Issue 6

July 2001

Rowen, Ancient and Modern

This article was written following a week spent volunteer wardening at YHA Rowen, a small hostel on the eastern edge of Snowdonia National Park near Conwy.

Rhiw farm

Rowen youth hostel was established in 1948 when YHA acquired the farmhouse at Rhiw farm, the adjacent farm buildings remaining, as they do today, in agricultural use. It will come as no surprise to visitors to learn that rhiw in Welsh means a steep place; to reach Rowen YHA it is necessary to negotiate a single track metalled road with sharp bends and gradients peaking at 1:3. So arriving at the hostel can be an adventure in itself; but that said, no difficulty should be encountered by drivers of the average car in reaching the hostel in the summer, simply engage first gear and take your time. One tip, if it's your first time it would probably be better to arrive in daylight. Once there the hostel has quite extensive parking available.

Garden

The garden at Rowen youth hostel is terraced and has two main parts; the upper area by the main entrance is a (relatively) level lawn and is furnished with a picnic bench and garden seat, while at the lower level there is a damson orchard and an area for lighting small fires. Both these areas give extensive views over the Conwy valley with the estuary and the sea being visible from the lower boundary. Being situated at the terminus of the metalled road and high above the valley means there is a total absence of traffic noise, a rare thing these days, the only sounds being those of the sheep and the birds.

Mysterious stones

The track running past the hostel and over the mountain pass to Aber is described on maps as Roman. There are no obvious visible traces of the Roman occupation here but there are many relics of much earlier engineering activity. The people who lived here four to five millenia ago left their mark in the shape of burial chambers, standing stones and stone circles.

Take a walk up the hill from the hostel and you will come across Maen-y-bardd, a construction of three massive stones supporting a fourth. The name means bard's stone and has somewhat sinister connotations relating to an early but now discounted theory of Druidic sacrifice. It is currently described as a burial chamber from a period long before the Druids. Examining the stones now it is a little difficult to understand the practicalities of using this structure for burials so one can see why the alternative idea came about. A similar mystery surrounds the purpose of the standing stones, huge lumps of shaped stone which occur at intervals along the track. Did they have some religeous significance or did they simply mark the route of an ancient pathway? See how many you can count on the walk to Bwlch y Ddeufaen (pass of two stones), you should see a lot more than two.

Rambling at Rowen

The hostel offers the opportunity for a wide variety of walks, suitable for most tastes and abilities: just walk out of the gate and the Welsh countryside awaits. The following list gives some suggestions (times are for round trip):-

The Stones

An easy short walk up the track to the burial chamber (30 mins). Most visitors do this one. This can be extended to the pass (1 hr 30mins) for extensive sea views and standing stone spotting.

Easy mountain climb

The 2000ft(610m) peak of Tal-y-fan is the outlier of the Carnedd range and could be described as Rowen's mountain (2 hrs 30 mins). Rarely affected by low cloud this walk can be done virtually any time but gives a satisfying amount of exercise with good views on a clear day. Follow the track past the burial chamber until a narrow metalled road is reached. A green footpath on the right leads up through rough pasture until a small pass is reached. Take the path on the right climbing up a rocky hillside which may need the occasional use of hands until the summit is reached. Continue along the ridge till the end then follow the stone wall which drops down to the right, following this all the way till it meets the road just below the hostel.

Hill walk to Conwy

This high level scenic route allows a visit to the ancient, secluded church of St Celynin (3 hrs). Pick up a detailed route map from the hostel ( designed by Martin Hanks). Return by bus from Conwy.

Stiff mountain climb

Foel-fras is the nearest 3000 ft peak to Rowen. A clear path leaves the Roman road at the summit of the pass and can be followed all the way to Foel-fras for an energetic work out. Return by the same route (5 hrs). Alternatively a route can be found on footpaths from the hostel to Dulyn and Melynllyn lakes and then up the hillside to the ridge at Foel Grach, returning on the ridge path (6-7 hrs). Route finding is not easy in the early stages of this walk and it is only suitable for experienced hill walkers.

Hostel facilities

The hostel has benefitted from a number of improvements in recent times including new washroom facilities and refurbished dining and common rooms. While electric heaters have been fitted in the washroom and bedrooms the popular open fires have been retained in the dining room and lounge. The kitchen is also much improved and provides all necessary equipment including electric and microwave ovens. Sleeping accommodation consists of a 2-bedded bunk room, a bedroom with four single beds, and two dormitories of eight and ten beds.

Public Transport
There is a regular bus service to Rowen village from Conwy and Llandudno Junction rail stations. Service 19 (Llandudno - Llanrwst) runs every hour Monday to Saturday via Rowen till 6pm (note there are other buses on service 19 that do not call at Rowen). There is a 2 hourly service on Sundays and weekday evenings.

Opening
YHA Rowen is open 21 - 27 March and every day from 23 May until 6 Sept 2008. At other times it is available for "Escape to" bookings, enquiries to YHA head office, or group bookings, enquiries to YHA Conwy.

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This page updated 12/03/08.