Coed Llyn y Gwaith, Lampeter, Ceredigion

From the very quiet mountain road, a long forestry track eventually brings you to a clear area with ample space to park a camper van or set up a tent on the northern bank of Llyn y Gwaith, nestled into the wooded and grassy slopes which rise up along the southern side of the lake. It feels a million miles from anywhere here, and it is indeed remote with only one or two dwellings in the surrounding area.

Llyn y Gwaith or 'Working Lake' was built in the early 19th C for the purpose of supplying water to mines further down the valley, with a dam constructed across its eastern end. The lake and dam are registered as a large raised reservoir under the Reservoirs Act. In 2010 the outflow channel was lowered and widened with a concrete sill and stepped stone gabion walls which resulted in a slight lowering and stabilisation of the lake, with a great reduction in the statutory volume of retained water. Natural Resources Wales (NRW) re-assessed the lake and dam in early 2017 and designated that due to this modification and reduction in water volume, there is no longer any need for the owner to appoint a supervising engineer, arrange annual inspections or a ten yearly panel engineer inspection.

Along its northern side, the lake is easily accessed, its pebbly shore sloping very gently into the cold, clear water. The lake is fed at its western end by small springs which have cut their way through the flat grassland. It is possible to walk across this grass land to access the southern side of the lake, but take care, the tussocks are large and the fissures are deep in places and the ground will become wetland after much rain. An easier route to the southern side is along the dam, an easy stroll, which then involves a scramble over the gabions at the end to get down to the southern edge of the lake. From there you come into the block of Sitka spruce, planted on land that climbs steeply up from the lakes edge, with a couple of small naturally level areas breaking up the slope. The woodland is boundaried on its eastern edge by a stone wall. On the woodlands western edge is a 4 acre area of grassland, equally steep although levelling off at the top, and fenced; the fence forming part of the western boundary.

Climbing all the way to the top the ground levels out and you are confronted with stupendous 360' views, as far as the eye can see - exhilarating! The land beyond the fenced southern boundary is common land, for which there are rights although these rights are, as yet, unexercised.