Whilst in the area I just had to have a overnighter at Dulyn Bothy. Originally the weekend was set aside to paddle the river Dee.
Armed with a brand new MRS Nomad packraft supplied by Paqualife.co.uk I drove the 4.5 hours from the flatlands of Suffolk to the beautiful Snowdonia national park.
The water levels where really high and conditions that where way above my capability an alternative adventure was needed.
I had come over to meet Matty who I explored Glaskogen with in the summer and he had recommended this to me and Simon. We where staying at the Station Campsite in Garoc which is right by the River Dee.
Simon had gone up into the mountains the previous day for a wildcamp and Dulyn bothy was to be a rendezvous.
Originally I had thought the Dulyn bothy would have been a Hafod, (Welsh for summer farm residence).
Prior to machinery a Havoc would be the residence for the farmers and family where they would move their herds up to the higher pastures and then down to the Hendre for the winter.
After further research Dulyn bothy was made for workers that where building the Dulyn reservoir in the 1880’s.
Dulyn Bothy is managed by the Mountain Bothy Association..
Location of Dulyn Bothy.
Dulyn bothy is located on the east of Llyn Dulyn: Grid Ref: LR115: 705 664, W3W: climate.grit.uncouth
The bothy can be reached very easily from the carpark south east and will only take about 1.5 hours to walk up.
Amenities at Dulyn Bothy.
Dulyn is a fairly large bothy as apposed to Warnscale Hut in the Lake District, with 2 large rooms, one with a multi fuel burner and the other a bunked sleeping platform that can sleep around 6, plenty of floor space and plenty of the random gear / junk that has been left by previous visitors.
Bothies are a great micro adventure and also a great place to have a break from the weather. Having an overnighter at Dulyn Bothy is a great little adventure and if your new to Bothy camping it’s a great bothy to start with. I have written previously about Bothy camping and would recommend it to anyone, especially if you’re not into camping in tents.
Dulyn Bothy Rules.
As with all overnight Bothy visits it’s all about repeat and you should always strive to leave the Bothy in a better condition than what you found it.
No open fires outside Bothy, Dogs under strict control.
There is no local firewood or fuel so what ever you need to keep warm will need to be carried in.
As the walk in isn’t that difficult and the idea of spending a night warm a bag of coal / logs can easily be brought up with you.
I would recommend crackle logs or those pressed wood blocks as they are easy to light, burn well and last a good amount of time.
Getting to Dulyn Bothy.
As mentioned the nearest carpark is only about 1.5 hours walk from the Bothy and is located at: W3W: bootleg.duties.risking
The carpark can be reached from Conwy Road in Dalgarrog (junction at W3W: limbs.skies.poster). The road is very narrow and VERY steep in parts so be aware.
The road does pass through a farm so you will need to open and close gates to get through. Please be aware in the winter as this road isn’t cleared that much and can get very icy!
The walk up.
Leaving the truck at the carpark and hoping over a style the incline starts fairly soon.
As you come around the bend to your left you are following a path / track with the duly river below on your right.
Navigating up to the first reservoir of Melynllyn the path passes some other ruins that house which was once a watermill for something coming from Melynllyn and the path meanders to your right and down to Llyn Dulyn.
Llyn Dulyn translates from Welsh to English as Black Lake and has a fair bit of history.
Llyn Dulyn is said to be home of “Tylwyth Teg” – a mythological creature of Welsh folklore.
Legend has it that demons would drag wrongdoers into its black waters and disfigured fish with bulbous eyes lived beneath.
Plane crash at Llyn Dulyn.
On November 11, 1944, A Dakota C-47 transport aircraft crashed into Llyn Dulyn. Four US aircraft crew received a message after the Dakota took off from Paris earlier that day.
Their intended destination was Burtonwood airfield Cheshire, but they were forced to divert to RAF Valley, Anglesey due to bad weather.
The aircraft smashed into cliffs above the lake and the plane’s wreckage was found by an RAF radio unit at a Snowdonia lake later on that month.
Last year, due to the heatwave and the low water levels the aircrafts propeller was easily in view.
Llyn Dulyn has lived up to its name as in WWII at least eight air crafts plummeted into the water during the war.
It was mid January and there was snow on the tops and the further we walked up the more snow there was. I was getting warm and had started to over heat as I was fully layered up.
Looking back, I should have stopped and de-layered. By the time I got to the Bothy I was sweaty and this could have been a different situation if i couldn’t dry out in front of the fire.
A slippery slope down.
The last section down was a bit tricky as there was snow and ice underfoot. In fact I spent most of my time on my backside (controlled sliding I must say). At this height there was a good layer of snow.
Walking into the Bothy we found Simon warming up with a brew and some food. Learning about his previous night and the ‘adventure’ he had had a rough time.
The previous night I was staying in my TentBox Cargo Roof tent in Garoc. As I laid there with the wind gusting and blowing, I wondered how Simon’s night was going.
In fact a couple of times I was a little concerned for his wellbeing.
Anyway, he survived and was looking forward to warming himself in front of the fire.
I had walked up as ‘Simons Sherpa’ bringing his logs and beer and as Matty couldn’t stay the night he had filled up his bag with logs and pressed logs for us to use.
Sharing a Bothy.
The great thing and sometimes the bad thing about Bothies is that they are for anyone to use.
If your lucky you can meet some great people. If you’re unlucky you’ll find yourself between 8 lads with a mission of getting as legless as possible.
It can be off putting if you walk into a bothy with people already setup and you should be made welcome but sometimes it can be better to pitch up next to the bothy.
So on that note its is always best to bring a tent in case.
We where to be sharing the Bothy with a young Canadian lad, Ethan who was in the U.K. traveling around.
There’s something not right with you!
I was so hot due to over heating and my layers where soaked. I had to take it all off and stand outside, pretty much naked to cool down and dry out.
Mind you, I am a cold weather person and love a good cold water swim. So standing near butt naked outside was fine by me!
Overnighter at Dulyn Bothy, Settling in for the night.
The best thing to do if the Bothy is empty when you arrive is grab the premium bunk space. The bunks are normal just a wooden platform for you to layout your mat and sleeping bag. Getting the fire lit was next up to dry out some layers and mydown jacket.
Once the fire was lit, the atmosphere warms up and we settle down chewing the cud. Putting the world to right (fuelled by Rum and beer).
The amenities in Bothies vary and you can find so much random stuff left, from bags of pasta, tins, gas cans and all sorts.
I am very wary about eating anything (apart from tinned food) as these shelves are a supermarket sweep for vermin.
I had brought up a Arctic Field Ration pack by Real Field Meal which is more than enough food for a day adventure like this.
A massive freeze dried meal of Salmon and Pasta, some Nutella type stuff and bread, coffee, fruit bar, energy drink and chewing gum is more than enough for me.
Heading outside for a call of nature I found that it was snow storm had kicked in.
A fresh Blanket of snow.
Waking at around 06:00 after our overnighter at Dulyn Bothy as I wanted to get back to the truck and start making my way home. There was a beautiful fresh blanket of snow that covered the foot steps out.
It was absolutely beautiful and what a great place to wake up after a overnighter at Dulyn Bothy.
Using my phone with my outdoor active maps was great tool.
As I had recorded the track knowing that I wouldn’t stray from the route by putting an alarm on if I strayed by 2 metres.
Breakfast / Coffee done, a tidy up and off we head back to the trucks. It was a nice walk out, a slight incline at first but levelled out for most of the walk back.
As it got lighter we where greeted by a beautiful sunrise.
As mentioned above be very careful on the way down. It is very steep, narrow and can be icy.
An overnighter at Dulyn Bothy is a great little micro adventure and i’d really recommend it.
Most Bothies are in Scotland but there Bothies in the Lake District and Wales too!
The Mountain Bothy Association is a registered charity and manages most Bothies and is run by volunteers. Please make a donation if you use any of the Bothies to help with the up keep. Any concerns about bothies then fill in the form on the website.
