Rhobell Fawr and Dduallt

The long Platinum Jubilee weekend gave me the chance to tick a couple of Nuttalls, one of which – Rhobell Fawr – used to be a TRAIL 100 summit before its removal from the list in the February 2020 issue.  Dduallt was to be the second summit of the day due to its relative nearness to its previously exalted neighbour.  I wasn’t expecting to see many people on this walk as neither of the hills are what you would consider Snowdonia’s “Hollywood” hills.

I parked the car at the layby in Rhydymain, just off the A494 and waited for the light rain to stop.  As I had read various descriptions of the route, particularly between the two summits, it was obvious that gaiters were a must.

From the layby I passed the village chapel and started following the rights-of-way through some muddy wooded areas to Cutiau farm.  I stopped for a chat with the farmer about the way ahead and it surprised me that he was aware of the Nuttalls list, although he probably saw the occasional bagger pass through his farmyard.  He assured me that the views from Rhobell Fawr were worth the effort and confirmed the less than ideal status of the ground between the two hills.

The tarmac lane led beyond its end to a track passing above and around Cae’r Defaid and then up to the forest.  Although the OS map showed the track going through the forest, extensive felling on the right make the walk uphill a lot more open.  The tarmac continued up to the T-junction at the 410 metre contour at which point the tarmac ended.  I carried on up to the junction below Ffridd Graich-fâch and chatted to a walker who had descended from Rhobell Fawr on the standard path before he carried on towards Llanfachreth.

I crossed the fence and was on open fellside for the first time today.  There was no path but the way up was interesting, weaving a way through the outcrops and up grassy rakes with opportunities – not taken – to include some scrambling if the mood allowed.  I crossed the final wall and walked the final few yards to the top.

Rhobell Fawr summit

At the summit of Rhobell Fawr, the wind prompted me to add a layer and not to linger too long.  There were views but they weren’t brilliant because of the overcast sky.  Although the highpoint is marked by a trig point, about one hundred metres just east of north lie some rocky outcrops that look like they might be as high but the map clearly has them as lower.  Just to future proof my ascent in the event of any subsequent survey, I crossed the wall by the stile, passing a couple and their dog, and wandered around two or three knolls that had what I though was summit potential.  From here onwards, I saw nobody else on the walk until some hours later I returned to the road. 

the Rhinogs from Rhobell Fawr

Cadair Idris from Rhobell Fawr

the Aran ridge from Rhobell Fawr

The path downhill was easy to follow the path as it was the usual way of ascent from and descent to the forestry road.  There was one “bad step” that I avoided by skirting it to the left but it didn’t look quite as bad from below.  Although this was the obvious way to the summit, I think that my freestyle route over the untracked ground was one of the best and interesting single kilometres I’ve walked.

Back on the main forest road it was only a few hundred metres to the sign to Dduallt – a convenient spot for a snack – at what was marked as Ty-newydd-y-mynydd on the Ordnance Survey maps.  The sign pointed directly into the gloom of the forest along a narrow ride, through which a muddy and boggy path had obviously been followed by previous Nuttall baggers.  There was quite a lot of storm damage that could be seen just off the path and in places some trees had fallen across the path, most of which could be ducked under.  A turn right along a shorter ride led to open country; more open than the map suggested as the result of felling operations in Bryn Melyn. 

the Dduallt signpost

pointing into the forest

Following the fenceline was the obvious thing to do, despite the lack of a path.  A sudden dip to a stream caught me by surprise but it was clearly on the map if only I had been bothered to look closely.  A quick down and up brought me back to flatter ground with the fence turning left to the north, providing a pathless handrail which was boggy, tiring and just a bit demoralising.  When the fence started veering slightly towards west of north, it was time to start forging a way northwards towards a right-angled fence corner, in the hope of keeping to a very vague and intermittent path which appears to be heading roughly towards Dduallt and it became clearer as it ascended.

The summit cairn is on the east side of the fence just before reaching it, on the west side of the fence, is an outcrop that looks as high as the cairn.  It has the remains of an exposed quartz vein on its top and to protect my tick from any future summit relocation, I tapped the top before walking to the cairn. 

Dduallt summit

The views were hazy but it was obvious that here was a superb viewpoint with Arenigs Fawr and Fach, the Rhinogs, Rhobell Fawr, Cadair Idris, the Aran ridge and Llyn Tegid all clearly identifiable. 

Moel Llyfnant, Arenig Fach & Arenig Fawr from Dduallt

the Rhinogs from Dduallt

Rhobell Fawr from Dduallt

Cadair Idris from Dduallt

the Aran ridge from Dduallt

Llyn Tegid (Lake Bala) from Dduallt

Retracing my steps back to the Dduallt signpost was a lot easier than the way up.  And from there the way back to the car was downhill all the way and under a sunny sky with time to contemplate a very enjoyable day out.