Rhialgwm

About Rhialgwm

Rhialgwm is a delightfully desolate lump of Berwyn moorland overlooking the Vyrnwy valley. It offers the kind of silence usually reserved for libraries, punctuated only by the sound of your own boots sinking into the peat. A true connoisseur’s choice for the socially averse hiker.

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Did You Know?

• •The fell overlooks the Hirnant Pass, a wild mountain road that was once a vital link for drovers moving livestock across North Wales. It remains one of the most remote-feeling spots in the Berwyn range.
• •Standing at 540.5 meters, Rhialgwm is classified as a Dewey, a category for British hills between 500 and 610 meters. Its geology is dominated by Ordovician rocks, often hidden under thick layers of stubborn heather.
• •The nearby Lake Vyrnwy was the site of the first large masonry dam in the UK, built in the 1880s to provide water to Liverpool. Rhialgwm serves as a high-altitude spectator to the valley where the original village of Llanwddyn was submerged.
• •This area is a major stronghold for the red grouse, a bird that specializes in hiding until you are exactly one foot away. Their sudden, noisy departures are perfectly timed to ensure you drop your map or your sandwich in surprise.
• •Navigation here is less of a science and more of an interpretive dance through the peat hags. If you manage to finish the hike with dry socks, you have either performed a miracle or accidentally stayed in the car the whole time.