so the yearly festive break is upon us. Whereby i spend majority of my time checking weather forecast in the mountain ranges up and down the country and silently wishing the good weather falls on the days my other half is at work.
This year, typical to past fashion, the weather isn't forthcoming with good indication that i can stay dry no matter what range I seek to get out to.
With this in mind and a few engagements due on each night of the break, i set my sights on a little range thats closer to home that I've never been to before, the Berwyn range.
Quite surprisingly, after some research, I noticed that the height of these mountains are decent! so, with some excitement, I planned the night before with haste and a little spring in my step.
Of course, when the morning of the 28th December came, I was greeted on my doorstep to some awful weather, While the rain doesn't bother me too much, I couldn't help but notice the low slung cloud. this didn't change after the 1hr 30min drive into Wales.
I was greeted with an extremely picturesque valley to drive down upon my arrival, at the end of the road a cafe & car park came into view, this was a surprise. After taking in the gloomy surroundings, I could understand, that on a sun drenched day, the area would bring in some visitors. What I hadn't noticed on the map was the Pistyll Rhaeadr waterfall. I couldn't quite believe I hadn't come across such a beautiful waterfall.
With the persistent rain hammering down, I didn't waste too much time taking in such a fabulous waterfall & headed North onto the first slopes of Moel Sych. The beginning of the route was a well worn, steep stone path. It sparked initial worry of the amount of food Id indulged in over the festive period, to say I felt sluggish was an understatement! what followed was an arduous trudge up onto the grassy Mooreland looking ground.
From here, it was an uneventful walk up Trum Felen from one hill to another posing false summits in the mist. Until..... Finally, the cairn of Moel Sych came into view!
At this point, i changed my bearing to follow a North - East direction along the fence line. The fence was a welcome feature during this part of the walk after consulting the map, with the cloud being low, it did aid in directing me to the next two summits of Cadair Berwyn.
Cadair Berwyn has two summits, to which there is the first summit (if approached by the south west direction), marked by an impressive cairn shelter type structure with a eerie looking remnants of a chair. The second being marked by a trig point.
My original plan from this point was to drop down the steep eastern side of the Cadair Berwyn & onto Godor thus bagging all 6 Nuttalls within the area. However, Due to the low cloud, I couldn't quite find a safe way & without knowing the area very well, i decided to retrace my footsteps. While normally I would be gutted that I hadn't completed what i set out to do, It offers a return visit to complete the last 3 Nuttalls in the area on a fairer weather day at least.
The stop at the top of Cadair Berwyn had allowed the cold to wear through into my bones, & at this point, i wanted to get back to some warmth. So with a fair amount of haste, I flew back upto Moel Synch & down to seep path at the foothill of Trum Felen. I noticed that the cloud had lifted slightly compared to my view 2 hours earlier. I noticed that the area has many low level paths around the valley, this would be a perfect little place to bring the loved ones to on my next visit no matter their fitness levels.
I finally made it back to the motor with an extremely drenched backpack. Despite the weather, I felt content in stumbling upon such a beautiful place & will be willing to return in the spring.
Good Parts
Good Parking.
Breath taking waterfall.
Lots of low level routes - ideal for all of the family.
Easy to link.
Bad parts
Not much technical ground for the scrambling enthusiasts.
Boggy / slippery ground in bad weather.
Useful links
Route map
Parking
Comments