Crafnant

Just a couple of days after Christmas produced some good weather for the club’s annual post-festivities walk, this year heading to Crafnant for a circular walk taking in the Creigiau Gleision ridge.

I was first to arrive at the car park and I booted up while awaiting further arrivals.  Cars pulled in at regular intervals and soon a group of thirteen headed up the lane to a track leading uphill through woodland to the Gelli Plantation and past Lledwigan before starting up the open hillside.  The group stretched out and although we followed the path as best we could, a few diversions were needed to avoid some boggy areas before hunkering down in the shelter of some low crags to eat lunch.  Our heathery dining room turned out to be just below the north-east summit with good views of the higher Carneddau and Llyn Cowlyd.

The path along the ridge passed beneath the highpoint of Creigiau Gleision but I took a quick detour to the summit.  At this point I started to wonder who was doing the navigating and wondered whether the rest realised just how close to the summit they were.  Maybe they were just happy to be out and bagging summits didn’t have the relevance to them as it does to me.

Ogwen valley

looking back to /Creigiau Gleision

Pen Llithrig y Wrach

As we walked south, the views along the Ogwen valley impressed as the Glyderau broke up the low sunrays, casting their shadows across to the Carneddau.

At Craiglwyn summit we put our heads together to decide which way to descend, particularly as daylight was starting to ebb away.  A line between Moel Ddefaid and Clogwyn yr Eryr was chosen and as there was no path we followed the line of an old wall and new fence, neither of them marked on the map, to the head of the Crafnant valley.

Crafnant valley

A leisurely stroll along the road ended the walk but not the day.  An enjoyable hour was spent in Ye Olde Bull Inn in Tal-y-bont where a welcome pint beckoned.

A Cwm Tal-y-braich Horseshoe

The view of Tryfan’s best side from Caseg Fraith’s dormitory window was exactly as advertised and no further encouragement to get on to the Ogwen hills was needed.  Everybody else wanted to scramble or climb so I set off to enjoy the Carneddau on my own.

Pont y Bedol

I soon reached the picturesque bridge of Pont y Bedol and continued up the trackless southern slopes of Pen Llithrig y Wrach, passing a small herd of Carneddau wild ponies on my way.  There was no semblance of a path until I reached the cliff edge near the summit, at which point the views opened out to the north, but it was still no match for the view looking south.

Llyn Cowlyd

Glyderau

With nothing to accompany me other than the superb panorama, I soon reached the summit.  The view into Colwyn Bay was dominated by the arrays of wind turbines rising out of the sea, definitely preferable to them being sited on our hills and mountains.  As I descended to Bwlch y Tri Marchog a yellow RAF Sea King appeared from over Capel Curig, effortlessly rising and then disappearing over the highest of the Carneddau.

A quick descent to the col with its minor summit of Clogwyn Llech Lefn – rising just 14 meters above the bwlch and so just missing Nuttall status – I took some time to bask in the rare welsh sun.  For the first time during the day I saw other walkers, plodding past me and on to Pen yr Helgi Du, my next target.

Llyn Eigiau

The walk up to the summit of Pen yr Helgi Du felt easier than the day’s first ascent, but the summit is worthy of a more substantial cairn rather than the small pile of stones currently marking the top.  The view to the classic climbing venue of Craig yr Ysfa caught the eye but it was the descent which was to prove the highlight of the day.

Craig yr Ysfa

With Bwlch Eryl Farchog in sight, the ridge leading down to it gave some worthy sport.  Steep and narrow but oddly without the exposure usually associated with similar terrain, it had good steps and had obviously seen much winter passage if the crampon scratches gave any clue.  Care would need to be taken in windy conditions as a fatal fall earlier in the year highlighted the consequences of a slip here.

Pen yr Helgi Du north-west ridge

I had considered continuing to the summit of Carnedd Llewellyn but with the true mindset of a fair-weather walker, a few drops of rain persuaded me to head back to the valley.  I’d been there before and I’d ticked my major objectives for the day, so bailing out and heading for the Ffynnon Llugwy access road came with no pangs of guilt.

Technically a horseshoe walk of Cwm Tal-y-braich would involve a descent of the south ridge of Pen yr Helgi Du, but the north-west ridge gives the better scrambling option.

As I walked down the access road, the unmistakeable roar of jet engines grew and I was quick to spot the Red Arrows flying along Ogwen, towards the coast.  A group of five were followed by a group of four which made me wonder where Red 10 was! They were transiting to an early evening display at Newcastle in County Down, before performing a 9pm flypast at the Edinburgh Tattoo.