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.