Cadair Idris

Sunday 30th May 2004

I had a great time over the Spring Bank Holiday in 2004 where glorious weather greeted me every time I set off on a walk. I was staying at the Corris Youth Hostel and it was on this occasion that I was introduced to the delights of Earl Grey Tea and ever since I have been drinking not only that blend of tea, but also the brand of tea that was in the youth hostel: Clipper. This would have made it a memorable weekend for me if only for that reason, but the walking was also sensational with fabulous weather over some truly great mountains. The previous day I had driven to the southern end of Snowdonia and walked up to the highest point in the Aran range of mountains, which are rarely visited despite being the highest point in Britain south of Snowdon, however there is a mountain nearby that, though smaller in height, draws in the crowds. Although Cadair Idris is topped by the nearby Aran range it has all the other characteristics that make a mountain popular.

There is a main road all around the base of the mountain that provides easy access from many different locations which results in several popular named paths to the summit. More significant than that is that it dominates the view from Barmouth and the Mawddach Estuary as it rises from sea level all the way to the top giving it the impression of having a much higher height than it actually has. Even from its higher neighbours its distinctive top draws the eye and draws people to climb this striking mountain. It is no wonder that this is probably the second most popular mountain in Wales, after Snowdon. The September before this walk I had come to Snowdonia for the first time to climb mountains and on that occasion I had climbed Snowdon twice. It took me less than a year for my attention to be drawn south towards this most regal of mountains.

I had heard that the best route up Cadair Idris was from the south, from the Minffordd Hotel so that was the route I took, parking near the hotel, on a heavily manufactured path climbs steeply through woodland past spectacular waterfalls. I came back to Cadair Idris in 2009, but I was not blessed with the same good weather of me first visit having instead encountered low cloud and rain. The path eventually levelled off into the glorious surroundings of Cwm Cau where craggy cliffs look steeply down on the glacial lake of Llyn Cau. In good weather this bowl is an awesome sight and it was no less inspiring when I returned in less than ideal conditions. The fabulous path continues less distinctly around the edge of the cwm as I gradually climbed to the top of Mynydd Pencoed while the pointed peak of Penygadair, the highest point on Cadair Idris, constantly drew my attention.

Image by NotFromUtrecht [CC BY-SA 3.0 or GFDL], via Wikimedia Commons

After passing over Mynydd Pencoed I didn’t continue making my way around the top of Cwm Cau towards Penygadair, but headed out across the broad western slopes of the mountain to the edge of the northern cliffs of Cadair Idris, above Llyn Gadair. During this walk I had the aim of bagging all the significant peaks on Cadair Idris and I had already bagged one of them in Mynydd Pencoed, but in order to bag Cyfrwy (also known as the Saddle) I had to make a detour past the Pony Path that comes up the northern slopes and make my way to this cliff-edge top. Nowadays I wouldn’t be so bothered about going out of my way to bag a top unless I had a good reason, but back in 2004 I was eager to get to the top of all the mountains in Wales, including their subsidiary summits. Once I had visited the cairn at the top of Cyfrwy I joined the Pony Path for the final ascent to the summit of Cadair Idris.

The top was packed with people also prompted to climb this popular mountain in the good weather of this Bank Holiday weekend, so it wasn’t long before I set off again from the summit following the edge of the northern cliffs. After stopping briefly at an unnamed 852m top that has minimal re-ascent I continued heading east visiting the top of the fourth and final significant top of Cadair Idris, Mynydd Moel, before continuing along the ridge slowly descending until I reached an old fence. The ridge now levelled off and continued until eventually I reached a cairn above the terminal cliffs of Gau Graig. At this point I turned right and followed a fence that heads south-east off the ridge plunging steeply down to easier slopes on Mynydd Gwerngraig. I remember being rather concerned about whether I’d find a way down this steep slope, but in the event I found a well-graded path that handled the contours competently.

On easier ground I made my way down the grassy slopes beside the fence all the way to the road at the top of the pass. A short section of road walking was required before I was able to safely follow a bridlepath down Cwm Rhwyddfor that led me almost all the way back to the Minffordd Hotel. The weather continued to be fabulous and I had a pleasurable stroll. I remember someone asking me when I got back to my car where I’d just walked and he expressed surprise at the distance I had just done. However, I didn’t feel like I’d walked a great distance as I was elated at having just walked over a fabulous mountain in sensational weather. It was a pity the weather was not as good when I returned in 2009 and even more a pity that I have never been back since to renew my acquaintance with this fabulous mountain.

Glasgwm and Aran Fawddwy

Saturday 29th May 2004

As always happens at this time of the year I don’t have a recent walk to write about and so I’ve got to delve back more than ten years to describe a walk that I’ve not mentioned before. The problem with these walks from 2004 is that, apart from my holiday in the Lake District, I didn’t make any notes at the time or take any photos. Consequently I am reliant on my sketchy memory and since my holiday of the Spring Bank Holiday 2004 is in an area that I’ve hardly ever been back to I am going to have to raid the internet for someone else’s photo. It is a tragedy that I have not been back to this area as it is a fabulous area for walking with few visitors. The weather was great all weekend meaning that I had tremendous fun on all three days. The first day was initially spent driving to Wales and once I reached the Dovey Valley I took a narrow road up into the quiet valley of Cwm Cywarch. Internet reports describe this as a beautiful valley but all I can remember of it is a sign in both English and Welsh but with the English crossed out. That did not seem very welcoming.

At the end of the road is a large meadow with parking and from there I set off west up the side of the valley. Although there is a right-of-way marked on the map I remember completely losing all trace of it especially after crossing over a hedge in an attempt to follow the green dotted line on the map. The latest maps show a track that zigzags up the hill and that is what I should have been on, but since it was not on my map I was not aware of it until it swung towards the hillside that I was walking up. After crossing another hedge I was able to join this track as it zigzags up the hillside until finally I reached the saddle at the top of the ridge. Turning right I followed the ridge-top fence in glorious sunshine heading roughly north towards Glasgwm whose awesome crags, Craig Cywarch, had been attracting my attention throughout the climb.

© Copyright Dave Croker and licensed for reuse under this Creative Commons Licence

Slowly I climbed the broad grassy slopes of Glasgwm until eventually I reached the broad top that is adorned by several small lakes and several small tops (at least it appears to from looking at the map, I can’t remember). I continued to follow the fence and headed down to the pass that separates Glasgwm from the Aran ridge. The path that comes up to the top of the pass from the valley looks like it could be an interesting climb with close views of the crags amongst a tremendous rock landscape that is giving me an insatiable desire to return to these awesome mountains. From the top of the pass I continued to follow the fence slowly gaining height as I gradually made my way all the way up to the top of Aran Fawddwy. This is one of the highest hills in Wales, but also one of the least known, which is a great shame as it lies at the top of a fabulous ridge. I can’t help thinking that I may have had a bit of poor weather at the top of Aran Fawddwy, although it could have been merely low cloud, but even so it may have been the only bad weather I had all weekend.

Turning around I headed back along the craggy ridge until I reached a junction where another fence joined onto the one I had been following. Turning to the left I followed this fence descending to a narrow, grassy ridge high above the valley of Hengwm where a cairn marks the start of the ridge. Although I had forgotten about this the internet reveals that this cairn commemorates a mountain rescuer who was killed during a rescue. At the other end of the narrow ridge a small rise brought me to the top of the grassy hill of Drysgol. There must be tremendous views of the eastern crags of the Aran ridge from this point, but since I didn’t have a camera with me at the time I can only look at other people's pictures and dream.

© Copyright Philip Halling and licensed for reuse under this Creative Commons Licence

While coming down the grassy slopes on the other side of Drysgol I found a path that took me gradually down into the Hengwm valley. I do remember it being rather windy at this point because I had been trying out a wide-brimmed hat that I had just bought and I was finding that it wasn’t particularly useful when there is even the slightest wind, which is quite common on mountains. This path brought me all the way down to the road in Cwm Cywarch not far from my car at the end of a walk that was just an introduction to the delights I would be enjoying on this weekend in the southern mountains of Snowdonia. I had tremendous weather, most of the time, and the scenery was first class. The greatest tragedy is that I have never been back.