Start: Pont Llogel Finish: Llangynog Distance: 15 miles (24km) Notes: The Pererindod Melangell walk has waymarked discs, poles and posts along the way. The going is easy along the first half, mostly on forestry roads, back lanes and tracks. Between Llanwddyn and Pennant Melangell the route is more challenging, including tussocky moorland and upland bog - walking boots are a must. The section between Bwlch-sych and Pwlliago should not be attempted when there is low cloud, mist or snow as the route crosses high, remote countryside only suitable for very experienced walkers.

Walk Description

Pererindod Melangell is an undulating route, with gentle valley floor and moorland top sections linked by long climbs into and out of the area's valleys.

Experienced walkers should find no difficulty in completing the walk in one day. Recreational walkers may find it best to split it in two, breaking the route at Llanwddyn, with its wealth of activities and facilities based around Lake Vyrnwy.

The Pererindod Melangell walk starts at Pont Llogel - already on both the Glyndwr's Way and the popular Ann Griffiths Walk, named after the renowned hymn-writer who lived locally.

It climbs into Dyfnant Forest, cresting a ridgetop viewpoint before undulating through forest and along lanes to Lake Vyrnwy. Rising past bronze age remains, the route gains Hirnant Forest, unveiling views to the rugged Aran Mountains, the highest in Britain south of Snowdon itself.

Beyond the forest, rough sheep pastures are crossed to reach the highest point on the route - 1,627 feet. Woodlands threaded with streams and waterfalls accompany the walk to its target, remote St. Melangell's Church, hidden in the Tanat Valley.

Quiet paths and lanes lead to Llangynog, from where a circular day walk allows exploration of the high ridges and secluded valleys of high Tanat.

If you want to tackle the whole walk, Powys County Council publish a booklet with maps describing each section of the route which you can pick up at a local Tourist Information Centre (click here for a full list). If you want to do a one day alternative, try the Llangynog Loop.

The Legend of Pererindod Melangell

The name of the walk 'Pererindod MelangeIl' roughly translates from the Welsh for 'Melangell's Pilgrimage'.

The legend of Melangell derives from two seventeenth-century transcripts of a lost medieval Life of the Saints.

One day a prince named Brochwel was hunting at a place called Pennant. His hounds raised a hare that took refuge in a thicket.

On pursuit, the prince found a virgin praying, with the hare hiding under the folds of her garment. The hounds were urged on but fled, howling; their huntsman raised his horn to his lips and was unable to remove it.

The virgin informed the prince that she dwelt at this place, and that she had fled here for refuge. So impressed was the prince by Melangell's godliness that he granted the valley to her and here she founded a religious community.