Railway Walk The Mawddach Trail Dolgellau To Barmouth North Wales

[@jenniferjones188]

Loved doing this walk a few years ago. We go to Barmouth every year. The panarama walk is also lovely Great video. I lived in Tywyn many years ago know the area quite well

[@NigelHarperPhoto]

Thanks very much Jennifer. Yes, it was a great walk to do and Tywyn is a beautiful area too! Cheers👍

[@Nick-mm5ml]

great video I visit Barmouth every year

[@NigelHarperPhoto]

Thanks very much! Yes, it's a great place to visit and crossing the Estuary is awesome! Cheers👍

[@the_trooper_72]

Hey Nigel! Firstly, thanks for the wonderful video.. I cycled that trail a few years ago back up into Barmouth to where we were staying from Dolgellau,. It's an amazing trail,. I think your video captured the mood especially with the low cloud etc.. Me and my family are in Dolgellau next weekend from the west midlands, I was kinda hesitant to take my gravel bike but on watching your video, I have to!! Thanks again! 👍🏻😎

[@NigelHarperPhoto]

Thanks for your kind comment! Yes, it's a great hike or bike ride with fab scenery! I'd love to do it again and yes, by bike! Anyway enjoy your ride and hope the rain stays away! Cheers👍

[@jaymac7160]

Great vid Nigel

[@NigelHarperPhoto]

Cheers John!

[@tomowen2201]

That building at 5:40 is bontddu hall which recently was on fire and is on the market for around £950,000 but also potentially going to be knocked down

[@NigelHarperPhoto]

Ah Ha! Thanks for the info, I tried looking it up but couldn't find anything. So thanks for clearing that up! I guess it would be a very pricey doer upper?

[@rafthejaf8789]

Nice video, thanks!

[@NigelHarperPhoto]

Thanks for your comment. Cheers👍

[@pauljones401]

I parked in that mini car park then pretended in my film I’d started down the road!! It’s absolutely mad this walk isn’t it?? Just such a privilege to do. I had opposite problem. Tide was massively in! Looks more beautiful when the tides our actually. Top stuff fella!!! Paul 🙏 Ps I’ve remembered how you got in touch about how my film was here and I had to say I’ve only got an iPhone 5! Great to see you got there.

[@NigelHarperPhoto]

AhHa! Yes, I remember you Paul, it was your video and Julia Bradbury's TV prog that inspired us to do it! Hope all well with you - Cheers!

[@pauljones401]

@@NigelHarperPhoto You also got me into Gary Barlow singing at weddings. Must have spent at least an hour blubbering at that. Fantastic!!!!

[@NigelHarperPhoto]

@@pauljones401ahaha, I take it your'e a fan then? As the official photographer, I only found out 20 minutes or so before he arrived, which was too late to call my wife and get her to the venue!

[@timsInSSI]

Thanks, I enjoyed that!

[@NigelHarperPhoto]

Thanks very much!

[@NigelHarperPhoto]

PLEASE NOTE! If you're planning on doing this walk, the bridge is now closed from September 11th until December 12th 2021. The same times in 2022! So please check on Network Rails website for more info. Cheers!

[@danceswithbadgers]

My father, who was from Dolgellau, always pronounced it as you did a couple of minutes in, with the 'ehy' sound at the end, rather than 'eye'. It was spelled Dolgelley when he was growing up there and until at least my teenage years - so the 1970's. The Mawddach is pronounced differently to how you did it though - Maw rhymes with ow (as in ow, that hurts) and ddach is pronounced thacchh - with a hard th sound and a crunchy cchh. Edit, it's pronounced Pen-mine-pool. Did you spot the pill box on the trail? It's facing inland and was to defend against Axis POW's trying to escape in WW2.

[@NigelHarperPhoto]

Well, you're not the only one to put me straight on my pronunciation of Welsh names. Anyway I hope you enjoyed the video? Cheers👍

[@danceswithbadgers]

@@NigelHarperPhoto It's not intended as a criticism, Welsh pronunciation isn't intuitive or easy if you're not used to it. As I mentioned, my father pronounced Dolgellau the 'old' way all his life. The changed spelling and pronunciation didn't gel with him at all. It has also previously been spelled Dolgelle, with a shorter 'eh' sound at the end. I can remember road signs spelled that way. I appreciated the video. I lived in Dolgellau for a while, my sister still does. I have cousins, etc., there and have been trying to get back for a year without success, due to the dysfunctional rental situation. I've been away for 15 years after leaving to care for my mother, who passed away 4 years ago and miss it, so just seeing familiar sights is nice since I'm 100 miles away and don't have the money to travel.

[@NigelHarperPhoto]

@@danceswithbadgers No problem, and thanks for explaining👍

[@timsInSSI]

My ancestors migrated from Wales to America in 1732.

[@NigelHarperPhoto]

Wow! Not that long then after, the original pilgrims voyage I guess! Cheers

[@tomowen2201]

Probably South America there’s probably tonnes of your family still speaking Welsh down there can’t remember the name of the county but they still speak Welsh and quite a few of the people who migrated came from Dolgellau

[@NigelHarperPhoto]

@@tomowen2201 Interesting, as we have family in North Wales and very distant relatives in the US too!

[@jaymac7160]

Can’t believe someone has put a thumbs down Nigel beats me,

[@NigelHarperPhoto]

Haha, probably my mis pronunciation of Welsh names???

[@SeaShoreAnnie]

@@NigelHarperPhoto I thought you did great with the pronunciation , especially ‘Dolgellau’ it end with the sound eye at the end not e, you were spot on which most non welsh visitors struggle with. What a fantastic video by the way. I must check out your channel👍🏻best wishes Annie🚶‍♀️🚶

[@NigelHarperPhoto]

@@SeaShoreAnnie Aah, Thank you so much Annie for your kind words. Yes, please check out my channel, it has, as you'll see, quite a variety of material from travelogues to photography. So please subscribe if you like! Cheers👍👍👍

[@cisvaughan6937]

Sorry I sounded waspish! There's a little book you can pick up for £2 in gift shops called "Welsh place names" which explains how the words sound, aswell as what they mean. Yes, the Welsh morph things too ~ there's roughly one different dialect every 10 miles. It can be disconcerting to assiduously learn a 'right' pronunciation, only to find that it's morphic. Beware of learning Welsh from the Welsh, especially if they're in their cups, as some of them take an unholy glee in bequeathing hilariously ridiculous ''words'', which they do with a perfectly straight face! Check out your Welsh person before you check out their Welsh...

[@NigelHarperPhoto]

Hahaha, yes indeed! Did you enjoy the video by the way?

[@cisvaughan6937]

Oh yes! I am enjoying your videos. Much has changed since you made them, though - things like people setting their houses on fire for the insurance - if you walk the same routes again you might be in for a bit of a shock. But yes, you do it well, with much style. Keep 'em coming. Hope you do one of the Hundred Steps (which no one has actually ever been able to count).

[@NigelHarperPhoto]

@@cisvaughan6937 Setting houses on fire, sounds a bit drastic! The hundred steps, a real challenge in one go I guess. Cheers

[@cisvaughan6937]

Can you pronounce Mawddach properly please? It's ok for most tourists to mis-pronounce it, but if you're going to make a film about it, at least say it right! Maw pronounced as in ow dd is pronounced like the English th ch is pronounced softly, as in the Scottish word loch Put it all together and you get something like M-ow-thacch Hope this helps

[@NigelHarperPhoto]

Well, that's me reprimanded and thanks for putting me straight! Believe it or not though, I listened to a lot of Welsh people and TV presenters pronouncing the name, because I do like to get things right! However, not many were pronouncing it so precisely as you've shown and they obviously have an advantage over the English. Sometimes when an Englishman tries hard to pronounce the language correctly, it can unfortunately sound a little pretentious too. Still, I can assure you I do try! Cheers

[@rustypipe]

Welsh is not a simple language :-) I'm going there over the Easter and I'm terrified at the pronunciation of some places when buying tickets on a bus or train. Probably I'll just show them the name or word on my phone.

[@NigelHarperPhoto]

@@rustypipe Yes, it's a tricky language and I've already been castigated over my pronunciation of Mawddach, which I got from TV presenters one English and one Welsh! Haha, so to avoid embarrassment the phones probably a good idea! Cheers👍