Monday 27th March 2023
Having climbed to the summit of of Cnicht in time for a mid-morning snack, I was faced with the challenging of heading for Moelwyn Mawr, across the valley, before I would think about lunch.
It looked pretty straightforward from here; follow the other pairs of walkers in a north-eastward direction along the spine of this mountain. Then, at some point, turn right across the head of the valley…
I got too carried away with following the worn path beneath my feet and soon found myself very close to Llyn yr Adar. I hadn’t gone too far wrong, as I then turned easy, striding through the scrub and bog to get to where I felt I’d be back on track… I was reluctant to use the GPS on my phone at this point.
As I felt myself being off-course and resurrected my phone in to life, I quickly learnt that I was too far north of where I’d wanted to be! Another one of those situations where “everyone else” seems to follow the route perfectly and without even having to stop and study a map.
There are some beautiful lakes up here and not a swimmer in sight. Although this was only at the tail-end of March. Llyn Cwm-corsiog was home to a number of small birds.
Down ahead of me, I could see the first of this day’s disused and abandoned quarries. On the way down, I can recall slipping over shortly after successfully crossing the river here.
This quarry isn’t named on the OS Map but it might’ve been an extension of Cwmorthin Quarry, which sits to the east and across Llyn Cwmorthin.
Whatever it’s name may be, this is a fascinating place to explore. Many, many tonnes of slate. Ruined structures. A lost industry from the heart of North Wales.
My walk continued along a clear path between hulking spoilt tips. Man-made mountains of slate! All the hours and the energy put in to extracting this material… A Century latter and it sits by, redundant.
At the top of the climb, I arrived at Rhosydd Quarry. A much smaller affair of slate structures. I was more content with the challenge that stood ahead of me:
I’d joined the Cambrian Way by this point – perhaps the most challenging long-distance walk across ways, bar the coastal path, of course. I’m hoping that more YouTubers will take to walking this, as they did Scotland’s Cape Wrath Trail a couple of years ago.
Blaenau Ffestiniog is but a slate’s throw away from these mountains. In 2022, I stayed at a bunkhouse not far from this view – staring across the valley to Moelwyn Mawr… Here I was now, minutes away from the very summit.
A stocky slate-covered trig point, all to myself.
Looking west towards mountains that I’d not explored. Among them might’ve been Moel Hebog – one that I was hoping to cross in the coming days… But that decisions would be very dependant upon the weather!
I did enjoy my lunch up here. In the sunshine, in solitude and with no need to seek shelter from any breeze. This day in March was as beautiful as my time in North Wales a year ago.
Back across the valley, I could see and hear what might’ve been a search and rescue helicopter. It hovered around and then over the summit of Cnicht for several minutes. I saw no-one airlifting. Hopefully it was just a training exercise. Before too long, it dropped down in to the valley and swept the floor.
After lunch, I followed what I felt was the most obvious route down and off of Moelwyn Mawr.
I’d somehow severed ties with the way that your average walker must follow and came down this steep slope to meet up with the boundary wall that I was aiming for.
Along here, I would pass by another disused quarry at Bwlch Stulan. Half of my mind was favouring the idea of an easier route down in to Croesor and my car… While the other side could not ignore the presence of Moelwyn Bach, ahead and to the right!
I may as well tick it off while I’m here! If not, when might I return to this location again? Would I regret not making one final ascent today?
I had wondered whether I could’ve taken a more direct from from Moelwyn Mawr across Craigysgafn. It looks to be quite a knobbly ridge but it also follows the Cambrian Way – imagine walking that with a 60 litre rucksack!
A view of the reservoir before my final push of the day. A dog walker appeared out of nowhere and continued on his way around the lake.
Getting to the top of Moelwyn Mawr had been enough of a challenge but by the time I reached Moelwyn Bach, I was defeated! Had the weather forecast not been so dire for the rest of the week to follow, I might’ve opted out.
Beautiful views all round and I’d not seen another soul since the first slate quarry.
My goal was to get to those trees off to the left. Through there and I could follow the road back to my car and then ‘home’ to my accommodation for the week.
I didn’t find any path to follow too easily and splashed through a good volume of bog and large puddles before I made it to the wooden gate.
I’d like to talk about this road for a moment and hopefully say you from a similar experience to my own, if you also rely upon satellite navigation when driving in lesser known areas.
It is a short but hilly route. Maybe 2 mile long but barely wide enough for a single car. I joined it from the B4410, just past Tan-y-Bwlch station and to the east of Rhyd.
In short, I had to get out of my car, open the gate, drive through, get out again, close and secure the gate… Before driving on towards Croesor. I had to to this three or four times!
Initially, I questioned whether I was going the right way or even trespassing. But it is a public road. It may well be easier with a passenger who’s happy to play the role of gate-attendant but, for a few minutes of extra travel time, I’d advised you to instead carry on west along the B-road and to approach Croesor from the A4085 at Garreg – you can thank me later!
Other than that, this had been a superb start to my week away another pair of Welsh mountains ticked off of my to-do list.
Link to the rout I followed on OS Maps
Thanks for reading.
Walks With Olly 