassures me that we can still get out on family walks when and if we have a 2nd. It’s often a topic of conversation when we are out on foot. We’re heading into the Lake District the weekend for a few nights and can’t wait to go exploring. Thanks for linking up to #FamilyFun
Ah thanks and yes it’s definitely still possible with two haha. Thanks for hosting.
We do the Alwen on the bikes quite often – it’s a great spot, isn’t it? Although there was that one year that my husband decided to be more adventurous…turns out his adventurous side is getting us lost! ha!
Haha getting lost is all part of the adventure. Thanks for reading.
We had a great visit to North Wales at the beginning of the summer and loved it. We did some hiking with my son and his girlfriend (both aged 20 but a whistle might have been handy even for them!) This sounds a gorgeous walk. We were so taken with Wales that we will definitely return so I’ll try and remember this spot.
Mmmmmm buttery flapjacks…
#mondayescapes
Yeah we consider ourselves very lucky to live here. I’m glad you had a lovely visit in the summer and thanks for reading.
It looks absolutely stunning and I’d love to go with our two boys. Luckily only one needs to be carried (most of the time) and it looks like there’s plenty of beautiful pit stops you could sit and have a rest. The visitors centre gives me a bit of a safe feeling but I like your whistle idea!
I can’t wait until we only have to carry one haha. Thanks for reading.
Looks like an absolutely stunning day out #mondayescapes
Thank you and thanks for hosting.
Your photos are stunning! It looks like an absolutely beautiful place to visit.
Thank you 😄
What an absolutely stunning hike! I love the look of your two recommended rest stops. My boys would love paddling and skimming stones there. Thanks for linking up to #MondayEscapes
Such gorgeous photos and another great walk. We’re keen to explore ore of Wales after our brief trip earlier this year so your posts are providing a lot of inspiration! #MondayEscapes
Ah thank you. Yes definitely give Wales another visit (particularly the north haha), it’s got some great areas.