A waterfall walk through an ancient oak Celtic rainforest followed by a carvery in a cosy pub with a play area is an absolute dream day for me.

This is Ceunant Llennyrch National Nature Reserve in Blaenau Ffestiniog. A huge ancient woodland and one of only a handful of oak woodlands left in North Wales making it the home to some super rare mosses. I'm a big fan of ancient trees so walking through this woodland felt magical and we chatted a lot about all the different oaks we spotted and how old they might be and what they might had seen - it definitely made it more interesting for the kids

The walk is a short 3km out and back (because the bridge on the main trail is closed but once fixed it could be a shorter circular) along nicely maintained trails that were nice and easy for the kids.
You slowly descend down the valley through the woodlands until you find the waterfall. We had a picnic lunch and a long play at the waterfall, before walking back up the valley to the car - be prepared for a bit of a climb back up, it's not too long but the kids did need a bit of encouragement (bribery) at points!

And the pub at the end definitely made it worth it for them and us! The Oakeley Arms is about 5 minutes drive from this walk, and with the best carvery in North Wales for the adults and a play area for the kids you can finish the day
off perfectly.

👣 Walk info... 👣
LENGTH: 2.8km
TIME IT TOOK US TO COMPLETE: 1-2 hours with lots of stops to play and explore
PARKING: An honesty box car park at location - what3words ///lifted.science.collected

The carpark is van friendly but the road up to it is a steep single track country road
TOILETS: There are no toilets here
FOOD & DRINK: You can drive 5 mins from the parking spot to The Oakeley Arms (see listing for more info) which has a great carvery on a Sunday and a big outdoor play area for the kids.

OS ROUTE MAP:

Closed bridge route -

https://explore.osmaps.com/route/24280180/ceunant-llennyrch-and-rhaeadr-ddu?lat=52.931753&lon=-3.987085&zoom=16.867&style=Standard&type=2d&params=24280180&params=ceunant-llennyrch-and-rhaeadr-ddu

Regular Route -

https://explore.osmaps.com/route/24955997/ceunant-llennyrch-and-rhaeadr-ddu-?lat=52.931599&lon=-3.988238&zoom=16&style=Leisure&type=2d&params=24955997&params=ceunant-llennyrch-and-rhaeadr-ddu-