I sit here, watching dawn over the city. The busses are rolling and the runners bobbing along the bustling Burley Road, in the heart of Leeds. I’m plotting. Tomorrow I’ll be driving my partner down to the Herefordshire/Shropshire border for a wedding this weekend, to which, though my sincere congratulations are extended without hesitation to the happy couple, I am gratefully not attending. Instead of being in an uncomfortable room with scores of people I don’t know, I’ll be on the paths and marshes of one of Wales’ least pestered peaks. Aran Fawddwy. Most likely alone.
Planning, in earnest, starts today.
Weather looks to be a little damp, but quite mild; 8 degrees and light wind from the South East. I’ll be traveling there and back on the day, most likely, so of more concern is the daylight hours at my disposal, which is roughly 20 past 8 to half past 4. 8 hours, ish. Should give me plenty of time to do the circular route to the summit and return to the car park, but not if I spend half of them on the road getting there. the route card indicates 4 – 5 hours, but my legs are aging and unpracticed, so I’ll allow 6, which means if I’ve not set off by 10, I’ll be potentially night-nav’ing on and unfamiliar hill, which I’d rather avoid. So it’ll be an early start. No bad thing. I like the mornings.
Kit:
1. Waterproofs & gaters. cold is fine, wet is fine, but both together are deeply undesirable.
2. Warm layers, because cold is only fine if you can get warm, so best to avoid it if possible.
3. Navigation stuff – the paths up there are, by all accounts, at times ill-defined, so it’ll be involving some map & compass practice. Good. it’s been a while and I fancy polishing up on that old skill
4. Winter gear… I’m not 100% sure of the conditions on the top, but I know I don’t want to be looking for something I should have brought, but didn’t. An axe is at times handy anyway, and though I’ll most likely leave the crampons in the car, I’ll for sure have them with me just in case. I’ll make that decision on the morning when I can see the summit.
5. first aid & emergency kit, plus one of those emergency bothy shelters I keep meaning to gather but never do.
6. Options. having stuff to choose from in the car is NEVER a bad idea. better to be looking at it than for it, I always say.
The Route
The Day Itself:
After driving down from Leeds to the Welsh border, we stayed with some old friends about an hour and 40 minute drive from the hill, so after a very leisurely set-off at just after 8, myself and a friend who’d decided to join me the night before, left the van in the car-park at almost exactly 10am. A short walk up the farm track to the new glamping pods dotting the valley, the clearly marked path for Aran Fawddwy led off to the left, and the hour of steepest ascent. The path is exceptionally good, well marked and maintained, and is not at all as difficult as some of the online trail reviews will have you believe (about a 60% on the Cadair Idris scale).
There were one or two moments when a hand was needed to move past a particularly larger rock or 3, so I suppose one could claim having scrambled part of it, but if making such claims, in needs to be stated that it’s very, very low in the grade. The way up, though, is stunning. The looming mass of Glasgwm to the south and opening expanse of Cwm Cywarch below are just sublime. By just after 11, we had made it to the more spaced-out contours and the all-but impossible to miss or loose, path to the summit. It can be a little damp underfoot, but is nothing that a modern walking boot can’t cope with ease, and a handy fence at hip height, all but all the way to the top.
We attempted this in January, after some particularly extravagant snowfall a week or so before, so despite the unseasonably mild and pleasant weather (10mph winds and a very comfortable 5 degrees or so on the top), there was still some snow patches underfoot, which made for some appreciated visual entertainment, but nothing detrimental to easy navigation. If anything, I’d hoped for a bit more…
At half past 12, and having chosen to walk on a compass bearing for the last 400m, after the fence we’d followed for the last hour or so deviates to the north of the line to the summit, we reached the summit cairn in thick fog, with about 20-30m of visibility. Removing gloves and resting walking poles for the obligatory photographs, we were rewarded by the sudden clearing of the fog to reveal the utterly spectacular views from the top of the tallest mountain south of Snowdon.
Taking another rough bearing and heading almost directly south, to pick up the path to Drysgol and Waun Goch, we started on the long, steady walk back to the carpark. The terrain on this half of the loop is much less technical, and could be accused of being dull, were it not for the amazing scenery of the Cwm and surrounding hills and Llyns, with a couple of particularly noteworthy exceptions; the thin bridge of Drws Bach, which is a very sedate affair when compared to more technical ‘ridges’, but nevertheless supplies some of that ‘airy’ feeling, in a very easily digestible form, and the fords a few thousand meters further along, down the long steady descent on the flank of Waun Goch, which again, are visually very appealing and give a feeling of real mountain walking, in a very manageable dose. This descent could be, again, accused of being a bit sedate, but doing the route this way round, is something of a reward, with the easy terrain and wonderful visual stimulus of Cym Cywarch.
I’d rate this as easy-to-moderate for a reasonably fit or experienced hillwalker, and in more gnarly conditions it would obviously be a little tastier, but if you need a stunning summit, with an entertaining ascent and easy-as-they-come access, this is it. I had a fantastic day, and was thoroughly pleased with the choice. I recommend it to you, too.
If I am ever looking for a Welsh route that’s a bit quieter (a lot quieter) than average, that’s beginner friendly and supplies just the right amount of ‘wow-factor’, this may well be the top of my list.