Miners' Way trail at Dolaucothi

Wales

On this moderate trail you'll retrace the steps of gold miners through the ages, from the mine entrances used by the Romans to the remains of the processing mill used in the 1930s. See some great views and unusual plants along the way.

Near to

Dolaucothi

Start point

Dolaucothi Gold Mines Woodland car park, grid ref: SN662403

Trail information

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Difficulty*

Full trail

DistanceMiles: 1 (km: 1.6)

Duration1 hour

Dog friendly**

*Steepish climb and uneven paths throughout. For further details, see section marked Terrain.
**Dogs should be kept on leads. For further details, see Facilities section.

Total stages: 9
Total stages: 9
Start point
Dolaucothi Gold Mines Woodland car park, grid ref: SN662403
Stage 1
Walk out of the main entrance of the woodland car park and turn right onto the single-track road. At the crossroads, turn left, signposted Caio. Walk up the hill until you come to a set of steps leading downwards on your left and a five barred gate on your right.
Stage 2
Go through the five barred gate and follow the track through the woods. This will take you through some of the oldest mine workings at Dolaucothi, used by the Romans to extract gold.
Stage 3
Continue on the path to Upper Roman Adit (a square mine entrance, on your right). Continue beyond the mine entrance, up some steps, which take you over the top of the mine. Continue to follow the path, until you reach a small gate into a meadow.
Stage 4
Go through the gate and walk across the meadow.
Stage 5
When you reach a tarmacked lane cross into the field ahead. Here you will see the foundations of the 1930s processing mill. This is where the ore was taken to be processed to extract the gold.
Stage 6
At the bottom of the field, go through a small gate back onto the tarmacked lane. Follow the lane down to the cattle grid at the bottom. Go through the gate to the side of the cattle grid and walk down to the junction with a single-track road. Turn right at the junction.
Stage 7
Follow the road for a few metres and take the small wooden bridge over a ditch on your left. It leads you through the remains of the barracks, built to house the miners in the 1930s.
Stage 8
Follow the trail through the barracks until you reach the junction with a rocky path. Turn left onto the path, which is an old drovers’ road. Follow the path downwards, past a mine entrance on your right. Keep on the track until you reach the junction between the track and a single-track road.
Stage 9
Turn left onto the single-track road and continue until you are back at the Woodland Car Park (entrance will be on your right, just after the Caravan site entrance).
End point
Dolaucothi Gold Mines, grid ref: SN662403
Trail map
Miner's Way trail at Dolaucothi | © Crown Copyright and database right 2024 Ordnance Survey
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