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.

An Outlying Carnedd

I arrived at the Cwm Eigiau roadhead carpark, albeit a little later than planned, and was surprised that there were no spaces left.  I had expected this tucked away corner of the Carneddau to be less popular than this but perhaps quiet areas in the mountains are becoming increasingly difficult to find.

With more daylight I would probably have added Pen y Castell to the walk but the afternoon really only offered the option of a quick up-and-down of Craig Eigiau if I wanted a relaxing walk.  I started up the track leading to Melynllyn and as I turned the corner the highest tops showed off their snowy summits.  My objective was over 200 metres lower and held a lot less snow cover.

the northern Carneddau

At the fence which rises meridian-straight up towards Foel-fras, a faint path leads away leftwards from the track towards the ridgeline of Craig Eigiau.  It led up amongst the snowfields which, if steeper, would have needed crampons to safely cross.

My leisurely pace gave another walker the chance to catch me up and he said that he was heading for Carnedd Llewellyn, admitting that he may have left it a bit late in the day to reach the summit as it was almost mid-afternoon with only a couple of hours of good daylight remaining.  Although in his fifties, he said that his mother had coerced him into attending chapel earlier in the day, hence his late start.  Pleasantries completed, we wished each other well and he continued ahead of me.

Carnedd Llewellyn

Craig Eigiau’s summit ridge has some interesting terrain with rocky outcrops to explore.  The summit itself was a smooth sloping shelf of rock which, from a certain angle, replicated the outline of the main Carneddau ridge in front of it.  The clear skies allowed good views from the sea to the tops and after the obligatory summit shots I turned to retrace my steps.

Craig Eigiau summit rocks

The Welsh Matterhorn

There are many areas that claim a mountain or hill is their “Matterhorn” and Wales is no exception.  My one and only previous visit to Cnicht was 12 years ago and before I was actively ticking the Nuttalls.  I’d reached the summit on a misty day and there was a chance that I had also bagged the north top but as I hadn’t logged it, I may not have done.  But it gave me a good excuse to revisit this fine mountain.

Moel Hebog and the Nantlle Ridge

From Croesor it looks steep and intimidating, not unlike the Matterhorn, but in reality the ridge affords an fairly easy walk as the view is a classic example of foreshortening.  Easy to navigate and easy underfoot, only the top section of the route offers a change in character with some scrambling to reach the summit.  There were quite a few family parties enjoying a taste of adventure but the shoulders of mums and dads were being used to carry the toddlers !

At the small plateau below the scramble we saw a family with three small boys descending the face to the left of the normal route.  It looked a bit hairy so I kept myself ready to help just in case they needed it – luckily they didn’t.  At the same time a fellrunner took a direct line up the face and made it look easy !

From the summit we headed over to the north top.  As we got nearer it became clear that the path skirts the top and it was obvious that I hadn’t been to it on my previous visit.  A short detour bagged the summit and we walked to the top of Cwm-y-foel, dropping down beyond the few snow patches into the hanging valley to find a suitable spot for lunch.

Tremadoc Bay from Cwm-y-foel

The walk along the edge of the dammed tarn led to the descent into Cwm Croesor and an easy walk back to the car, ending an enjoyable day out in one of Snowdonia’s less popular corners.

Cnicht from Cwm Croesor

Raw Head

It’s not often I go on a walk to such a small hill that isn’t on my ticklist, but as this was the President’s Walk of the Merseyside Mountaineering Club on the day after the club’s Annual Dinner, I thought it would blow the cobwebs away.  The weather forecast was for good conditions and it thankfully lived up to expectations as the northern edge of Storm Angus made its way to our south.

We started at the Cheshire Workshops and joined the Sandstone Trail just north of Higher Burwardsley.  We reached Bulkeley Hill and enjoyed the views of the Cheshire Plain.  We left the Trail and passed Chiflik Farm to regain it, walking north along the sandstone escarpment and taking care not to slip as consequences of a fall had the potential to ruin your day as the drop was significant and steep in places.

Raw Head trig point

Raw Head is the highpoint of the Sandstone Trail from where the tallest buildings in Liverpool can be fairly easily identified.  Summit photos taken, we marked the end of the walk with a late lunch in The Pheasant Inn; the fish finger butty is recommended !

Sentries’ Ridge

“Sentries’ Ridge is certainly more serious than many Moderate or Difficult climbs, and can only sensibly be recommended to competent mountaineers.” ⁽¹⁾

“Craig y Bera does offer good views and interesting features to those able to cope with the capricious nature of the rock, which can be loose on both large and small scales.” ⁽²⁾

“An ability to judge rock quality is more important than technical expertise.” ⁽³⁾

“The huge screes below the cliffs indicate clearly enough the loose and fragile nature of these unfrequented rocks.” ⁽⁴⁾

Over the years I have come across a number of references to Sentries’ Ridge on Mynydd Mawr but although most of them extol the adventure of this big-mountain route, all of them make specific note of the lack of quality of the rock.  And with good reason.

Following the track through the Beddgelert forest, we easily reached the open hillside and walked up Mynydd Mawr’s east ridge to the treeline before traversing to the start of the route at the bottom of Craig y Bera.  We donned harnesses and helmets and started the ridge up the faint path through the heather.  As the heather gave way to rock and incline to verticality, I called for a rope.  We split into three teams of two and made our way up, placing gear when a good placement presented itself, which wasn’t often.

Walk-in to Craig y Bera

We bypassed a pinnacle on the left – this was the route’s crux – and although the moves were straightforward, the exposure was significant and the consequences of a fall serious.  For the length of the route the rock definitely lived down to its reputation.  Huw Gilbert’s blog about the route adds some drama to the dangers of loose rock !

I read a few guidebooks to research the route before I stepped foot on it and there was no consensus about its grade, with opinions ranging from a grade 2 scramble, through 3 and 3S to a Diff rock climb !

Snowdon & Yr Aran from Sentries' Ridge

The good weather highlighted the vista – from Snowdon and Yr Aran to the full length of the Nantlle ridge and seawards to the Rivals.  At the top of the ridge we decided on a fast-and-light dash to the top of Mynydd Mawr, stashing the rucksacks in the heather.  The good views got better summit and even the summit of Tryfan could be seen over the col between Y Garn and Glyder Fawr.

Nantlle ridge from Sentries' Ridge

On a sunny bank holiday weekend we had manged to have an adventurous route to ourselves and basked in the smug self-congratulation on avoiding the inevitable bank holiday crowds on Snowdon, just over four miles away.

For anyone considering the ridge, harnesses and helmets are a must, but there is no need for rock shoes – stiff boots will serve you well.  Some big slings and a selection of nuts will be adequate for protection, but we thought that 2 or 3 mid-sized cams would have helped.  And take a rope of a decent length; 25 metres isn’t enough – consider something at least 40 metres long and it will keep the belays to a minimum.

⁽¹⁾        quoted from     “The Ridges of England Wales and Ireland”

            author              Dan Bailey

            publisher         Cicerone Press (2009)

⁽²⁾        quoted from     “Cwm Silyn & Cwellyn”

            authors            Paul Jenkinson & Bob Wightman

            publisher         The Climbers’ Club (2003)

⁽³⁾        quoted from     “Scrambles in Snowdonia”

            author              Steve Ashton

            publisher         Cicerone Press (2010)

⁽⁴⁾        quoted from     “Scrambles & Easy Climbs in Snowdonia”

            authors            Jon Sparks, Tom Hutton, Jerry Rawson

            publisher         Grey Stone Books (2005) 

Llechog

The beauty of having a ticklist is that it gives you variety; you don’t have to tread old ground and sometimes you are welcomed by a previously undiscovered gem.  But by continually looking at new areas to explore, I am less drawn to the hut my mountaineering club has, despite it being nestled in the foothills of Snowdon with easy access to some good walking and a variety of summits.  The thing is, there aren’t many summits on my ticklist near to the hut, I’ve been on the vast majority of them.

An exception is Llechog, a minor Nuttall summit on the ridge snaking north-west from Snowdon.  It doesn’t provide the biggest day out but I managed to muster a few companions to take it on without heading for Yr Wyddfa, mostly because of the poor weather and partially because of the annual Snowdon Race promising even more people to avoid on the Llanberis path.

We soon reached Hebron station and made a beeline for Derlwyn, the first top of the ridge.  Mostly untracked, we carried on over some varied terrain to gain the intermediate top of Tryfan, which is a lot less challenging than its Glyderau namesake.  The walk to Llechog was a straightforward stroll along the edge of the precipices plunging to the Llanberis Pass, but the low and billowing cloud denied us that view.

We followed the railway and then the main path down to Halfway station where we found walking against the tide of the racers, most of them with heads down and heartrate up.  Soon we were approaching Hebron only to be overtaken by the race leaders, impressively striding over ankle-turning terrain towards their finish line.

But despite my misgivings about whether or not the hut helps me to pursue my ticklist, its drying room was soon working at full capacity as we relaxed with a welcoming mug of tea!

For those who seek routes that are (literally) off the beaten track, the Derlwyn-Tryfan-Llechog ridge would make an interesting and mostly crowd-free way to the roof of Wales.

A Herd of Sleeping Elephants

The Howgills had long been a target of mine after countless trips past them to the northern Lake District and Scotland and with John and Anne Nuttall describing a route to tick all seven Nuttalls, I decided to make an attempt to complete all seven summits in one day and also to tick one of my #trail7summits objectives – The Calf.

Cautley Spout

Moonrise

Paths from the Cross Keys Hotel ease their way to higher ground with good views of Cautley Spout ahead if you.   The cliffs of Cautley Crag provide a contrasting landscape to rolling hills of the high tops and ridges that will come to dominate the day.  A faint path to Yarlside from Bowderdale Head was the first significant climb of the day leading to a vista of endless rounded summits.  The descent towards Kensgriff was a knee-jarring prelude to some easy promenading before the climb to the next Nuttall summit of Randygill Top.

Yarlside summit

Kensgriff and Yarlside

The path down to Bowderdale gave me a good view of the next ascent on the route – over Hazelgill Knott – and I didn’t fancy it at all as it was just a “short-cut” before another descent to gain the start of the walk up to Fell Head.  At the beck I got the map out to gauge my options and decided to walk up the bridleway leading up to the plateau of The Calf and leave the two Nuttalls of Fell Head and Bush Howe to another day, probably starting from the Howgill side of the fells.

The steady path reached a pool on the plateau and I spied some walkers heading for The Calf from the north-west and noticed that Bush Howe might be an easy tick, so I skirted the plateau and the path led directly to the nondescript summit of Bush Howe and its pitiful cairn.  The path to the TRAIL 100 summit of The Calf was an easy walk and I carried on towards Bram Rigg Top, making a beeline across the heather slopes to find the cairn – even less significant than the one topping Bush Howe.  Finding it amongst the grass was a bit of a challenge and in poor visibility it would be very hard to trace.  Bram Rigg Top has got to be one of the poorest summits I’ve ever reached.

The Calf summit

Calders, the day’s day’s Nuttall, was quickly ticked and I turned to traverse the edge of the Great Dummacks plateau before taking a direct aim over Lattera towards Cautley Beck.  The Nuttall’s route down takes in Cautley Spout but I wanted the shortest way back to the car, even though my knees didn’t thank me for it !