It’s a hugely popular spot for walkers and tourists – but what I found on the long walk up there left me pretty annoyed. Dog owners and parents be warned – I’m looking at you.

07:08, 03 May 2026Updated 07:12, 03 May 2026

Aber Falls in North Wales, a popular beauty spot for walkers (Image: MEN)

It was one of those lovely sunny days we’ve been enjoying of late, and so a trip to one of North Wales’ most beautiful natural phenomena was calling.

The walk to Aber Falls is one of the most popular places in the Eryri National Park and it’s not hard to see why. It’s a magical spot, and is a particular hit with families as it’s a fairly accessible route up to see the majestic waters spilling atop the foothills of the Carneddau.

With my two young sons in tow, we headed up into the breathtaking walk to see the epic waterfall. And once at the clearing area near the top, I did the natural mum thing of trying to assemble everyone together for a nice photo by the rushing waters.

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But that’s when I noticed something a bit wrong with this idyllic scene. Nearly stepped in it actually.

For there, on the grass, was a large, open, soiled nappy. And a wet wipe turfed next to it for good measure.

I was a bit agog. How could any parent have just left it there? I appreciate that babies have a tendency to poop at the most inappropriate of times, but who on earth expects someone else to walk up a mountain to clear up someone else’s child’s mess like that?

It is quite clear that there are no bins on this walk, large notices warn you of that as you make your way up. They clearly state you need to either take your litter home, or back to the car parks where there ARE bins.

A nappy left at the top of Aber Falls(Image: MEN)

I just can’t believe that any parent thinking that it would be a good idea to take a nappy-age baby an hour up to the top of Aber Falls in the first place would not also have thought “hmm, probably need to take a nappy bag up with me for this epic jaunt.”

As a mum, I know just how prepared you have to be just to walk out of the house with a baby, let alone a two hour hike, filling up a bag with nappies, wet wipes, poo bags, snacks, drinks, dummies etc in tow.

Are those parents happy that their nappy is spread out so publicly on display up there? Ready for someone to literally squish their walking boot into if they’re not careful?

My only vague hope in all this is that it was some terrible mistake and it was accidentally dropped. Something I would probably believe more if it had been bundled up with the wet wipe though.

(Image: MEN)

However it’s not only the nappy droppers who can hang their heads in shame up here. Oh no, there’s a much wider pool of people who need to seriously give their head a wobble – and that’s certain members of the army of dog people walking this trail too.

Because, yes, there are dog poo bags everywhere. A mountain of them in fact in one spot.

In clear lieu of any actual bin for them to dispose their dog’s doings, owners have clearly thought ‘oh look everyone else is leaving them in this pile, why don’t we do it too’.

Again, why would any of those dog owners (and by the pile I saw here we are talking seriously HUNDREDS of dog owners) think it’s OK to just sling their poo in a pile for some magic poo fairy to come along and dispose of it all?

I suppose they’ve acted slightly more responsibly than the nappy tippers, as they’ve at least taken along their poo bags in readiness for a doggy deposit.

Dog poo bags piled up on the path up to Aber Falls(Image: MEN)

Fuming after what I saw, I decided to see what other visitors have said about the walk,. I took a look on Tripadvisor and discovered plenty of other people have been complaining about the littering and dog poo bag issue since the start of the year.

Nia B of nearby Llanfairfechan appears to be a woman after my own heart. She wrote on Tripadvisor in January: “As a local, born and bred in nearby Llanfairfechan this amazing and beautiful place was my playground. As an adult spent many many hours with my own children in this area and as a responsible dog owner walked the path to the falls so many times couldn’t possibly count.

“I haven’t been up for approximately 12 months until today. I was shocked and very sad about the amount of rubbish on the path and surrounding area, pop bottles/cans, coffee cups etc. However, worst of all full discarded dog poo bags, every colour of the rainbow.

“Why? Why do people go to the trouble of buying poo bags, picking up the poo then leaving it or throwing it over the fence or onto trees? Of course there are no bins on the path but there are large bins in the carparks. As children we had it drummed into our heads to bring our rubbish home, never leave it on the mountains or anywhere else. And to respect the mountains and sea, in our beautiful Welsh language – Parch i’r Mynydd a Parch i’r Mor [Respect for the mountain, respect for the sea].”

Aber Falls is a spectacular spot for a walk – but visitors are urged not to leave litter(Image: MEN)

Nia concluded: “Please don’t ruin this beautiful, special area. It’s there to be enjoyed by all just dispose of your rubbish appropriately. Diolch.”

Reviewer Castleq was fuming after their January visit. They wrote on Tripadvisor: “More of a dog motorway and poo bag trail than the scenic Snowdonia experience it used to be. Large bin in carpark but the trail was dotted with multicoloured poo bags left by walkers. While trying to avert my gaze there were more than 50 pathside poo bags complete with contents. A few dog owners with no leads near sheep…a countryside no no. So disappointing as i used to love this walk. I wont be back.”

While LJB of Abergele wrote after a March visit: “A family friendly walk. Beautiful scenery, I so wish people would not litter of leave poo bags all over!!!”

So come on folks, it’s a bank holiday weekend ahead, and Aber Falls is set to be rammed with walkers once again. Just do the responsible thing and take your litter back to the flipping car park bins!