Dyserth Waterfall: Wales, UK

Ever wondered why you feel a sense of relaxation and joy whenever you visit a waterfall? Well, there is a reason for this, waterfalls give off a negative ion, whenever the water collides with itself. Therefore, when we are around waterfalls, we breath in these ions, making us feel happier. This is known as the ‘waterfall effect’. Wales has hundreds of waterfalls but, there is 78 named waterfalls in Wales, and Dyserth Waterfall (Rhaeadr Dyserth in Welsh) is just one of them.  

About Dyserth Waterfall

Dyserth Waterfall is in Dyserth, North Wales, near Prestatyn. The 70ft waterfall is created by The River Ffyddion, a branch of The River Clwyd. Interestingly in the 1880s, mining in the area caused the waterfall to dry up, however, once the mining stopped, the waterfall resumed. What’s more, caves still remain from the mining days and are accessible too! So, lace up your trainers or hiking boots and head to Dyserth Waterfall and Caves for the afternoon.

Getting there and facilities…

Dyserth Waterfall is a 7min drive away or a 2.7mile walk, from Prestatyn town centre. When we visited, we drove here from Lyons Lido Beach Caravan Park, we were in the middle of a very hot heatwave and walking further than we needed to just was not an option this time ha-ha.

There is a small carpark that holds around 15 cars and is free of charge with toilet facilities. The carpark is off the main road and is right by the Entrance to the falls. Admission is 50p per person via an honesty box at the gate, and there is a café/ice-cream shop at the entrance too!

Post code: LL18 6ET

Straight to Dyserth Waterfall

After parking up, you can head straight to the waterfall, paying your 50p each on the way in. The waterfall is surprisingly close to the entrance, and there is a picnic area there to enjoy the view. Unfortunately, you cannot swim in this waterfall, there’s signs to say keep out and please keep to the steps. But you are so close to the fall you can probably feel its splashes on your face. 😊

However, there’s more, as you pass the waterfall you come to two huge walls with steps between them. These walls are said to have been built to support a water wheel. Back in the day, the wheel would have been driven by water diverted from the waterfall above. The walls could be medieval, but their history is unfortunately unknown. Heading up these stairs, you will follow a steep incline of steps and paths, with panoramic views as you reach the top (sensible footwear is a must!).

The route to the caves and river

The steps and paths take you all the way up over an open spaced viewing point, (pictured above) before coming to a small bridge through the trees. On crossing the bridge, you’ll turn right, where you will spot another, much bigger, bridge and a tree with a rope swing! Have a swing on the rope swing of course and then head away from the bridge to the left (don’t go over it). Turn left up a little path through the trees… this will lead you to the river and caves at the top of Dyserth Waterfall.

If the weather allows, you should be able to access the caves. Tip: bring a torch as it is very dark in there. Be careful though, on a rainy day these caves may be filled up with water. But on a warm day, the caves are dry and lovely and cool! Also, if it’s a lovely warm day, taking a towel and some swimwear/swim shoes would be handy for having another cool down in the river.

Head back down to Dyserth Waterfall

There is another viewing point If you turn left instead of right as you come over the first bridge, we believe. However, we didn’t explore that way this time. So, if like us that’s enough for one day, you can head back down the same way. Admire Dyserth Waterfall once more and grab yourself a refreshment from The Waterfall Café below. We had a lovey vegan salted caramel ice-cream! YUM! 😊

Thank you for reading, we hope you found this useful and enjoy exploring somewhere new! If you did, please let us know in the comments section below, we’d love to hear from you.

Lu & Ad

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For more to do in Prestatyn, see our full 3-day itinerary in Prestatyn here. For somewhere to stay nearby, find your accommodation here.

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