The Mawddach Trail and Cadair Idris

Saturday 31st August 2019

At the start of this walk the weather was terrible with rain and a continuation of the strong winds that had stopped me from doing a mountain walk the previous day, however, the forecast was for a dramatic improvement. On this assumption I formulated a plan that would bring me to the summit of Cadair Idris later in the day. I was half way through a memorial tour of Wales visiting some of my favourite walks and mountains from the last twenty years, and this walk was inspired by an unforgettable holiday in 2004 when I had basked in amazing weather. I made a return visit to Cadair Idris in 2009 during a highlights tour of Wales and took the same route up the mountain, from the Minffordd Hotel, as five years earlier only to be plagued with rain. This time I planned to make a completely different approach, coming from the north instead of the south starting from Kings Youth Hostel. Because of the weather, instead of starting the walk by heading south towards the summit, I headed north down the narrow road that follows the wooded valley of the Gwynant to the main road and beyond to the Abergwynant Wood on the edge of the Mawddach Estuary.

When I got to the woods I decided that rather than turning left to follow the river straight towards the estuary I would turn right to take a route that would enable me to enjoy more of the woods. Following the path steeply uphill I quickly became hot in my waterproofs, before meandering through the woods and eventually descended the other side to reach the route of the old railway line that follows the edge of the estuary from Dolgellau to Barmouth, on what is now called the Mawddach Trail. If it hadn’t been raining I’m sure I would have enjoyed the woods more, but ultimately they seemed a little too small. Soon I came across an interpretation board that has a quote from someone who once said the only railway line to have better views than the line between Dolgellau and Barmouth is the one between Barmouth and Dolgellau. On this walk I would see, first hand, what this meant as I turned west and followed the old railway line towards the sea at Barmouth. A combination of the heavy rain and the tide being in had resulted in the estuary being completely filled with water, and when I reached the mouth of the Gwynant I found the path that I should have taken earlier was completely flooded, so it was fortunate that I had taken the diversion through the woods.

The rain stopped soon after I started walking along the trail and gradually the weather improved which enabled me to enjoy the walk as I slowly followed the edge of the estuary with blue skies emerging ahead and even more spectacularly behind me where the combination of water and hills was spellbinding. Eventually the trail turned inland and at a road crossing I turned left and following a levee beside a stream I came back to the main road at Arthog. Across the road I took a footpath that climbs steeply through woodland beside where the stream crashes spectacularly down the hillside. Initially I was not able to see the falls, but later the excellent footpath, that was a delight in itself, brought me to scenes that were simple perfection in their sylvan beauty. Eventually I was deposited onto a road high above the estuary and from this road I followed a track that enabled me to continue to climb slowly into the hills that lie to the west of Cadair Idris. At the edge of a conifer plantation I stopped and looking out over the extensive views across Barmouth Bay I had my lunch before turning off the track to follow a fence to the summit of Braich Ddu. Across the fence was a dreary conifer plantation with severely eroded tracks, but I was walking through grass beside the increasingly steep slopes of Craig Cwm-llwyd.

Despite the earlier sunshine the hills were stubbornly clinging to their cloud cover and providing me with dull, overcast skies as I walked around the grassy slopes above Llyn Cyri. When I reached the top of Twll yr Ogof I found strong winds were still in evidence which made my walking above the cliffs of Craig-y-llyn rather unpleasant. At this point I was questioning whether I was going to reach the summit of Cadair Idris as there seemed to be little improvement in the weather on these tops. However, once I reached the top of Tyrrau Mawr, the promised improvement finally came to the mountains as the sun came out and the wind died down even though, stubbornly, the summit of Cadair Idris remained hidden under cloud. When I reached the popular Pony Path there was no question about whether I would reach the summit as I followed the increasingly and satisfyingly rocky path, a welcome change after the earlier grassy hills, I gradually climbed up to the saddle between Cyfrwy and Cadair Idris. Despite good weather now being almost everywhere, the summit of Cadair Idris was still enveloped in dark cloud when I reached the top, and a brisk, cold wind did not encourage me to linger so turning around I headed back down the path.

It had felt great to be on a proper, rock-dominated mountain, but although it was good walking on rocky ground I was happy to be coming down out of the cold wind. The sun was shining on the path during my descent and the weather continued to improve so that by the time I reached the point where I had earlier joined the Pony Path the summit seemed to have finally cleared of cloud. If only I had been able to delay summiting the mountain by just one hour. Nevertheless I had stunning views across the Mawddach Estuary towards the mountains of Snowdonia that more than made up for my disappointment of the summit conditions. The weather was now fabulous in sharp contrast to how the day had started. I enjoyed the walk along the Mawddach Trail at the start of the day and especially beside the sensational Arthog Waterfalls, but I did not enjoy the western approach to Cadair Idris over grassy hills that do not compare with the sensational route that I had taken on previous occasions from the Minffordd Hotel to the south of the mountain. The tremendous views continued as I made my way down the Pony Path eventually, once more, following the Gwynant stream as I made my way back to Kings Youth Hostel.

Elan Valley

Friday 30th August 2019

My plans for this walk were stopped by the strong winds that were forecast for Wales. I was in the middle of a tour of Wales retracing some of the fantastic walks that I have done over the last twenty years, but nearly all of those walks were up mountains, and the top of a mountain is not the place you want to be in gale force winds that can knock you off your feet. I had planned to walk up the Aran range of mountains in the southern end of Snowdonia on a walk that I had previously done in 2004. Instead I considered staying in the Brecon Beacons National Park and doing another walk in the Black Mountains, but that would also be severely impacted by the strong winds. In desperation I looked at the map and noticed that between the Brecon Beacons National Park and Snowdonia National Park is an area of lower hills known as the Cambrian Mountains or in Welsh, the Elenydd. The Elenydd is not a national park or even a designated Area of Outstanding Natural Beauty and consequently is largely ignored by walkers. I had only once been to the area before when, in 2006, I walked up Plynlimon at the northern end of the Elenydd and the highest point.

The map indicated that my route towards Snowdonia would pass through the Elenydd close to the Elan Valley, which is an area that is not only famed for its picturesque scenery but is also sometimes known as the Welsh Lake District. I needed no other incentive, so driving up from Brecon I came into the Elan Valley and parked at the visitor centre. Since I had not planned to walk in the area I had no maps so I enquired inside on a possible walk that I could do and was recommended two walks that should take me all day around Caban Coch and Garreg Ddu Reservoirs. So, to start I climbed to the top of the dam that overlooks the visitor centre and was assailed by the winds that I had been trying to avoid, though they were not as strong as they would have been if I’d been at the top of a mountain. I followed a path along the southern shore of Caban Coch Reservoir below grey, overcast skies through spectacular rocky scenery that made me think it was a travesty when this beautiful valley was marred by the construction of the many reservoirs in the area. The path bent round into a side valley and headed steeply uphill through bracken and heather to the ruins of Ty’n y Pant farmhouse where I turned right to head back downhill across the Nant y Gro and around the head of the valley.

The views were stunning across the tranquil, deserted valley as I stood sheltered from the wind and thought that this was a delightful spot so I just had to stop to take in the stunning surroundings where nature was in abundance. Purple heather could be seen on the slopes of the hill opposite with scattered outcrops and a prominent cairn on top, while across the valley a craggy hill dropped steeply down to the reservoir. Eventually I tore myself away and rather than staying on the bridlepath I followed the directions I had been given “for best views of the reservoir” taking a path that drops down to a forestry road where I was able to take a relaxing walk around the side of the hill with views across the reservoir towards the viaduct that carries a road over the water. The grey, overcast skies threatened rain but held off while still spoiling my views. Eventually the wide track brought me to Llannerch y Cawr Farm and the road at the western tip of Caban Coch Reservoir. On the other side of the river that feeds the reservoir I took a path that climbs through heather to reach a track that follows the contour through a conifer plantation above the reservoir.

So far I had been walking largely on wide forestry tracks that are too artificial to be really satisfying, but that would soon change. After descending a bridlepath I reached the viaduct that I had seen earlier and behind a car park I sat down near the water’s edge to have my lunch. The first set of directions I had been given directed me back to the visitor centre at this point, but now I got out my second set of directions and began a circuit of Garreg Ddu Reservoir starting from the viaduct. The walk was now much better as I proceeded through deciduous, broadleaved woodland heading towards Cwm Coel that was much more delightful than the monotonous and artificial conifer plantations that I had encountered earlier. Initially I was still walking along quite a wide track but after turning back out of Cwm Coel my route came off the track onto a narrow footpath that meanders delightfully around tree roots and crosses streams on plank bridges.

This was a gorgeous path through fabulous woodland and is just the sort of place I love to walk. I was entranced with every step and thoroughly enjoyed myself as I slowly meandered through the woodland not far from the western shore of Garreg Ddu Reservoir until eventually I came out of the wood and reached the northern tip of the reservoir. The impressive dam for Penygarreg Reservoir could be seen through the trees, but unfortunately I had no more time to explore this fabulous area, which will have to wait for another time. Instead I turned south on the far side of the reservoir and followed the course of the old railway that was built to help with the construction of the dams, and provided me with a good route off road and took me all the way back to the visitor centre. This was a fantastic walk that kept me out of the strong winds and took me through an amazing area that I had tragically forsaken all these years in my unreasonable search for mountains. I hope I return to the Elan Valley soon and extend my adventures to explore the Elenydd which I have ignored for too long.