Bothy hunting in Coed Y Brenin

The Penrhos Isaf bothy hidden deep in Coed Y Brenin

There are numerous bothies around the UK, most of which are maintained by the charity, the Mountain Bothies Association, of which we are proud members. Most folk associate bothies with the remote parts of the Scottish wilderness, however there are nine MBA ones in Wales. I'm embarrassed to admit that I had only been to three of these (of which I've only slept in one). However, this journey brought the number up to four.

Sometimes having a different focus to your bike adventure is all it needs for you to create a different route. Our aim for this journey was to go to Coed Y Brenin, but rather than spend our time around the trail centre, we would head south to seek out the Penrhos Isaf Bothy.

Following double track through the forest

Heading south, roughly following the Afon Eden initially provides a good warm up and reminds you how tricky the navigation can be in a forest (especially if you are not relying on GPS!). Shortly afterwards the route starts heading upwards along a great variety of forestry tracks and bridleways between Bryn Merllyn and Bryn Côch.

The steep section of bridleway after a mini stream crossing

The bothy is surprisingly hard to see, depending on your approach, as it's situated in relatively dense woodland. Upon finding it, it is surprisingly large, with an upstairs area and variety of rooms.

Using my Garmin Fenix 3 watch to navigate through the forest

Leaving the bothy, continue south to the National Cycle Route number 82, and follow this back along minor roads / tracks until crossing your earlier ascent. Here, you can either go directly back to the Visitor centre, or continue up and around the hill opposite, joining the Sarn Helen route for a brief period before descending down to the far end of the visitor centre. This turns the route into a rather satisfying figure of 8 loop, just passing the 15km mark, with around 300m of ascent.

We found the privy!

Please note that bothies have a code to encourage responsible use and keep them available for all. During Covid times they are all shut, and the MBA are asking people not to visit them. Therefore if following this route at the moment, please treat the bothy with respect and merely ride past it, such as you might with an archaeological site.

On National Cycle Route 82