As noted in the comments below, there is an error in the ride distance / elevation stats in the book. The ride is actually closer to 44km with approx 800m of climbing. I would class it as ‘moderate to challenging’.
OS Map (zoom in for more detail):
Download file for GPSRoute directions PDF (right click to download)
GPX file (right click to download)
Ridden on 22nd April, 2016 – my second Welsh lost lane. I started the ride from the from the car-park tu-hwnt i Tu-hwnt I’r Bont (just beyond the café over the bridge). I registered 43.5km with 840m of climbing making the ride appreciably longer and hillier than suggested in the book.
I rode this on a beautiful Spring day which meant terrific views over the Snowdon range to the accompaniment of the constant bleating of new-born lambs. I also saw my first North-Walian red kite and had an eyeball to eyeball confrontation with a curlew standing at the side of the road.
“Gair i’r gall” – Make time to visit the historic, and recently restored, Gwydir Castle just outside Llanrwst. Better still, stay the night and try to spot the ghost.
Great ride, completed in clockwise direction.
I too clocked over 27 miles for the route & seemed to climb much more than 500m.
Perhaps the 1 in 21 should be a 7 & the 5 in 501 should be an 8?
FYI – this ride had 1200m elevation and 45km in total distance –
One of my favourite rides, I would recommend doing this ride with fresh legs…luckily mine were – would have struggled if I set out believing it was only 500m elevation and roughly 30km.
Post ride, go to Betws-y-Coed and grab a pizza at ‘Hangin’ Pizzeria’.
Enjoy
Hi Patrick, yes, there does appear to be an error in the stats in the book. My apologies. My estimate for the distance is 43.4 km and 763 m of ascent. Which roughly tallies with the comment by Y CHWILIWR above. I’m not sure how you could have logged 1200m of ascent. I’ll make a note of the error on the web page for future riders and alert the publisher to the error, so it can be corrected in future editions.
Ridden 19 June 2024 – One of three lost lanes rides my partner and I on our recent Snowdonia trip. We started in Betws-y-Coed and stocked up on delicious provisions from the bakery in the Spar. In hindsight starting in Llanrwst is probably better as you have a bit more of a warm up before the hills start. Lovely, quiet roads throughout with particularly stunning views after Pentrefoelas. We cut short, taking the direct route from Nebo to Llanrwst due to tired legs, but this was an excellent descent too.
My dad and I took on River Deep Mountain High yesterday in some glorious autumnal sunshine. The leaves were starting to turn ochre and oxblood, and when we first set off there was even still some spooky ground mist clinging to the fields. It was heaven! Despite a little hiccup involving dad forgetting the navigation device, we managed to do the whole route with just occasionally glancing at the gpx file and dad buying a map.
I’ve always got a soft spot for North Wales, but this might be my favourite route yet and I’m not sure why it took so long for us to try it. Yes it was hilly, but I found these hills very do-able and it comes with the added benefit of the views being spectacular at the top of every single one. Remember to stop and look behind you! It’s certainly not a route to be rushed.
You do end up quite high up and exposed for a section, so factor that in with the weather and your clothing choices – gloves are a must, especially for the wonderful, dreamy descents.
Big thanks to the previous commenter who mentioned turning off at Nebo, we didn’t do that in the end, but it was nice to have a get-out clause in mind for if tiredness set in. But luckily the clear mountain air kept us fresh fresh fresh!
Thanks as always Jack, we have the best days out with your routes and we always trust your planning!