Moel Siabod take three

Tuesday 28th August 2007

For the final day of this holiday I returned to a walk that I had done twice before, and both times failing to go up the Daear Ddu ridge, south of Moel Siabod, that was my intended route. The first time, in 2004, I went up a scree slope next to the ridge and the second time, two years ago in the rain, I went up the grassy slope beyond the ridge. I was hoping that this would be third time lucky. Moel Siabod is a lonely mountain with only one good line of approach, that from Pont Cyfyng, so once again I parked just over the bridge and set off up the steep road for Moel Siabod.

Continuing on the track towards the imposing mountain ahead I turned off towards the left flank and to a picturesque lake. The good path continued through an eerie, disused quarry, past slag heaps and a dark flooded pit, before climbing over a rise and down to Llyn y Foel. This was where my choices on my previous visits varied as the path splits before the descent to the lake. The right-hand path hugs the edge of the hillside heading towards the corner formed by the hillside and the ridge, and this was the path I took the first time I did this walk. The second time I went left around the lake, just as a group ahead of me were doing now, but this time I went straight ahead just to the right of the lake on what is potentially the wettest route.

On the other side of the lake I climbed up to the top of the ridge, which was not too difficult at this early stage, and finally I succeeded in walking along the ridge on my third attempt. Some fun scrambling was revealed that can be easily circumvented, but why would I want to do that? The climb up the ridge was easy with some fun moves possible up the rocks, which was a perfect way to end my long weekend holiday. Finally I reached the summit where I had stunning views of Snowdon, the Glyderau and the Carneddau. After having something to eat I walked down the tremendous eastern ridge over rocky terrain with bits of delicious rockwork to enjoy while traversing the top. With the fun over I descended down the hill back onto the outward track to finally return to my car. This is a truly great mountain, and even though I have now done the ridge that I had been trying to achieve for years it would be a shame not to do this walk again.

Since the walk had finished early, I took advantage of the spare time on my drive home to explore the countryside I was passing through. A signpost for the Horsehoe Pass, near Llangollen, prompted me to take the road that passes through this dramatic scenery and to stop and take in the views. Unfortunately I was unable to do a walk in the area, so I got back in my car and drove down into Llangollen, but soon after passing through I was stopped by another signpost that promised an aqueduct. I have passed these signs for the Horseshoe Pass and Pontcysyllte Aqueduct many times on my way to Snowdonia, but now I had the time to stop and explore. The aqueduct carries the Llangollen Canal across the Dee Valley and was a vertiginous experience to cross over, only to have to do so again to get back. I loved these opportunities to explore areas that I had never visited before and I hope that I will soon get a chance to spend more time in an area that previously I have ignored in my single-minded focus on mountains.