Detour #333: Climbing The Devil’s Staircase, Wales

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Deep in wildest Wales you’ll find one of the most challenging drives, that’s heart-stopping both in its beauty and its danger. 

In days gone by the Abergwesyn Pass over the Cambrian Mountains was a drovers’ road and even now this steep and treacherous route is little wider than a sheep track. Barriers are few and far between and perilous drops await those who fail to take care.

Beginning in the tiny hamlet of Abergwesyn the B4343 Devil’s Staircase gently rises through farmland and forest, then emerges into the valley of the Irfon, running parralel to the river through bleakly beautiful landscape with barely a tree in sight.

What you will see is plenty of free-roaming sheep, so be prepared to stop suddenly to avoid an inadvertent lamb chop. The road is only a single car’s width and passing places are infrequent so if you encounter rare oncoming traffic there may be a bit of back-and-forth required – negotiating and manoeuvring in equal measure.

The road is ever-undulating and quite unkempt in places, so even in the dry grip levels won’t be as good as well-tended tarmac. In wet weather sections can flood, while in the winter ice can render it impassable.

Progress further and you’ll find yourself driving between dense ferns as the gradient intensifies to over 20 per cent and tight hairpins elevate you higher and higher into the woodland. It’s this section that justifies the Devil’s Staircase moniker.

The descent into the market town of Tregaron is steep and sinewy, but its curves are less aggressive and, on a clear day, there’s visibility for miles ahead. It’s an alarmingly picturesque 14 miles from end to end, and as the Elenydd region of Wales is one of its most sparsely-populated it will most likely be just you (and the Devil) for its whole length.

Words Nik Berg Instagram

Photo Shutterstock

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ROADBOOK

CLASS: Mountain Pass

NAME: The Devil’s Staircase

ROUTE: Abergwesyn to Tregaron

COUNTRY: Wales

Distance: 14 Miles

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