National walking route · Wales

Cambrian Way

483 km (300 miles) from Cardiff to Conwy, in Wales, through 2 national parks. The line passes 40 listed summits.

Map of the Cambrian WayThe Cambrian Way runs 483 kilometres through Wales, passing through Eryri (Snowdonia) and Bannau Brycheiniog (Brecon Beacons).Snowdon - Yr WyddfaCadair Idris - PenygadairPen y FanWaun FachPumlumon FawrBannau Sir Gaer - Picws Du50 km
Route from OpenStreetMap (ODbL). Coastline, borders and national park boundaries from the Office for National Statistics (OGL v3.0). Summits from the Database of British & Irish Hills (CC BY 4.0).
Distance
482.5 km
In miles
299.8 mi
Day stages
24 at ~20 km
Typical trip
18–24 days
Countries
Wales
National parks
2
Highest ground nearby
Snowdon - Yr Wyddfa 1085 m
Listed summits within 2.5 km
101

How long it really is

We measure Cambrian Way at 482.5 km (299.8 miles), computed by walking the OpenStreetMap route geometry point by point.

No ascent in this figure

This is horizontal distance only. Our trail dataset carries no elevation profile, so we will not quote a total climb or a confident walking time — on hill routes ascent can add hours a day. A flat-ground pace gives roughly 116 h 13 min of walking for the whole route, which is a floor, not an estimate. Add your own ascent figure in the walking-time calculator for something usable.

Access rights along the way

The route stays within Wales, so one access regime applies along its length.

Wales

Conditional Right to roam: Right to roam only on mapped CRoW open access land.

Permission needed Wild camping: Permission needed everywhere.

Full access rules for Wales

A waymarked route is a route you may walk — it does not follow that you may camp beside it, leave it, or take a dog on it. Long-distance paths cross farmland, estates and access land in turn, and byelaws and seasonal restrictions override the general position. This is general information, not legal advice. Check a specific spot with the access checker.

National parks on the route

The line passes through 2 national parks, each with its own byelaws and camping position.

Summits on and beside the route

Listed hills from our hill dataset whose summit lies within 2.5 km of the line — 40 of them within 350 m, so effectively on the route itself. Distances are measured from the nearest point of the path, not from a trailhead.

Listed summits within 2.5 km of the Cambrian Way
SummitHeightFrom pathLists
Pumlumon Fawr752 mon routeHewittNuttall
Rhinog Fach711.6 mon routeHewittNuttall
Pen Twyn Glas646 mon routeNuttall
Waun-oer670 mon routeHewittNuttall
Mynydd Moel863 mon routeHewittNuttall
Moelwyn Mawr770 mon routeHewittNuttall
Glyder Fawr1000.9 mon routeHewittNuttall
Cribyn795 mon routeHewittNuttall
Twmpa690 mon routeHewittNuttall
Carnedd Dafydd1044 mon routeHewittNuttall
Drum771 mon routeHewittNuttall
Waun Fach811 mon routeHewittNuttall
Corn Du871.5 mon routeNuttall
Snowdon - Yr Wyddfa1085 mon routeHewittNuttall
Pen y Fan886 mon routeHewittNuttall
Tal y Fan610 mon routeHewittNuttall
Bannau Sir Gaer - Picws Du749.1 mon routeHewittNuttall
Chwarel y Fan679 mon routeHewittNuttall
Cnicht690.9 mon routeHewittNuttall
Pen Allt-mawr719.6 mon routeHewittNuttall
Craigysgafn689.9 mon routeNuttall
Moel Ysgyfarnogod623 mon routeHewittNuttall
Fan Gyhirych726.1 mon routeHewittNuttall
Garnedd Uchaf925 mon routeHewittNuttall
Foel Grach975.4 mon routeHewittNuttall
Mynydd Llysiau663 mon routeHewittNuttall
Diffwys West Top643.1 mon routeNuttall
Cnicht North Top690.2 mon routeNuttall
Foel-fras944.1 mon routeHewittNuttall
Pen Cerrig-calch701 mon routeHewittNuttall
Gau Graig683.7 mon routeNuttall
Cribin Fawr658.8 mon routeHewittNuttall
Maesglase678.5 mon routeHewittNuttall
Cadair Idris - Penygadair892.7 mon routeHewittNuttall
Castell y Gwynt972 mon routeNuttall
Foel Penolau614.4 mon routeHewittNuttall
Pen yr Ole Wen978 mon routeHewittNuttall
Rhinog Fawr720 mon routeHewittNuttall
Pen Pumlumon Llygad-bychan727 mon routeHewittNuttall
Y Llethr756 mon routeHewittNuttall

Showing the 40 nearest of 101 listed summits within 2.5 km.

The route in day stages

Cambrian Way cut into 24 stages of roughly 20 km, measured along the line itself. These are equal-distance splits computed from the geometry, not an official itinerary — they will not always land on a village, a bunkhouse or a station, and the real day you walk should be set by where you can sleep.

This route is mapped in 10 separate pieces

OpenStreetMap does not hold Cambrian Way as one continuous line, so the stages below run through the pieces in order of length and the joins between them are not walking distance. Treat the stage boundaries as approximate, and check the official route for the sections between them.

Day stages of the Cambrian Way at roughly 20 km each
StageDistanceCumulativeStarts nearEnds nearFlat-ground time
120.3 km20.3 kmST 1810 7647ST 2038 86944 h 28 min
220.1 km40.4 kmST 2038 8694ST 2836 99294 h 25 min
320 km60.4 kmST 2836 9929SO 2915 13984 h 24 min
420.1 km80.5 kmSO 2915 1398SO 2516 29954 h 25 min
520.8 km101.3 kmSO 2516 2995SO 2069 24334 h 35 min
620.3 km121.6 kmSO 2069 2433SO 1268 15184 h 28 min
720.4 km142 kmSO 1268 1518SN 9821 20284 h 29 min
820.9 km162.9 kmSN 9821 2028SN 8366 18574 h 36 min
920 km182.9 kmSN 8366 1857SN 7768 29584 h 24 min
1020.2 km203.1 kmSN 7768 2958SN 7642 45454 h 27 min
1120.1 km223.2 kmSN 7642 4545SN 7475 59274 h 25 min
1220.4 km243.6 kmSN 7475 5927SN 7993 72604 h 29 min
1320.5 km264.1 kmSN 7993 7260SN 7747 81684 h 31 min
1420 km284.1 kmSN 7747 8168SN 8620 93964 h 24 min
1520.2 km304.3 kmSN 8620 9396SH 8662 07084 h 27 min
1620.2 km324.5 kmSH 8662 0708SH 8300 13624 h 27 min
1720.7 km345.2 kmSH 8300 1362SH 6695 12704 h 33 min
1820.5 km365.7 kmSH 6695 1270SH 6664 24014 h 31 min
1920.1 km385.7 kmSH 6664 2401SH 6801 36464 h 25 min
2020.2 km406 kmSH 6801 3646SH 6334 45484 h 27 min
2120.3 km426.2 kmSH 6334 4548SH 6180 54944 h 28 min
2220.5 km446.7 kmSH 6180 5494SH 6837 64524 h 31 min
2320.1 km466.7 kmSH 6837 6452SH 7779 77694 h 25 min
241 km467.7 kmSH 7779 7769SH 6330 149113 min

Positions are 8-figure (100 m) OS grid references for points on the line, computed from WGS84 coordinates. Flat-ground times are Naismith at 5 km/h with a 6 min/hour rest allowance and no ascent — add the climb in the walking-time calculator before you plan around them.

Conditions on the route

Weather at the route midpoint live

Loading forecast for the midpoint of the route…

Forecast for the midpoint of the Cambrian Way, at MET Norway's own ground level — we hold no elevation profile for this route, so nothing here is altitude-adjusted, and conditions vary considerably end to end on a route this long. Weather data from MET Norway (CC BY 4.0).

Daylight at the midpoint today

Sunrise
—
Sunset
—
Daylight
—
Civil twilight ends
—

Computed astronomically for 52.352, -3.785. Set a turnaround with the daylight safety planner.

Plan this walk

Other long-distance paths nearby


Sources for this route

  • Route geometry, name, waymark and operator: OpenStreetMap relation 11661295 — © OpenStreetMap contributors, ODbL.
  • Distance, stages, country crossings, park crossings and summit proximity: computed by OpenFell from that geometry.
  • Boundaries: Office for National Statistics (OGL v3.0). Summits: Database of British & Irish Hills v18.3 (CC BY 4.0).

OpenStreetMap data is licensed under the Open Database Licence. Our derived trail measurements are published under the same terms — see data sources.