Pistyll Rhaeadr is another big hitter in my book. If you know anything about me you’ll know I have an obsession with waterfalls and this is a big’n! Falling 73m, this is considered to be one of the Seven Wonders of Wales, a fact I wholeheartly agree with. Although you’ll often hear it’s the tallest waterfall in Wales it’s actually the 3rd highest!

Nestled in Wale’s Berwyn Mountains, 16 miles West of Oswestry, it’ll feel really remote driving in and you might not enjoy the single track road which requires lots of patience during busy times! At least the beautiful scenery makes up for it!

Regarding parking, lots of the reviews I’d read had been rather negative but I’m happy to report we had no issues. I think as long as you pay at the machine and put your reg plate in correctly then you should be fine (set fee of £5 regardless of duration) . Alternatively there is a bumpy layby about 100m from the waterfall entrance where you could park for free, although it does say on the website that you’ll incurr a charge for parking there. Loads were parked up on the day we visited so it depends if you want to take the risk or not.

Unlike other waterfalls, this is super accessible as the base of the waterfall is just metres from the car park, so if you are unable to do the walk to the top then you could just park up and take a look. There’s a small metal bridge which spans the river at the base of the falls which serves as the perfect viewing point/photo opportunity!

To start the walk to the top of the falls, walk to the gate entrance of the car park and take a path on your left hand side, follow this through the woods (you can also access this path from turning right on the metal bridge at the base of the falls as you’re looking at them). A few metres past the below gate, you’ll leave the woods and enter into the open valley.

There are 2 choices to go to the top, a steeper but shorter climb, or a longer but less steep climb. I’ve described both below, but have a read on the official website as they probably describe it better than I do!

http://www.pistyllrhaeadr.co.uk/walks.html

If you want to get the blood pumping with the steeper & rockier climb, then just after the above pictured gate take this left hand path and follow it all the way up. The views are beautiful and you’ll certainly get to enjoy them as you keep pausing to catch your breath! When you meet the main path, turn left and continue on.

For the longer route, ignore the left hand path and continue on the hard gravelled path, it loops steeply round to the left and then climbs to meet the top of the steeper path.

From where the paths meet, keep walking, the path will then go downhill to re-enter the woods. Pass through the style and follow the path down towards the top of the falls.

Obviously great care is needed at the edge as this is a very big drop, but it’s pretty phenomenal standing at the top seeing the water gushing over the drop.

Up stream, there are little mini waterfalls but the land around them was very boggy even in August and they were fairly tricky to access, including a bit of wading, so depending on the age of your kids and the time of year you may struggle to access these.

To return, we went via the longer path and found a lovely little bridge and stream to play in.

Back in the car park there is a cafe, although we didn’t eat there so can’t comment on it. There are toilets but these are a rather steep 50p per person (bring coins!)

If you’ve got the appetite for more walking, then Pistyll Rhaeadr also serves as the base for a walk up to Cadair Berwyn, but that’s for another day!