Well, this is the first proper mountain walk since the strange times of lockdown of 2020. I, like everyone else out there, was looking forward to another exciting year walking the mountains, valleys and highways, ticking off a few more sumitt's while visiting some old favourites and enjoying the great outdoors. Covid-19 had other ideas though and sent the world into lockdown, the which has never been seen before in my lifetime and hopefully won't see again for a very long time.
So, with the UK finally easing down and folk being allowed to travel again, I decided that my first trip in to the high ground would take me to a couple of the outlying summit's of the CARNEDDAU in Snowdonia. I have visited this area before, apart fom the summit's of Foel Lwyd & TAL y FAN, the last remaining high points of this wild area that I had not visited before. Getting to the small, remote car park at Bwlch y Ddeufaen was an experience in itself, as I negotiated the very narrow lanes while praying no other vehicle would be coming in the opposite direction!! The route I was following meant that I had to back track down the lanes for around 40 minutes before I headed along the path across fields and following walls. It is possible to start the walk from the carpark or just a bit down the lane and head straight up to Tal y Fan and do the walk in reverse but it's more doubling back and its a long walk back up the lane at the end of the walk rather than down the lane at the begining. Photo's are off my phone and camera, but not great as it was very overcast and a bit hazy in place's.
My route for the day, around 10 miles
Setting off from the small car park
Back down the narrow lane
Looking back down the lane and the narrow bridge
Turn right up this lane to the end
Over the style at the end of the lane with Penygadair straight ahead
Once over the style, its a case of following the path as it heads towards a wall. It can be quite boggy here but today was ok with no mishaps. The main path eventually swings round to the left and goes under the hill of Penygadair before going under then straight up to Pen Y Castell. I wanted to take in Penygadair as I hadn't visited this before so I followed a path that went up to just below the summit, eventuall following sheep trails and walls. Following walls and fencelines became a feature of this walk, as there are plenty of them with the paths following them. Fairly easy on a good clear day like today but could lead to a wrong turn or two if you don't have a map or gps to follow and it is quite a featureless enviroment round these parts with a lot of grass, heather and boggy places to catch out the unwary.
Following the grassy path
Heading up through the wall
Heading towards Penygadair
Following another wall
Looking back towards Foel Lwyd & Tal y Fan
Penygadair rocky summit @ 507mts (1663 feet)
From Penygadair's rocky summit, it's a fairly straight forward path that heads across a grassy plateau, that can be quite boggy after rainfall but was fairly dry today, before dipping down then heading up to PEN y CASTELL following a fenceline and wall. Coming off Penygadair's plateau you do have a fence to climb over via a broken stile but nothing to difficult. Once over the wall, there are quite a few rocks that you have to weave through before getting to the rocky summit. This is one place I have been to before, around 10 years ago with a group of other people as we came down from Drum, before heading back up to Foel Fras. That day I recall was very windy and quite cool, not a day for hanging around anywhere for long. Today though was a good near windless day, overcast but warm, tee shirt weather which is always good. The views over to Cwm Eigiau and the surrounding mountains are good and you get a good visual of the route of the day.
Views down to the Conwy Esturary form Penygadair
Across to Cwm Eigiau and surrounding Carneddau Mountains
The way forward to Pen y Castell
Crossing the fence with Pen y Castell straight ahead
Looking back to Penygadair from the wall crossing
Pen y Castell rock summit @ 623 m (2,044 ft)
Pen y Castell summit
One feature about this area are the CARNEDDAU PONIES that roam free here. They have been a feature of the area, infact all over the Carneddau mountains, for hundred's of years, but especially this side as it is less frequented by people. I came across a couple of mare's with there foals on Pen y Castell, a good sight to see and they are a hardy bunch to survive up here. You can get fairly close to them before they move off but I wouldn't advise trying to touch any or get too close as they are wild and can be very dangerous. As long as you keep a respectable distance they should pose no problem and will be quite relaxed. The way off Pen y Castell is again fairly straight forward as you head off the plateau before following another fenceline that brings up to the summit shelter on Drum. When I got to the summit of DRUM there was quite a few roaming around, in fact I saw more ponies than people as I came across 6 others out enjoying the day and all were on Drum at one point or other.
Ponies with resting foals on Pen y Castell
Ponies and Foals on Pen y Castell
Heading off Pen y Castell and up to Drum
Looing back down to Pen y Castell and Penygadair
Following the fenceline to Drum
Ponies on Drum with Foel Fras as the backdrop
Once on Drum, I rested for a good 30 minutes taking in the relative solitude just watching the ponies while having a bite to eat. It was, as I said earlier, the place where I saw the only other people, apart from a couple back at the car park, who were making there way in different directions as its a juction of different paths here. A couple who carried on up to FOEL FRAS a walker and a fell runner who had just come off Foel Fras and a couple of mountain bikers heading down towards Aber Falls so a very quiet day to be had. The wind had picked up slightly here and the edge had gone from the warm temperature so an extra layer went on while I rested. This was the highest point of the day before heading off along a good straight forward path towards the lower summit of CARNEDD y DDELW with it's large wind shelter
Drum summit wind shelter @771 m (2,530 ft)
Summit view back down to Pen y Castell & Penygadair
Summit view over to Tal y Fan
Making my way off Drum with Puffin Island on the left & Llandudno on the right
More ponies with Llwytmor as the backdrop
@686 m (2,251 ft) Carnedd y Ddelw summit shelter view of Foel Fras & Llwytmor high above Llyn Anafon
Carnedd y Ddelw summit shelter view of Tal y Fan
Carnedd y Ddelw summit shelter view of my way of Drum
Carnedd y Ddelw summit view of Tal y Fan and the remote car park
From here, it was following another fenceline all the way down to the Roman Road and a junction of paths, one of which led back to the car a couple of hundred metres away at Bwlch y Ddeufaen. I may of been tempted to cut it short here if it was wet and windy but alas I carried on following yet another wall as I went back up on to Foel Lwyd.
Looking back to Carnedd y Ddelw & Drum
Following the fenceline down
Following the wall down
Following the down and then straight up on to Foel Lywd
Gate leading back to the car
Looking back on my route off Drum and up onto Foel Lwyd
A cloud covered Drum from Foel Lwyd
Foel Lwyd view to a distant Angelsey
Foel Lwyd view to Tal y Fan
From here, again it was just a case of following the wall to Tal y Fan. Just before you start to ascend Tal y Fan, there is a style that takes you over the wall that leads back down to the lane and the car so its a case of doubling back off the summit. Tal y Fan summit is the only one on this walk that has a trig point on it and also some great views over the Conwy coast towards Llandudno, a good view of the whole of the walk and out towards Anglesey. A bit of mist did roll in obscuring the view of Llandudno for a bit but nothing to serious.
Another great day in this very quiet corner of the Carneddau Mountains, Snowdonia, revisiting the summits of Pen y Castell, Drum & Carnedd y Ddelw while ticking off Penygadair, Foel Lwyd and Tal y Fan
Cheers :-)
