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Lake Vyrnwy Straining Tower – Lake Vyrnwy Dam loop from Glyn Ceiriog

Lake Vyrnwy Straining Tower – Lake Vyrnwy Dam loop from Glyn Ceiriog

Hard

riders

Lake Vyrnwy Straining Tower – Lake Vyrnwy Dam loop from Glyn Ceiriog

04:00

77.0km

1,230m

Road cycling

Hard road ride. Very good fitness required. Mostly well-paved surfaces and easy to ride. The starting point of the route is accessible with public transport.

Last updated: August 4, 2026

Waypoints

Start point

Bus stop

Get Directions

17.7 km

Llanrhaeadr-ym-Mochnant Village Centre

Highlight • Cafe

Gegin Fach tea room is a nice little coffee shop serving drinks, cake and café food.
Open Mon to Sat 9:00 - 17:00

Tip by

34.3 km

Lake Vyrnwy Straining Tower

Highlight • Monument

Lake Vyrnwy (Welsh: Llyn Efyrnwy, pronounced [ɛˈvərnʊɨ] or Llyn Llanwddyn) is a reservoir in Powys, Wales, built in the 1880s for Liverpool Corporation Waterworks to supply Liverpool with fresh water. It flooded the head of the Vyrnwy (Welsh: Afon Efyrnwy) valley and submerged the village of Llanwddyn.

Translated by Google •

Tip by

35.8 km

Lake Vyrnwy Dam

Highlight (Segment) • Viewpoint

The dam across the Vyrnwy Valley, Montgomeryshire, was the first large masonry dam, and was completed in 1888. Water from the reservoir supplies Liverpool, travelling there along a 70 mile aqueduct.

They have a bike hire and cafe in the car part. You can hire a bike to ride around the lake the road surface is great with some spectacular views of the lake and dam.

The dam at Lake Vyrnwy is often associated with practice bombing runs for Operation Chastise in The Second World War. Better known as the “Dambusters” raid, Lancasters of 617 Squadron breached the German Möhne and Eder dams and damaged the Sorpe dam in May 1943. However, the association with Lake Vyrnwy seems to be something of a local myth as the dam was never actually used for this purpose. So where did this story originate? It seems that at least one scene in the famous 1955 film, “The Dambusters” was shot at Lake Vyrnwy leading to the mistaken belief that the wartime RAF Lancaster bomber crews practiced there.

Tip by

36.2 km

View of Lake Vyrnwy and the Straining Tower

Highlight • Viewpoint

36.4 km

View of Lake Vyrnwy

Highlight (Segment) • Viewpoint

39.5 km

Nant y Maes Waterfall

Highlight • River

Along the road you come to a small bridge at the side of it is a beautiful natural waterfall close to Nant y Maes stream.
Stunning waterfall that meets the lake

Tip by

42.4 km

Lake Vyrnwy Dam

Highlight • Monument

This is brilliant peice of architecture thats still in use today, you can feel the sheer power of the flow of water down the dam one side, and the peace and tranquility of the lake the other.

Tip by

77.0 km

End point

Bus stop

Way Types & Surfaces

Way Types

77.1 km

< 100 m

Surfaces

64.2 km

13.0 km

Elevation

Nothing selected – click and drag below to see the stats for a specific part of the route.

Highest point (430 m)

Lowest point (140 m)

Weather

Sunday 23 August

21°C

8°C

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Lake Vyrnwy Straining Tower – Lake Vyrnwy Dam loop from Glyn Ceiriog

Llanrhaeadr-ym-Mochnant Village Centre

Lake Vyrnwy Straining Tower

Lake Vyrnwy Dam

View of Lake Vyrnwy and the Straining Tower

View of Lake Vyrnwy

Nant y Maes Waterfall

Lake Vyrnwy Dam

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