Waterfall photography in southern Snowdonia | Dolgoch Falls

I’d spent the last couple of weeks checking the weather forecast repetitively hoping for some foggy conditions so I could head to one of my favourite woodland locations in southern Snowdonia. Finally, I saw those elusive fog symbols on the weather map with Derek the weatherman suggesting it would be a wide spread, slow to clear fog engulfing my intended location the following day. Further confirmation was then given on the weather app…one hundred percent chance of fog, all morning! Surely that was almost a guarantee of foggy conditions now, they couldn’t all be wrong, could they?

So, with about an hour to travel to my destination, I was up and out the house a couple of hours before sunrise the next morning. Passing through a few patches of fog along the way (which was the forecast for my local area) I thought the weather forecast might actually be accurate this time and this might finally be my chance to experience woodland photography with some beautiful foggy conditions.

Nope! It was going to be yet another fogless morning in the woods!

However, rather than spend my morning wandering around the woods struggling to find compositions, I decided to change my plans and visit one of my favourite waterfalls in southern Snowdonia to cheer myself up with some waterfall photography…

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Location Information: Dolgoch Falls

This information is not intended to be a complete guide to visiting Dolgoch Falls but is aimed at providing a little bit more information about the location to accompany the vlog and to tempt you into visiting it for yourselves.

After all, your time will always be better spent being outdoors, exploring and photographing these beautiful landscapes for yourself, not reading about them on a screen.

Information:

If you’re after easy access to one of Southern Snowdonia’s most beautiful waterfalls then it doesn’t get much easier than Dolgoch Falls!

Dolgoch Falls is actually a series of three waterfalls found along the Nant Dol-gôch stream near Tywyn, Gwynedd. Each waterfall is quite separate from the other and can be accessed via a well maintained walk that follows alongside the stream, up through a rocky, wooded ravine. The lower falls (and in my opinion the most attractive) can be found just a short, flat walk from the large car park, along a tarmac path. The middle and upper falls require a little more effort to reach (it’s around a mile to walk to reach the upper falls) and in places it can get quite steep and can be very slippery after rain. It’s worth the effort though, not only to visit the waterfalls but also to enjoy the beautiful scenery in this fantastic wooded ravine as you make your way upstream.

I really enjoy spending time around waterfalls and I love waterfall photography. One of the first things I look for with any waterfall I visit is access to the base of the falls because I like to include the river and cascades below the main falls in my photos. Lower Dolgoch falls has great access to the base of the falls, from both banks of the river. A viewing platform sits just below the falls at the end of the tarmac path on one side which allows very easy access for a close up view of the falls and, unlike a lot of viewing platforms, it’s not too obtrusive in the scene if you are shooting from a bit further down the river. A bridge allows you to cross over to the opposite bank just a short way downstream and although there isn’t a specifically built viewing platform on this bank, there are a few spots where it’s a pretty easy scramble down the bank to get your feet in the water.

Obviously rainfall always plays a big part in the look of any waterfall and that’s no different here, it’s definitely better to visit after a few days of rain, luckily though, this is Wales so you shouldn’t have to wait too long for that! Apart from needing a decent flow of water, the surrounding woodland, ferns and moss covered boulders combined with the ease of access make this an attractive waterfall to visit at any time of the year.

Images captured during this video:

Despite not originally planning to visit Dolgoch falls for this vlog, I managed to come away with a couple of images that I really like so I shall be adding both photos to my Woodlands and Waterfalls gallery.