Eryri National Park explains why it's closed off natural wonder for now
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A natural wonder in the Eryri National Park has been closed off to the public. Grey Mare's Tail Waterfall, or Rhaeadr y Parc Mawr in Welsh, is situated in Gwydir Forest near Llanrwst and Trefriw.
It is a horsetail waterfall, one of the finest examples in the UK. Horsetail falls widen out as they fall down a slope while still maintaining contact with the underlying cliff wall.
What makes the Grey Mare even more serene and unique is its location, embedded in a forest of lakes and mountains in the heart of Eryri (Snowdonia). Moreover, it has not one but two cascades, the water being split by a large rock at the top.
It was last year labelled the 'best hidden waterfall walk in the UK'. 'Absolutely amazing place,' said one reviewer. 'We visited in lovely weekend and nobody was there. It was so relaxing to be there.'
But at the current time it is closed off to the public with signs up at the roadside. This is due to safety reasons with no set date for when the site will reopen.
A spokesperson from Eryri National Park said: 'The site at Coed Felin Blwm is currently closed to the public mainly due to safety concerns arising from a number of unsafe trees. While the majority of essential work has already been completed, it has not yet been fully finished.
"Due to the beginning of the nesting season, it is now more difficult to carry out the remaining work, and there is also a need to undertake maintenance on some of the paths within the site before access can be fully reopened.
"Whilst the site has been closed, we have also taken the opportunity to collect samples from the area as part of our ongoing environmental monitoring and these are currently being assessed externally.
"We will notify the public via our social media channels once the site is safe to reopen.'
(Image: Nigel Williams/Wiki)
The falls' Welsh name, Rhaeadr y Parc Mawr, derives from the old Parc Mine in Gwydir Forest, through which the feeder stream flows. It's located just off the B5106 road between Llanrwst and Trefriw in the Conwy Valley. Below the falls is a shallow plunge pool, from which its waters flow under the road towards the Afon Conwy.
As the waterfall lies not far from Gwydir Castle, a fortified Tudor mansion, its owner and builder Sir John Wynn used it to his advantage when laying out ornamental gardens in the 1550s. Water above the falls was channelled along the hillside to a holding tank, where the pressure was sufficient to feed the garden's fountain.
The name, Grey Mare's Tail, was coined by Gwydir's Lady Willoughby. The surrounding woodland is called Coed Felin Blwm ('Lead Mill Wood') and near the waterfall it's easy to see why. The remains of mill buildings lie nearby, the legacy of Felin Blwm lead mill which once crushed ore from Parc Mine.
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