Читать книгу Hillwalking in Wales - Vol 2 онлайн

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By comparison with this, the harnessing of Llyn Marchlyn Mawr for power generation is a masterpiece of sensitivity. While no one can pretend that the shoreline is the delectable spot it once was, a good job has been done of naturalising it as far as possible and the lake is still a lovely site when viewed on a sunny day from the edge almost 1000ft above.

Note Water falling from Llyn Marchlyn Mawr down to Llyn Peris in the valley below generates electricity; at off-peak times water is pumped back up to the higher lake which therefore acts as a power ‘store’. In the course of this process Llyn Marchlyn Mawr’s water level varies by up to 100ft.

Cwm Dudodyn route (GL25)

Leave the A4086 by a chapel just W of the Vaynol Arms and go down a lane, bearing first R then L, to a small white cottage at 606589. Pass through a gate L as directed by a footpath sign, but instead of carrying on to Fron break away R almost immediately uphill, past a barn, to a stile at the top of the field. Over the stile a path zigzags between banks of bracken and foxgloves whose quiet charm not even the massive spoil heaps can quite quell. Cross the Afon Dudodyn at a bridge with a single handrail.