Tarrenhendre and Cadair Idris

Tuesday 20th and Wednesday 21st August 2024

Before this day I had been following the Cambrian Way which starts in Cardiff and crosses the entire length of Wales to end in Conwy until bad weather drove me off the trail and brought me into the town of Machynlleth, which sits in the Dovey Valley just outside the national park previously known as Snowdonia but now officially called Eryri. I have long harboured a desire to do a long distance trail that crosses the whole national park from Machynlleth to Conwy and with my change of plans I was now perfectly located to begin the Snowdonia Way. However, this follows a low level route avoiding all the mountains, which would be great if the weather was poor, but the heavy rain and strong winds that had forced me to divert into Machynlleth had now passed and the weather looked good, so I didn’t want to be stuck at the bottom of the valleys. My desire is always to be at the top of a hill if the weather is good and ideally on this holiday to be back on the Cambrian Way, which I was not able to do just yet. However, there is a variant of the Snowdonia Way that takes a mountain route so that is what I started to follow, crossing the River Dovey and entering the Eryri National Park. This felt like a momentous occasion and the start of the last phase of my traverse of Wales from Cardiff to Conwy, which had started in the Welsh Valleys before crossing the Bannau Brycheiniog National Park and the Cambrian Mountains and now, finally, I was in Snowdonia.

My route initially coincided with that of the Welsh Coastal Path heading up a narrow lane that afforded me with fantastic views across the valley and into the hills that I had crossed the day before. The ascent eased when I reached a conifer plantation, typical of many that cover the southern part of Snowdonia, before wasting all the effort I had put into climbing by slowly coming back down into Pennal valley while consoling myself with the blue skies and the thought that such ups and down are typical on a long distance trail. Eventually I began to climb again as the views developed behind me while the wind also picked up, which I was afraid might restrict my walking despite the sunshine. When I turned to the east and put the wind to my back its effect lessoned helping me to continue my toil slowly up the path that eventually brought me through the heather to the summit of Tarrenhendre. This lacked interest, but the views were much more appealing, south across the valley, east towards Tarren y Gesail, but it was Cadair Idris to the north that dominated the view. I didn’t stay long at the windy summit and soon headed east down the hill to a suitably sheltered spot where I could have my lunch and admire the awesome view. Unfortunately the blue skies that had accompanied me throughout the morning were now beginning to be consumed by clouds so while I ate I made the most of the extensive views before they disappeared.

My descent continued along the narrowing ridge before finally picking up a right-of-way that turns north through a conifer plantation along an often muddy path that kept me alert and tested my boots before I eventually reached the remains of Bryn-Eglwys Quarry. Later, I had a delightful woodland walk beside the Nant Gwernol stream which I regret not lingering over as I pressed on until I reached the village of Abergynolwyn where I was unsure what to do next and since it was still quite early I kept going on the Snowdonia Way mountain route. Despite not knowing what I was doing, I traversed the side of a hill into the village of Llanfihangel-y-pennant where small car parks provide starting points for people climbing Cadair Idris. This is the easiest but longest path up the mountain, and the climb took me a long time while I never really knew whether if I was going to go all the way up to the summit. My endless effort under increasingly overcast skies eventually brought me to the Pony Path and since it wasn’t particularly windy at that point, or late in the day, I turned right up the path towards the summit of Cadair Idris, coincidentally back on the route of the Cambrian Way. I kept going into the clouds slowly climbing the rocky path into the distinctively mountainous scenery that surrounds the summit where it was exceptionally windy. I wish I had spent the night in the refuge near the top but I had no water with me so I needed to descend and with hindsight I should have descended the southern slopes to Llyn Cau where I would have been sheltered from the wind.
 
Instead, I turned north through the mist to the start of the Fox’s Path, down a perilously slippery scree slope where the wind seemed stronger than ever until eventually I reached Llyn y Gadair at the bottom where I collected some water, but the ground was too rocky to camp. Therefore, I crossed over the low ridge at the foot of the scree slope and descended steep heather-covered slope towards Llyn Gafr but still did not afford me with anywhere to camp. The only clear spot I could find was boggy, but that had to do despite being on a north facing slope and not sheltered from the westerly winds and so a difficult night followed. But my tent survived and in the morning I made my way back up to Llyn y Gadair and onto a slender path that descends the rocky, northern slopes of Cadair Idris below the crags of its neighbour, Cyfrwy, until I reached the Pony Path. After crossing that path, I followed the same route I’d taken in 2019 when last in the area on my way to Kings Youth Hostel, but this time I turned left when I reached the road until a right turn onto a footpath took me past some farm buildings and out to the lakes Llynnau Cregennan. A good path led me around the lakes through a richly decorated landscape that contrasted sharply with the grey, overcast skies. This is a much photographed area and even in the poor weather it was easy to see why.

Soon after reaching a road I rejoined the Cambrian Way which I had abandoned two days earlier to weave a course through farmland to the Arthog Waterfalls which I had previously visited in 2019 and I was more than happy to be revisiting. A delightful path took me down the steep, tree-filled hillside past a wonderful series of waterfalls and cascades until at the bottom I crossed the low-lying fields beside the Mawddach Estuary, through young woodland and around the low hill of Fegla Fawr to reach the southern end of the Barmouth Bridge. A thrilling traverse of the railway bridge, during which a train crossed the estuary, took me into the seaside resort of Barmouth. I didn’t enjoy the crowds there so after resupplying I rejoined the Cambrian Way to head steeply up the hill and reach the bunkhouse where I spent the night. I had enjoyed some great moments in the sunshine, on the first of these days, during the descent from Tarrenhendre, but the day had not ended well, however the following day a relaxing descent allowed me to take my time and recover from the sleepless night. It was great to be back on the Cambrian Way, but with more bad weather forecast it looked like that would now be the exception rather than the norm, though I was still heading north towards Conwy and I was determined to make the most of whatever weather I had.

Cambrian Way: Plynlimon

Sunday 18th and Monday 19th August 2024

Twenty-four hours after I arrived in Devil’s Bridge I returned along the Vale of Rheidol narrow gauge railway from Aberystwyth where I had taken some time out from the Cambrian Way to relax and recover from my exertions of the past week. Part of me didn’t want to resume the trail as I had not found it easy so far and I had some tough walking ahead of me. The ground was very wet which had made the walking tiring and difficult, and I now faced another problem caused by that stopover in Aberystwyth. Rather than adding an extra day to my schedule, for some reason I planned to maintain the recommended schedule, so I had four days to make up for those lost twenty-four hours and the forecast was for the weather to deteriorate, so my prospect for the trail was not hopeful. When I got off the train in Devil’s Bridge I immediately set off along the Cambrian Way again taking a path that starts at the western end of the village and descends through woodland, initially beside the railway, and steeply down to the Afon Rheidol at the bottom of the valley. Views were fleeting and misty when available while at the bottom, before a sharp turn to the left saw me climbing a gravel track steeply out of the valley to finally reach a road past some farm buildings and through the hamlet of Ystumtuen. The short spell of road walking brought me to an area of disused lead mines and beyond through a landscape decorated with the purple flowers of heather and the blue berries of bilberry, which provided me with some much needed vitamins.

The path took me over a low pass to stunning views across the steep-sided Rheidol Valley and around the colourful, heather-clad hill of Bryn Bras down to a farm where the access road brought me onto the A44 road. Stage eleven of the Cambrian Way ends in Ponterwyd where the road crosses the Afon Rheidol, but since that is the stage that I had started two days ago at Claerddu Bothy I was a way behind schedule. Without a pause, I turned right onto the A4120 and then onto a bridleway climbing across a field and onto the quiet B4343 road, which eventually brought me back onto the busy A44 where the cars were now going much quicker than they had been while passing through Ponterwyd. After what is left of the Dyffryn Castell Hotel I turned left to take the path that climbs steeply up the hillside towards Plynlimon, whose Welsh name is Pumlumon Fawr. This was an exhausting climb and though later the hillsides were decorated with a yellow, scrambling flower, purple heather and even blueberries, this failed to ease my toil as I slowly climbed the hillside. Eventually the gradient eased and I followed the edge of a felled conifer plantation past a radio mast and up to the top of the ridge where I turned right towards the summit. I previously climbed Plynlimon in 2006 from Nant-y-moch Reservoir and came down this ridge, so I was now enjoying the opportunity to return after all these years.

Although a cold, westerly wind was blowing and the views were very hazy, the sun was out, so it was fantastic to be at the highest point of the national park that wasn’t to be, the Cambrian Mountains. Beyond the summit, I continued to retrace my steps of 2006 following a fence down to a col and then up to an unnamed summit with a trig point and boundary stone, and on I went, past the source of the beautiful River Wye and up to the top of Pumlumon Arwystli. On the other side I turned right around a felled conifer plantation and descended the eastern slopes to a sheltered spot where I was able to put up my tent, but the weather forecast was so bad for the next few days I had a decision to make. I had so far travelled over 173 miles from Cardiff Castle along the Cambrian Way, but not for much longer. It was already drizzling as I set off the following morning so with waterproofs on I headed north past the source of the mighty River Severn and up to a cairn and boundary stone where my path ended. From there I had to find my own way down the hill, across the open grass and heather-covered hillside and through the bogs at the head of the Afon Hengwm. On the other side I came across a track that provided me with much easier walking past a couple of lakes and up past some farm buildings onto heathery moorland and to a junction with Glyndŵr’s Way where the Cambrian Way turns right, but I turned left.

During my planning I had considered taking Glyndŵr’s Way into Machynlleth for accommodation and continuing along the trail back onto the Cambrian Way, but now I took it to escape the bad weather forecast for later in the day, so while the Cambrian Way passes through remote countryside with little or no accommodation I would be safe in Machynlleth. Soon after leaving the Cambrian Way it started to rain heavily so I was unable to see much of the dramatic landscape of Glaslyn Nature Reserve, but I had a clear track to follow which took me down the hill all the way into the valley. The heavy rain was fortunately short-lived but it remained wet for most of the day and I soon found that Glyndŵr’s Way is not as interesting as the Cambrian Way with a tedious succession of roads and farm paths through undulating terrain. After passing over the Afon Hengwm I climbed Cefn Modfedd and through Bryn-gwyn and Talbontdrain before reaching the conifer-clad slopes of Pen y Darren. Now with better weather and views I slowly headed down the ridge passing through open moorland decorated with many wild flowers and past the low hills of Mynydd Bach and Ffirdd Rhiwlwyfen. After the earlier rain and tedium of farmer’s tracks, this was a joy as I slowly made my way along the path with views ahead of me towards Machynlleth and across the Dovey Valley reaching the town just as it started to rain again. I immediately went to the post office to get rid of my old waterproofs and anything else I no longer needed before heading to the hostel that I had booked the previous evening.

As it rained heavily throughout the evening I was happy to be in Machynlleth rather than wild camping on the exposed, open hills, even though I had effectively abandoned the Cambrian Way. The weather may have ruined my plans many times this year leaving me unable to do my planned walk, but I just changed my plans to adapt to the weather and always ended up having a good walk.

Cambrian Way: the Cambrian Mountains

Friday 16th and Saturday 17th August 2024

At the end of the day before this walk I had arrived at the most remote hostel in Wales, Ty’n Cornel, soaked to the skin, which reveals that my waterproofs were clearly not good enough in heavy, prolonged rain. Fortunately I received a warm welcome at the Elenydd Wilderness Hostel and enjoyed a lovely evening with a fabulous group of people and in the morning my clothes were a lot drier. On stage ten of the Cambrian Way I set off from the Ty’n Cornel Hostel initially on the access track soon emerging out of the mist that lingered around the hostel to good weather and brakes in the cloud. When the track crossed the river I turned north along wet, faint paths that improved as I reached the top of a low ridge, Esgair Wynt, with a vast wilderness to my right and Cwm Berwyn Plantation to my left. The boggy ground continued in the gap before climbing back up to Esgair Cerrig where I enjoyed the feeling of being remote from civilisation until the isolated farm of Nantymaen was revealed on the other side of the hill with a road running across the valley of the stream Camddwr. After negotiating the bogs on the descent, I followed the farmer’s track towards the farm buildings before taking a diversionary route around and onto a phenomenally boggy path that meandered across the slopes of the shallow valley. Even though the sun was shining this was proving to be a very wet day as I toiled through the waterlogged ground, but fortunately, unlike the day before, it was now only my feet that was getting wet.

My trial continued as I moved away from the Camddwr and past the marsh of Talwrn where I could see a steep sided valley ahead of me, which the Groes Fawr flows through, a tributary of the Afon Teifi, but after a moment’s confusion I realised that my way doesn’t lie through there and instead I turned north again to head uphill and up to the top of Garn Gron where I had extensive views in all directions. This was such an amazing vantage point I stopped beside the summit to have my lunch and linger over the view. Far to the south I could see the silhouette of the Bannau Brycheiniog where I had been earlier in the week, but it was the views to the north that were the most mesmerising for me and extended all the way to Eryri, Snowdonia. I was in between those National Parks in a sparsely populated area of Wales that has been cruelly ignored by everyone. This range of hills is known as the Cambrian Mountains, or in Welsh the Elenydd, and I was standing in the middle of them with a view across the entire area. I have hardly done any walking here before, with a just fleeting visit to the Elan Valley in 2019 and an ascent of Plynlimon, the highest point in the Cambrian Mountains, in 2006, which I could see now in the far distance and would be crossed in a couple of days. It was wonderful to see my onward progress mapped out before me as I relished being at the top of a hill with extensive views all around.

After the disappointments and saturation of the day before, it was fabulous to have good weather again and I enjoyed this as I slowly meandered down the northern slopes trying to find my route despite having no paths to follow. Eventually I found my way into a conifer plantation where I negotiated my way along a network of paths and forestry tracks that were sometimes blocked by bracken, fallen tree branches or bogs until I finally emerged from the wood taking a delightful little path beside a stream that led me to Strata Florida where there are the ruins of an abbey. I didn’t want to linger amongst this sudden intrusion of civilisation, so I rushed past on an extended stretch of road walking until I eventually turned off onto a well-made path that climbs beside Nant Egnant through a picturesque landscape of crags and heather that took me past the signpost that marks the halfway point of the Cambrian Way. Eventually I reached Llyn Egnant and a tarmacked road that led me through the group of lakes and reservoirs that make up the Teifi Pools and to the point in the middle of nowhere where stage ten of the Cambrian Way technically ends. In practice, the stage ends at Claerddu Bothy which is not far away along a rough track nestled amongst the hills and looks just like any Scottish bothy, except that it has a flushable toilet since it is within the catchment area for the Elan Valley reservoirs. I was reluctant to stay there since it was still quite early and on a Friday evening I expected the place to become busy so I headed off along the trail until I eventually stopped and put up my tent.

The following morning it was cold and misty which obscured my view from the top of Domen Milwyn, so I soon headed downhill and into the valley of Cwm Ystwyth, and climbed up again beside a pretty stream before crossing a horrendously boggy field to reach a conifer plantation just as it started to rain, though this was short-lived. Soon I reached an arch built to commemorate the Golden Jubilee of George III and from there the walk picked up as I took an easy, level track that traversed the hillside with fantastic views into the Mynach Valley while the weather began to clear. I wished more of the Cambrian Way was like this path as far too much of it was boggy. Eventually I descended to Devil’s Bridge and the railway station for the Vale of Rheidol Railway where I caught the train that took me into Aberystwyth and spent the night there. This gave me a chance to relax after the excesses of the last week and also to restock and buy new waterproofs to replace those that had clearly failed to keep me dry on the walk to Ty’n Cornel.

This was also a good time for me to reflect on my walk so far on the Cambrian Way. While I enjoyed being at the top of the hills in good weather, including on Garn Gron where I had extensive views in all directions, a lot of it was exceptionally tiring. It is astonishing that I thought I could do the Cambrian Way as it is very strenuous and much more difficult than anything I had attempted before. August may not be the best time of the year to do the trail as the bracken was overgrown and sometimes blocked or obscured my way. Another problem I was having was due to the large amounts of rain that we have had this year which had left the ground so wet there had been many difficult moments crossing bogs, which wouldn’t have been such a problem if we had enjoyed a dry summer. However, I wasn’t about to give up even though the Cambrian Way wasn’t going get any easier.