Source of the River Severn - Mid Wales

About trip

• There and Back Walk: 7.55 miles
• what3words address for parking: 
• ///print.homeward.newer

The what3words address takes you to the car park in the Hafren (Severn) Forest where there are also toilets.

This is well-trodden path and well signposted: follow the white boot print posts. It’s popular for a reason: it’s a great walk with some fabulous scenery. Despite its popularity we encountered only 4 other walkers along the entire route.

The first part of the walk is along a wheelchair accessible boardwalk beside the river before it starts gently climbing just beyond the intersection with the Wye Valley Path. The path takes you first to Rhaeadr Blaenhafren (the Blaenhafren waterfall) before the path starts to climb more progressively. The sign at the falls indicates that the path beyond here is ‘strenuous’ and, while it’s definitely more arduous than the first section, it’s really not so difficult; don’t be put off.

From here the landscape feels a lot more remote, especially when you reach the peat moors close to the source of the river (conveniently marked by a wooden post). If you follow the track for a few hundred yards after the source and over a stile you quickly reach the top of the hill with fabulous views. A good place to eat your sandwiches; if a little breezy.

Retrace your steps (there’s no alternative). When we reached the falls we’d intended to follow a more circuitous route back to the car park, but the options seemed to be wide forest tracks built for the heavy machinery and so we decided to retrace our route entirely. That was a good decision in our view. Only when you reach the boardwalk was it necessary to deviate due to the Covid19 one way designation that was in force at the time.