Exploring North Wales in March 2025 — Hiking to Y Garn (03/05)

We kicked off our third day in North Wales with breakfast at the B&B again. Lovely as always! Outside, the sky was completely clear, with just a few clouds drifting past. For March, the weather couldn’t have been better and we couldn't believe our luck. Cool, bright, and dry. Ideal hiking conditions.

We packed our cameras, food and other bits and pieces and set out towards the Llyn Ogwen National Trust car park, where our route up Y Garn would begin.

It took a bit of time to sort parking — the main car park was already full by 9:30, which was a bit surprising for us since it was much quiter the last few times we visited this place in March. After a couple of laps and a bit of patience, we managed to find a spot on a nearby car park along the A5.

If you are interested in the hiking route we took, check it out on AllTrails.

The hike begins just across Llyn Ogwen at the Cwm Idwal Visitor Centre, and we crossed a little stream before joining the beautiful path toward Llyn Idwal. This part of the trail is super relaxed — a scenic walk along the lake’s edge.

Once we reached the south end of the lake, the path started climbing more seriously. The trail leads up toward Twll Du, also known as Devil’s Kitchen — a dramatic split in the cliffs between Glyder Fawr and Y Garn. The climb here is steeper and more rugged, with loose rock and some light scrambling. Nothing extreme, but definitely a change of pace from the path around the lake.

The section just below Llyn y Cwn, a small mountain lake, is probably the trickiest part of the route. It’s steep and can be slippery if it’s wet, but on this day the conditions were perfect. We took our time, made a short stop near the lake, and carried on up the final stretch to Y Garn.

The summit push is steady, and the views just keep improving as you gain height. From the top, you can see across the Ogwen Valley, back toward Tryfan and the Glyderau range, and down to where we started near Llyn Idwal.

We didn’t hang around too long at the top — the wind was picking up — but the descent was straightforward, with a few more rocky sections before the path started to level out. The lower part of the loop brings you back around in the direction of the lake, with one last good look across Llyn Idwal before reaching the starting point of the hike again.

Looking back, this hike was a real highlight of the trip. Great variety in the terrain, brilliant weather, and plenty of moments to stop and shoot.

Next up, we’ve got a few more days of hiking and exploring ahead, with more photos to come. I’ll be sharing the next part of the trip soon.

Cheers,
Jan - @jan.onfilm