Our last outing while on holiday in Snowdonia, North Wales took us to the Watkin Path Snowdon for what was to be one of our two favourite locations.
We had looked this location up in books and online, and had no intention of going up to Snowdon (been there, done that).
The Watkin Path is “the most demanding route direct to the summit of Snowdon”, since it starts at the lowest elevation of any of the main routes and has the steepest overall gradient.
But we knew the walk up would have amazing views and I had spotted that the waterfalls looked very promising. The shot below was the first one I took from across a small bridge.
About the Watkin Path
It was first conceived by Sir Edward Watkin, a railway owner who had attempted to build a railway tunnel under the English Channel, and had a summer home in Nant Gwynant near the start of the path.
It was originally designed as a donkey track and opened in 1892.
The start of the Watkin Path has been described as “the prettiest beginning” of the routes up Snowdon. It begins at Bethania on the A498 and climbs initially through old broadleaved woodland.
After leaving the woods, the path climbs past the waterfalls of the Afon Llan to the glacial cirque of Cwm Llan, crossing a disused incline from an abandoned slate quarry.
It then reaches Plas Cwmllan, formerly the home of the quarry manager for the South Snowdon Slate Works beyond, and later used for target practice by commandos during the Second World War.
Near Plas Cwmllan is the large boulder known as Gladstone Rock, which bears a plaque commemorating a speech given in 1892 by William Ewart Gladstone, the then 82-year-old Prime Minister, on the subject of Justice for Wales.
The slate workings in Cwm Llan were opened in 1840, but closed in 1882 due to the expense of transporting the slate to the sea at Porthmadog. Various buildings, including barracks and dressing sheds, remain.
Our walk
The walk from the roadside parking takes you up a track beside a woodland and then up to the path. It’s not long before the waterfalls are visible in the distance and you can hear the water running.
As we reached the path down to the waterfalls, Kathryn decided she wanted to go further up to see the Gladstone Rock so we agreed we’d meet up later.
I made my way down the path to the waterfalls and started to set up, and got the shot below:
This was an amazing spot, and I moved further up to the waterfall at the top to grab a shot of this waterfall with some nice heather in the foreground.
All of these waterfalls were easily taken with a polariser and experimenting with shutter speeds to get the creamy water effect but with some texture to show movement.
As we’d arrived at this location a lot later in the day than we had hoped, the light was now starting to drop, so I packed up and decided to walk further up and find Kathryn.
Once back on the main path, I could see Kathryn in the distance waving me to join her but I knew the light was dropping fast now so did a couple of long range shots at the abandoned building with running water in front of it.
We then made our way back down the path chatting about what we’d both seen. We agreed this was definitely one of our favourite locations and one we should return to in future.
As I write this blog, a few weeks after our holiday, I’ve posted one of the waterfall shots to Instagram and found out that Pro photographer Nigel Danson has this very day posted one of his weekly videos up on location at this very place! Click here to see it.
What Nigel’s video teaches me (and I’ve heard him say it often but haven’t yet put it into practice) is to get down low, and with a wide angle lens use the foreground more to add drama to your shot.
Oh well, since we will return one day, I’ll make a point of doing that next time.
Onwards and upwards…