Glyndwr's Way

Glyndŵr’s Way National Trail
Start: Town clock, Knighton
End: Montgomery Canal parking lot, Welshpool
Distance: 135 miles (217 km)
Time: 9 days
Difficulty: Strenuous
Surface: Open Fields, Private Farmland

WEBSITE: www.nationaltrail.co.uk/en_GB/trails/glyndwrs-way/

Glyndŵr’s Way National Trail – Overview

Named in honor of Owain Glyndŵr-a fourteenth-century folk hero, self-proclaimed prince, and son of a wealthy local landowner. Glyndŵr’s Way is a multi-purpose path in mid-Wales that begins at the base of the clock tower in the half-timbered town of Knighton on the River Teme, and winds its way through moorland, farmland, forests, and woodlands, ending in a public park by the Montgomery Canal in Welsh pool. The walk was granted National Trust status in 2000 to honor the 600-year-old Welsh Revolt (also called the Glyndŵr Rising) led by Glyndŵr against King Henry IV.

Along the way you’ll walk through some of the loveliest corners in Wales. After leaving Knighton you pass through Llangunllo, an unspoiled town on the edge of the Radnor Forest in the Lugg Valley, and a series of idyllic villages including Llanbadarn Fynydd (a “UK Village of the Year” recipient), Abbeycwmhir, in the midst of a labyrinth of hanging oak forests and a community of red kites, then through the Cambrian Mountains to Machynlleth, ancient capital of Wales and seat of the rebel Glyndwr’s parliament.

The village of Llanbrynmair is an historic departure point for the New World, where ninety-nine people once left in a day for a fresh start in the United States. Along Glyndwr’s Way, you skirt Lake Vyrnwy, with its ninety bird species, including the peregrine falcon, on the way through the moors, valleys, and waterfalls of the Cownwy Valley. On a clear day, from the walks highest point of 1,650 feet (510 ml at Foel Fadian you can see across the beautiful Dulas Valley back to the Irish Sea as you skirt the lower slopes of Mount Snowdon and make your way at last to the delights of Welshpool’s produce markets.