Yr Eifl

As I was in the area and the weather was superb, I decided to follow up on my loose plan to tick another TRAIL 100 summit after the day’s earlier walk to claim Moel Ysgyfarnogod.  Yr Eifl had been in view for most of the day so far so I drove over to the north coast of the Lleyn Peninsula.

The car park above Llithfaen is high enough to considerably lessen the amount of ascent; a welcome bonus after my earlier walk and in the continuing heat and sunshine.  The way up is quite simple – cross the road, start walking on the path heading east and follow it as it makes a beeline for the top!

The path is pretty good low down but deteriorates due to erosion as it steepens through the heather.  If this is your first exercise of the day, the summit will soon be reached.  But it did feel like a bit of a tiring plod in the heat and after my earlier day’s walk in the Rhinogs.

Snowdon and northern Snowdonia from Yr Eifl summit

the Rhinogydd from Yr Eifl

The views from the summit make it worthwhile though.  The haar was rolling in from the Irish Sea further down the peninsula but much of Snowdonia was in view, albeit from an unfamiliar angle.  The trig point has a metal figure 4 cemented to the top and I’ve never before seen such a summit adornment.  For an extended walk, Tre’r Ceiri and Yr Eifl’s north summit would add some archaeological exploration but at this point I was knackered I didn’t need to go to them to claim the summit tick that I was aiming for.  Perhaps a more relaxed day in the future will see me walk the fuller round.

The descent, although significantly quicker than the ascent, was tiring.  A long day in the heat is sapping and I was more than happy to get back to the car, rehydrate and head for home. 

The Northernmost Rhinogs

The MWIS forecast said “Very warm, beware sunburn.”  It wasn’t wrong!

Parking lower down from the lane end at Afon Eisengrug the walk up the road was a proper warm-up.  But turning off the road on to the track that accessed the high llyns eased the gradient and it was a pleasant stroll to Llyn Eiddew-bach where I enjoyed a welcome break watching a fisherman on the far side enjoying the landscape in a more relaxed way than I.

path under the manganese mines crags

Less than a kilometre’s walk uphill and I turned off on to a fairly level track south-east, past abandoned manganese mines and some attractive crags that looked like they would be worthwhile to climb.  The path was amongst the best single kilometres that I have walked anywhere, with superb views over Tremadoc Bay to the Lleyn Peninsula.

At Llyn Du the path curves around to the left and some easy scrambling leads to the south top of Moel Ysgyfarnogod.  This was the first point of the day from where extensive 360-degree views could be enjoyed and it was a challenge to identify the many mountains that could be seen.

Moel Ysgyfarnogod summit

The way to Moel Ysgyfarnogod looked deceivingly far but not particularly challenging.  I dropped to the low point and started up the steep grassy slope, finding a path that made progress easier.  The summit was topped and an even better panorama opened up.

Foel Penolau from Moel Ysgyfarnogod

A had a good chat with a couple of local lads, agreeing that being here in such good conditions was better than being on what would probably be an overly crowded Snowdon.  We each another well as they headed off downhill and I stayed for a while longer to enjoy the view; the Lleyn Peninsula, Yr Eifl, Portmeirion, the Nantlle ridge, Snowdon, Arenigs Fach & Fawr, Lake Trawsfynydd, Dduallt, Rhobell Fawr, the Aran ridge, the southern Arans, Cadair Idris with its Cyfrwy Arete and finally the bulk of Rhinog Fawr.

Moel Ysgyfarnogod from Foel Penolau

I walked under the crags of Foel Penolau and curved around to the north-west to the south-west top.  The true highpoint is not definitively known as the north-east top appears to be exactly the same height.  Of course I ticked both!

Trawsfynydd from Foel Penolau

big sky over the Arans

Yr Eifl from Foel Penolau

Snowdon from Foel Penolau

I walked off the north-west crags and over the northern crags of Moel Ysgyfarnogod before crossing the higher ground above and to the south of Llyn Dywarchen.  Dropping down to the footpath led back to Llyn Eiddew-bach for a well-deserved breather before the walk under the beating sun back to the car.

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.

The Aran Ridge

 

I hadn’t been on a big Welsh hill for over three years so it was about time to seek some Cymric solitude.

Which made the decision to climb the biggest mountain in Wales that I hadn’t previously been on an easy one, especially as I had been looking at this route for a long time.  Aran Fawddwy is one of those British peaks that is higher than everything south of it which gives it a certain, if little known, esoteric cachet.

Starting at the village of Llanuwchllyn at the south-west end of Llyn Tegid (Lake Bala) a good track meanders under Garth Fach before a footpath bears left to gain the omnipresent ridge under Garth Fawr.  Rising steadily, the path can be followed directly but this lessens the adventure as the lower summits would be bypassed so it is worth taking some short detours to add to the day’s achievements and to enjoy some more expansive views over Cwm Croes.  I’ll admit that I ignored Moel Ddu but Moel Ffenigl was a pleasant distraction before strolling along the top of Craig y Llyn towards the imposing rise of Pen-aran.

Some classic foreshortening made this look steep and although the contours tightened, it was an easy enough slope to climb.  The reward from Pen-aran’s summit was the impressive view of Aran Benllyn and the walk’s ultimate destination of Aran Fawddwy.  The panorama from south-west around to the north gave me the chance to test my limited knowledge of the names of the peaks in view, from Cadair Idris, past the Rhinogs to Rhobell Fawr and Dduallt and finally turning to Arenig Fawr.

Aran Fawddwy & Aran Benllyn from Pen-aran summit

Aran Fawddwy & Aran Benllyn

I had seen a couple of family groups on the lower slopes but they didn’t continue on to the higher ridgeline.  It was on Pen-aran that I met the first of only nine other fellow walkers that I saw on the higher ground on this bank holiday Monday.  No doubt there would have been people queuing up to touch the trig on Snowdon summit but even though I wasn’t alone for all of the day, I still found some solitude on one of the country’s highest and most interesting summits.

The half mile from Pen-aran to Aran Benllyn is one of the finest stretches of walking I’ve ever done.  It’s over easy ground but the view ahead towards Aran Fawddwy is magnificent.  From Aran Benllyn you pass over the intermediate summit of Erw y Ddaffad ddu before tackling the rocky summit slopes of the peak that has been tantalisingly in view for a lot of the ascent.

Aran Fawddwy from Aran Benllyn summit

Pen-aran & Llyn Tegid from Aran Benllyn summit

The summit trig point appears to be perched precariously at the very highest point and reaching it rewards you with a vista that demands you take some time to appreciate it fully.  I had walked over five miles and ascended about 3,500 feet to get here so I succumbed to gazing at the surrounding mountains.

Aran Benllyn from Aran Fawddwy summit

Suddenly it felt like a long way back to the car – it was – but every step was a pleasant reminder that this less popular mountain deserves the appreciation that those who stride its slopes must surely understand.