Four years have passed since I first attended a Gentian Club meet, and each of those years has started with a ‘Welsh Winter’ gathering in Eryri (Snowdonia). This year’s base was, as last year, the comfortable Capel Tanrallt bunkhouse near Penygroes, in the northwest of the National Park. Claire and I travelled together after work on the Friday, leaving my house at around 5:30, stopping for dinner at the services near Chester, and arriving at around 8:45. We unloaded, settled in, and chatted over a couple of drinks until bed.

Saturday’s forecast was for strong winds, gusting 45-60mph on the highest hills. As always, I was the weather optimist, and proposed a hill walk, hoping that the 700m peaks of the Nantlle Ridge would be low enough for the wind to be manageable. Claire, Ned and Sheena opted to join me, while all the others opted for lower level walks from the hut. We drove to the east end of the ridge, above Rhyd-Ddu, in my car. It was very blowy as we put our boots and coats on, but the wind actually didn’t seem to increase very much with height as we climbed steeply up to Y Garn, with improving views of Yr Aran and Moel Eilio.

The rock was quite greasy but the wind not a major issue as we continued up the easy scramble to the summit of Mynydd Drws-y-coed, gaining better views south towards Moel Hebog. With the southeast wind generally either a crosswind or on our backs, we continued over Trum y Ddysgl then across the narrow grassy arete to Mynydd Tal-y-mignedd, with its prominent obelisk. There we found some good shelter behind a dry-stone wall for first lunch.

A larger grassy descent (in the wind) and rocky re-ascent (sheltered on the north side of the ridge) brought us to Craig Cwm Silyn, the day’s highest summit at 734m, This was followed by some easier walking along the nearly-level ridge to Garnedd-goch, where we paused briefly for second lunch by another wall. There were good views over Cwm Dulyn to the Lleyn Peninsula as we continued across Bwlch Cwmdulyn to Mynydd Graig Goch, our final summit of the day. There was a well-trodden grassy path down the northern slopes to the outflow of Llyn Cwm Dulyn, then a few kilometres of footpaths and lanes to get back to Tanrallt. Although the wind had been fairly strong and cold, it was mostly possible to walk steadily and there was never any risk of being blown over, so it was definitely the right decision to have gone out in the high hills!
Route map: https://www.plotaroute.com/route/3211634

Ned drove me back to Rhyd-Ddu to fetch my car. Once back at the hut, I refreshed myself with tea, biscuits and a hot shower, then relaxed until dinner. Ned had prepared a delicious cottage pie for the meat eaters, and Steve had brought a bottle of port to share afterwards. We had a good discussion of potential plans for the proposed Chamonix meet in July, and settled on a rough itinerary for the week, with a few day-walks followed by a few days of hut-to-hut touring on the Aiguilles Rouges.

Sunday was forecast to be a little warmer and have lighter winds, and we were pleased to find lots of blue sky near the west coast when we got up. I proposed a walk up Moel Hebog from Beddgelert Forest, and Ned, Vivienne and Claire opted to join me this time. Once we’d packed up our stuff and tidied the bunkhouse, we set off on the 15-minute drive to the free car park in the forest. It was nice and calm in the valley and actually felt pretty warm in the sunshine!

The first couple of kilometres of walking were on tracks and bridleways through the forest, with one small detour near Meillionen where the path was closed for forestry works. From Cwm Cloch we gained the rough and sometimes boggy path up the northeast ridge of Moel Hebog – quite a long slog with nearly 700m of height to gain and stronger, colder winds higher up. As we climbed, there were beautiful views over Nant Colwyn and Nant Gwynant, and towards the Moelwynion with Cnicht, Moelwyn Mawr and Moelwyn Bach prominent. From the top, you could see down the coast towards the Rhinogydd, with Tremadoc Bay looking splendid in the sunshine. Surprisingly, the flat grassy area just north of the summit was very calm – I guess the easterly wind was separating off the top of the steep eastern slopes and going right over our heads!

After a short pause, we descended northwest on short, steep grass – thankfully dry and not too slippery – pausing for lunch in a sheltered corner near the bwlch. A short re-ascent led through some impressive crags to Moel yr Ogof. There we enjoyed some good views towards Snowdon, the cloud lifting for a little while to reveal significant snow coverage above about 900m. Crib Goch also peeped through the Y Lliwedd saddle in the sunshine.

A gentler final traverse led to the day’s final summit, Moel Lefn, from where we could follow a good, rocky path all the way down to the next bwlch where a public footpath crosses over. There were superb views to all the previous day’s summits on the Nantlle Ridge, and some interesting derelict mine workings in Cwm Trwsgl. The footpath gave very rough and boggy going through the rough moorland and felled forest all the way down to Hafod Ruffydd, where regained our outward route for the final few minutes back to the cars. Another cracking day out in the hills!
Route map: https://www.plotaroute.com/route/3212629

We said our goodbyes and Claire and I had an excellect, clear drive back to Derby in just under three hours. A great first meet of the year for the Gentian Club, and now we look forward to March’s meet in Little Langdale. My full photo album can be found on Google Photos here.

The 2025 ‘Welsh’ Winter’ weekend marks three years since my first trip with the Gentian Hillwalking and Mountaineering Club. I’ve been a pretty regular participant over that time, attending more than 20 meets, and this trip was a great chance to catch up with many of those who have now become good friends.

On the Friday night, I didn’t want to miss my annual pilgrimage to Worksop College to see Voces8 in concert, so my drive to Snowdonia was very early on Saturday instead. I left home at around 5:15am and, thanks to predictably quiet roads, arrived at the bunkhouse near Penygroes before 8am, in time to join in with the day’s route-planning session. The mountain forecasts suggested there could be an inversion at 700m so I decided to maximise the chances by going up the highest hill in the area, Snowdon (well, properly Yr Wyddfa these days!). Sheena, Claire and Ned joined me, while the others gambled on the forecast being spot on and tackled some or all of the Nantlle Ridge (with its highest peaks just exceeding 700m).

It was a short drive up the valley to Rhyd Ddu where there was plenty of roadside parking. We followed the start of the Rhyd Ddu path towards Snowdon but, rather than bearing left to climb to the Llechog Ridge, carried on up the old mine track to Bwlch Cwm Llan. There was only a little dissent among the group as we took the scenic detour (with 250m bonus ascent) to the summit of Yr Aran, the upper parts being in the mist but with some attractive hoar frost on the grass.

Then we returned to the bwlch and ascended the ridge over Allt Maenderyn, with a little easy scrambling in places, to rejoin the Rhyd Ddu path on Bwlch Main. Even there, at 900m, where some people descending had reported the inversion level to be, we had not escaped the mist, so I was beginning to feel unlucky. But just a little further on, around 950m, we did finally break out into sunshine. We took our time on the final approach to the summit of Snowdon, with lots of photo stops to appreciate the best inversion I’ve seen since 2023’s trip to Norway.

We found a relatively quiet spot on the east side of the summit – inevitably disturbed by a drone overhead – for a leisurely lunch overlooking Crib Goch and the inversion. The Glyders were also above the cloud, while the Carneddau were totally cloud free to the north.

It would have been easy to stay there longer in the warmth of the sunshine, but the dwindling daylight hours pushed us onward. We followed the main track down to Bwlch Glas with the tourists, then forked left onto the much quieter Snowdon Ranger path down Clogwyn Du’r Arddu, soon re-entering the mist, but getting back below the cloud at around 700m. Moel Cynghorion was just below the cloud base so we included that bonus peak on our walk, as planned.

An easy grassy descent took us to Bwlch Maesgwm, from where we followed the footpath fairly directly back to Rhyd Ddu. Beyond where it crossed the Ranger path, it was quite indistinct underfoot and boggy in places, although well marked with signposts. The evening sunshine beyond the Nantlle Ridge and Mynydd Mawr gave good views as we wiggled through the old quarries, and we got back to the car just before sunset.
Route map: https://www.plotaroute.com/route/2855720
Our decision to go high was definitely vindicated when we discovered the Nantlle groups had not escaped the mist all day!

Dinner for the meat-eaters was the ubiquitous (but tasty) pasta bolognese, with crumble and custard for dessert. Most of the group who’ve signed up for July’s hut-to-hut tour in the Stubai Alps were present, so we spent the latter part of the evening agreeing our itinerary and possible travel plans. After the very early morning, I didn’t stay up late!

Sunday was a greyer day, with the forecast again saying an inversion was possible at 800m. Although it would have been good to do the Nantlle Ridge when staying so close-by, it didn’t seem like there was much chance it would not be in mist all day. The Carneddau had the best forecast so, after we’d packed up our stuff and tidied the bunkhouse, I headed to the Ogwen Valley with Claire and Sheena. The others chose lower hills near the hut, near Beddgelert, and on the Lleyn Peninsula.

We followed the standard route – although new to Claire – via Ffynnon Lloer and the mildly-scrambly east ridge to Pen yr Ole Wen. The lower part of the scramble was made more interesting by a layer of verglas on the rocks! Chances of inversion didn’t seem good when the cloud base was not far below 900m, but we did at least get some good views over the lake and between layers of cloud in the Ogwen Valley.

We continued over Carnedd Dafydd to Carnedd Llewelyn, getting views from the bwlchs but not the summits, and had lunch there next to the shelter cairn. Then we headed down the ridge of Penywaun-wen, soon dropping back below the cloud for some great views over Cwm Eigiau. A little bit of easy scrambling – not icy this time – led us to Bwlch Eryl Farchog. We descended south from there on the well-built zigzag path down to Ffynnon Llugwy, where there were excellent reflections of the snow-patch covered south-eastern slopes of Carnedd Llewelyn.

That just left an easy walk down the reservoir road and along the old valley road back to the cars. I was on the road by 4pm and home before 7 after another good drive.
Route map: https://www.plotaroute.com/route/2855722

In summary, another great weekend in the hills with friends. Dry and fairly calm weather with not much snow on the ground wasn’t particularly wintry, but was made particularly special by Saturday’s excursion above the clouds. Well worth the very early start to drive over on Saturday morning! You can find my full photo album on Google Photo here.

As ever, the first Gentian meet of the year was the ‘Welsh Winter’ weekend in Snowdonia. Also in-keeping with tradition, the Welsh winter looked like it would offer mainly extreme winds and heavy rain rather than snow, so as I headed west after work on Friday afternoon with Claire, I was doubtful whether we would manage much quality hillwalking! We arrived at the Rucksack Club’s ‘Beudy Mawr’ hut in Nant Peris soon after 7pm, settled in and cooked a quick dinner before an evening of conversation around the fire as the hut gradually warmed up! 

Saturday’s forecast suggested the highest cloud levels and least rain would be found in the far northeast, so I offered to lead a walk from Abergwyngregyn up to Aber Falls and, weather permitting, Moel Wnion. Six others opted to join me, while the remaining four walked from the bunkhouse through the slate quarries to Deiniolen and Llanberis and back up the valley. It did seem brighter near the coast, and it was barely raining as we set off up the popular path to the impressive waterfall. I’m pretty sure I had not actually visited the falls before, and this was a good day to do so, after a wet night. 

After a few photographs, we continued west on the North Wales Path, passing the smaller falls, ‘Rhaedr-bach’, then made our way up the valley of Afon Gam – hard work into a strong headwind! Once we were near the bwlch we swung right to have the wind behind us on the final ascent up the grassy dome of Moel Wnion. The summit shelter gave reasonable views up to the snowy tops of Foel Fras, with glimpses of Yr Elen and Carnedd Dafydd further away. It did look decidedly murkier over the Glyders! 

We descended the grassy slopes north then west to re-join the North Wales Path, with good views towards Anglesey and even a few patches of blue sky. Then it was just an easy walk back to the village, pausing for a late lunch in the relative shelter of the final zigzags. 
Route map: https://www.plotaroute.com/route/2495534

We were back at the hut by mid-afternoon to warm up with a few cups of tea. The other group had had a much wetter day in the Llanberis valley, so I felt it had been worth making the drive.  The evening was spent pleasantly over dinner, drinks and conversation. 

Sunday looked like it would be even wetter and, problematically, even windier, with 100mph gusts expected on the higher tops. Nobody was inclined to attempt a Snowdonian peak, so we scattered to various lower-lying places: a few to Llangollen for a short walk up Castell Dinas Bran (but I wasn’t that tempted having been there in similar circumstances last year), a couple to the Anglesey coast, and Claire and I to the Clwydian Range. 

It was a bit brighter further east but still very windy. My chosen route went up the sheltered side of the hills, fairly directly from Cilcain up to the summit of Moel Famau with its distinctive Jubilee Tower. The wind was pretty ferocious at the summit! 

We sheltered in an alcove of the tower to put on gloves and waterproof trousers, then set off north along the ridge. The gusts made for tortuous and unsteady walking but did ease a little as we dropped down and crossed Moel Dywyll. Then it was just a short walk back down to the village via the small reservoir at Garth. The rain had stopped again, so we had lunch outdoors in the churchyard before setting off back to Derby. 
Route map: https://www.plotaroute.com/route/2495536

Overall, a disappointing weekend of weather, the winds not permitting any high peaks to be climbed, but it was still good to catch up with the other Gentians over walks and in the hut. There are a few more photos here.  Looking forward to the next meet, to Borrowdale in March. 

My first Gentian weekend of the autumn took me back to a bunkhouse I had previously stayed in in 2007 and 2012 with CUHWC: the Stafford Mountain Club’s cosy Bryn Hafod hut at the head of Cwm Cywarch, near Dinas Mawddwy. I was looking forward to refreshing my acquaintance with the place, and to seeing the regular club members again, a few months having passed since the last trip.

I took the Friday off work to spend an extra day in the hills. Claire had arranged to get a lift to Wales with me and met me at my house at 9am. The drive west was without significant delay, and we met Sheena in a layby near the bottom of Arenig Fawr soon after 11:30. The weather didn’t look promising so we got our waterproofs jackets on from the start, heading back along the lane for a mile or so, then along the good track to Llyn Arenig Fawr. There we chatted briefly with a couple of men who were whitewashing the inside of the tiny MBA bothy by the dam.

We continued up the well-walked path up the ridge of Y Castell, soon pausing to put on waterproof trousers as the mist was very damp and carried a little light rain with it. Sadly we didn’t get any views higher up the hill. We were surprised to see one other walker going up and two coming down. We paused for a late lunch in a sheltered spot below the ridge, then made our way up over the final craggy section to the trig point and memorial to the American airmen killed in a plane crash on the hill in WW2.

The south-westerly wind was pretty severe on the summit ridge, so we abandoned our plan to continue to Moel Llyfnant and instead returned by our more sheltered route of ascent. The cloud had lifted slightly to give somewhat better views over the lake, but there wasn’t much else to note. Anyway, it’s always good to get out on the hill!
Route map: https://www.plotaroute.com/route/2412126

The drive over the steep and narrow Bwlch y Groes road to Cwm Cywarch took around 40 minutes, after which we made two trips on foot from the car, half a mile up the valley to the bunkhouse, to carry all the luggage and provisions in. Ted, Martin and Mick had arrived a short while earlier, and the six of us were the full complement for this trip! Ted cooked an evening meal for us, enjoyed over wine from the Gentian bar as ever.

I was on breakfast duty for the weekend, so rose a few minutes earlier than the others on Saturday morning to prepare the porridge and toast. After that, with the bunkhouse being so well located at the foot of the hills, we all opted to walk directly from there. I led Mick and Claire on a clockwise route over Glasgwm and Aran Fawddwy, while Ted led Martin and Sheena on an anticlockwise one going further north to Aran Benllyn but omitting Glasgwm.

We ascended by the good zigzagging track below the dramatic crags of Craig Cywarch to the minor summit of Y Gribin, then continued north up the fence-line to Glasgwm, which has a small tarn near the summit cairn. Although we didn’t have any views up to this point, it was clear that blue skies were not far away, as we had glimpses of them from the top.

The descent north was quite steep and rocky, which Mick found tricky. By the bottom, he had decided that it would be better if he left Claire and me to walk ahead to Aran Fawddwy while he took the more direct route down over Drysgol. We continued together, enjoying increasing breaks in the cloud, as far as Gwaun Llwyni, where we paused for lunch in the sunshine with a grand view down Cwm Cywarch.

Then Claire and I walked more briskly up the ridge to the rocky summit of Aran Fawddwy, its trig point poised dramatically above the eastern cliffs that plunge down towards the waters of Creiglyn Dyfi. We paused for a while at the summit to take in the excellent views in all directions, particularly towards Cadair Idris and the Rhinogs. The high hills of northern Snowdonia remained in the cloud though.

We descended by good paths over Drysgol, then over much rougher, boggier ground to the head of Cwm Terwyn to pick up the southern of the two public footpaths shown on the map. Although its line was very clear on an easy-angled, man-made terrace, the going was disappointingly awkward through tussocky grass and reeds, and rather boggy in places, so we were glad to make it down to the easy ground by the farm at Ty’n-y-maes. From there, it was an easy mile or so back up the lane to the bunkhouse.

By chance, we caught up with Mick right at the bottom of the Hengwm path (by which he had descended) and walked the final few minutes together, arriving around 6pm. We enjoyed tea, cake and hot showers while we waited for the others, who got back an hour later, making full use of the available daylight!
Route map: https://www.plotaroute.com/route/2412130

The evening meal consisted of soup provided by Ted, followed by an excellent beef curry prepared by Mick for the meat-eaters, and Sheena’s crumble for dessert. All very tasty and filling! We chatted around the fire until retiring to bed a bit before midnight.

After Sunday breakfast, we all spent some time packing our stuff and tidying up the hut. Claire had expressed interest in a walk up Rhobell Fawr, and I was happy to oblige, it being more than 10 years since my last ascent. The others opted to walk from the hut again, up Glasgwm and Pen y Brynnfforchog, so we said our farewells before setting off for the 20 minute drive to the village of Rhydymain.

This time it was sunny from the start of the day. We ascended on good tracks up the southern flank of the hill to about 450m, before striking off up the steep, grassy and rocky slopes for the final 300m climb to the summit. This side of the hill is more impressive than the north side from which I approached previously!

As we climbed, Aran Fawddwy dominated the view to the east, while the ridge of Cadair Idris looked impressive to the west. Then from the summit, most of the other hills of Snowdonia came into view. We admired the distinctive outline of the Rhinogs, and could clearly see Moel Hebog, the Nantlle Ridge, Snowdon, the Glyders and the southern Carneddau in the distance to the northwest. Arenig Fawr, which we had climbed on Friday, was not far away to the north too.

We descended a short distance to find shelter for lunch, then continued down a grassy path to the edge of the forest to the east. We followed the signposted, but very boggy, rides through the forest to reach the open ground the other side for a very rough ascent over tussocky grass and heather to Dduallt.

After taking in the views there for a few minutes, we weren’t very keen to return to the saddle the same way, so gambled on a descent along the fence-line northwest. This turned out to be much easier underfoot, with another (less wet) forest ride providing an easy escape to the track at the bottom. That just left a few miles of easy track and lane walking, over the ridge and back down to Rhydymain, arriving around 5pm. Another clear drive got us back to my house before 8pm, giving plenty of time to eat, shower, unpack and get things sorted ready for the working week.
Route map: https://www.plotaroute.com/route/2412133

It was great to spend another weekend with the Gentian Club, and to return to some excellent hills that I hadn’t been to for ages. I look forward to the Annual Dinner next month!
As ever, my full photo album can be enjoyed on Google Photos, here.

The Gentian Club’s first weekend trip of 2023 went to the Oread Club’s ‘Tan yr Wyddfa’ bunkhouse in Rhyd Ddu, west of Snowdon – a place I had stayed as an undergraduate with CUHWC. I have a few days of 2022 annual leave to use up by Easter, so I took the first of them on Friday to make it a three day weekend. I had advertised my intention to walk on Mynydd Mawr on the Friday, and Simon had decided to join me, and also offered me a lift from his home in Walsall. A pretty early start was required to get to his house around 7:45am for the three hour drive to west Wales. Google directed us around the traffic by recommending the scenic route via Bala and Trawsfynydd.

We parked in Nantlle village and were walking just before 11am, following the Slate Trail around the south side of Llyn Nantlle Uchaf and up the valley. We then zigzagged back left onto the ridge of Mynydd Mawr, enjoying dramatic views over the crags of Craig y Bera on the final section towards the summit. Sunny spells gave dramatic light conditions over all the surrounding peaks, although Snowdon was in cloud.

We descended northwest to cross the boggy bwlch and reach the minor summit of Moel Tryfan – a HuMP I had not previously visited. The hill is heavily scarred by disused and active slate quarries, but still gave good views. We then rejoined the Slate Trail for the return leg to Nantlle, finishing around 3:30pm.

After a short drive east, we reached the bunkhouse slightly before the appointed arrival time of 4 o’clock to find a few others also just arriving. With a few attendees having dropped out in the preceding few days, the bunkrooms, lounge and dining area were fairly spacious for the ten of us, and the temperature gradually rose as the coal fire burned! I had fresh pasta for dinner before an evening of chat and a couple of glasses of wine.

On Saturday, I led a walk up Moel Hebog, for which I was joined by Simon, Petra, Sheena and Martin. The day had started fairly wet, but it was petering out by the time we set out from Rhyd Ddu, and a couple of light showers in the first half hour of walking were the sum total of rain during our walk. The skies gradually brightened as we followed the Slate Trail south through Beddgelert Forest towards Beddgelert. About 1km short of the village, we turned right to ascend the well-trodden path up onto Moel Hebog, with improving views towards Snowdon – which emerged from the cloud for an hour or so – Cnicht and the Moelwyns. We had lunch in the shelter of a small crag about two thirds of the way up, before the final steep climb between the crags to the ridge.

The summit gave great views both south to Porthmadog and north to the subsidiary tops of Moel yr Ogof and Moel Lefn, with the Nantlle Ridge. However, with a strong and cold wind, we didn’t linger long before starting the descent north. Once we were down at the bwlch, Martin opted to descend east from there back to the forest tracks, while the other four of us continued along the ridge. Short ascents with a little easy scrambling here and there led us up to each hill. The clouds generally got greyer and the wind strengthened noticeably, but there were still dramatic light conditions over the coast, seen best from Moel Lefn.

A steep and fairly rough descent eventually brought us to the shelter of the forest, and easier walking on tracks and good paths back to Rhyd Ddu where we were glad of tea, cake and showers. In the evening, Simon cooked a tasty and filling beef casserole for the meat-eaters, followed by Petra’s bread and butter pudding.

Sunday started very wet, and with low cloud shrouding all the summits. Nevertheless, I trusted the forecast, which only predicted showers, and proposed a linear walk along the Nantlle Ridge, from west to east to have the wind behind us. Simon and Petra chose to join me, while the others mostly did a walk along the Slate Trail from Waunfawr back to Rhyd Ddu – part of which Simon and I had done on Friday.

Simon drove us to the start but, unfortunately, hit a large pothole hidden in a puddle near the top of the low pass, puncturing his front offside tyre. That meant a short stop to change the wheel in the cold rain before we could continue to our start point near Talysarn. The walk started on what turned out to be a very little-used footpath up through trees, undergrowth and a small quarry. It was good to reach the open land above, which gave easier walking with less careful navigation required!

We passed the ruined cottage of Brynllidiard and continued up beside the crags of Cwm Silyn. Sadly the thick mist meant we couldn’t see the lakes in the combe below. A light shower blew through as we approached the summit of Craig Cwm Silyn, and I put my waterproofs on in the shelter of one of the large cairns. The descent to Bwlch Dros-bern proved to be the most awkward of the walk, thanks to the patchy covering of slushy snow on the boulders.

After the short but steep reascent to Mynydd Tal-y-mignedd, we paused for lunch at the summit, which was surprisingly sheltered – or perhaps the wind had just dropped – before continuing on the narrower sections of ridge to Trum y Ddysgl and Mynydd Drws-y-coed. Although we never dropped out of the mist, the terrain is interesting enough to be enjoyable even without a view. Soon we had reached the easier ground of Y Garn, which just left the descent of the eroded path back to Rhyd Ddu.

We were the first back, at least an hour before the slower-moving group on the Slate Trail, so made a good start on the cleaning and tidying while we waited. Unfortunately, Petra had inadvertently left her car keys in Simon’s car, so we were unable to collect it from Talysarn until the other drivers arrived back from their walk to rescue us! In the end, Simon and I set off home around 6pm and had a smooth journey back to Walsall, and then (for me) on to Hilton.

Overall, three good days on the hill with great company. Weather-wise, we got away pretty lightly considering the forecast each day had been for strong winds and heavy showers. Most of the heaviest rain fell overnight, and we had had summit views on two days out of three. I look forward to the next weekend trip, to the North Lakes in March.

My full photo album is available on Google Photos here.

Route maps are available at the following links:
– Mynydd Mawr
– Moel Hebog
– Nantlle Ridge

Following on from the ‘Welsh Winter’ meet in January (at which we organised our own accommodation independently due to Covid restrictions), I joined the Gentian Mountaineering and Hillwalking Club again for a more typical weekend trip, staying at the Ceunant Mountaineering Club hut, Ty’n Lon, in Nant Peris. I got an early dinner at home then drove across to Wales, not encountering much traffic and arriving at the bunkhouse in around 2h45. Having settled in and been introduced to the group, we spent the rest of the evening chatting over tea and wine before getting to bed by 11pm-ish.

The next morning we shared a communal breakfast at 7:30am and then made walking plans for the day. Noting that the MWIS forecast said the worst weather would be in the west, I proposed a short drive east to Bethesda for a horseshoe route on the Carneddau. Sheena decided to join me, two others chose a lower-level option near Capel Curig, and the remaining five walked from the bunkhouse up Y Garn and Elidir Fawr (very similar to the route I’d done with Mike and Stuart on the January trip).

We parked on the main street and, after a couple of kilometres making our way up to the top of the village, emerged onto the open hillside. After a slightly boggy and tussocky start, the going soon got easier and, as the ridge to Yr Elen became better defined, turned into a fairly clear path. We made good progress uphill, past the craggy crest of Foel Ganol, then more steeply up the final rocky slopes to emerge very near the summit. We had watched a couple of showers pass over Y Garn and down the Ogwen Valley, and were pleased that they had missed us (but suspected the other group had not been so lucky!). The summit of Yr Elen was a great viewpoint, east to Foel Grach, southeast over Ffynnon Caseg to Carnedd Llewelyn, southwest towards the cliffs of Carnedd Dafydd with Elidir Fawr beyond.

Soon after we set off towards Carnedd Llewelyn, a short but heavy shower passed over, lasting about 15 minutes. Once we reached the top, the rain had stopped, so we paused for lunch in the summit shelter, where we were joined by one other walker who had come up from the south. We were surprised not to see more people up there on a summer Saturday!

From there, our route turned north along the ridge to Foel Grach (in another sleety shower) and then Carnedd Gwenllian (dry again), mostly on a good path, with good views back towards Yr Elen and Carnedd Llewelyn as the weather became sunnier.

Then we descended west, taking in the attractive rocky tors of Yr Aryg and Bera Bach, then the more rounded (but still rocky) summit of Drosgl. As the afternoon was brightening, we opted for the longer of our two possible descent routes, via Gyrn and Moel Faban, which gave us more excellent views towards the Ogwen Valley and Anglesey.

We were back in Bethesda by 4pm and back at the bunkhouse soon after 4:30pm having failed to obtain the updated MWIS forecast (but seen that the regular weather forecast for the Sunday was terrible!). I refreshed with a few cups of tea and a shower, then we all headed next door to the Vaynol Arms for an hour or so, before returning to the bunkhouse to cook dinner and eat. Martin did a tasty chorizo pasta dish for the meat-eaters, and Howard had brought strawberries for dessert.

True to the forecast, it was an increasingly windy night and Sunday dawned very wet. Five of the group had seen enough out of the window by the end of breakfast, and decided to head straight home. The remaining four of us agreed to drive east for an hour or so and reconvene in Llangollen, where it sounded like the weather should be better.

We were in luck, with the rain gradually getting lighter away from the coast. Sheena, Martin and I set off on a longer walk on an improvised route without paper maps, while Ted went for a more leisurely outing. We started by ascending fairly steeply up to Castell Dinas Bran, impressive castle ruins on a hilltop, with good views over the Vale of Llangollen and the hills to the north.

We dropped down the other side of the hill to pick up the Offa’s Dyke Path along the foot of Creigiau Eglwyseg, impressive limestone cliffs more reminiscent of the Yorkshire Dales than North Wales! We continued as far north as World’s End, with a pause for lunch, then made our way back southwest via lanes and footpaths to Valle Crucis Abbey, from where we could pick up the canal towpath back to Llangollen.

We enjoyed ice creams as we walked back through town – not how I expected the day to end after the miserable weather at the start – then parted ways. An hour and three quarters of quiet driving brought me back home to Hilton.

Maps of my walks are available at the following links:
Saturday on Carnedd Llewelyn: https://www.plotaroute.com/route/1951671
Sunday from Llangollen: https://www.plotaroute.com/route/1951674

My full photo album is available on Google Photos here: https://photos.app.goo.gl/Ravh3h4Ha4jAEqft6

A great weekend in the hills with scenic walks, good company and good food, very similar in many ways to the CUHWC trips of student days. Looking forward to a couple more weekend trips in the autumn!

I decided to try out a trip with the Gentian Mountaineering and Hillwalking Club, which seemed like it might be more focussed on hillwalking and less on rambling or rock-climbing than many other clubs, and have members mostly based in the Midlands. Due to the Covid situation, this ‘Welsh Winter’ meet was not based in shared bunkhouse accommodation, but a more informal affair where attendees each found their own places to stay and just met each day for walks. With a few days of carried over 2021 annual leave needing to be used by Easter, I was happy to take the Friday and Monday off to make it four days in the hills. I based myself at the Vagabond Bunkhouse, more of a hostel really, in Betws-y-Coed, which proved to be quiet, economical and convenient but rather chilly!

On the Friday, I had arranged to meet up with Mike and Stuart, two long-time Gentian members, for a walk up the northern Glyderau from Nant Peris. We parked at the Park and Ride car park and soon set off up the footpath up Cwm Cneifio as we got to know each other, with good views towards Crib Goch.

Soon after passing Llyn y Cwn, we entered the cloud, which was gradually dropping after a fairly bright start. The top 100m or so of Y Garn had a light covering of snow and rime, and there was the remains of a cornice on the eastern edges of the ridge. Sadly we remained in the cloud as we continued north over Foel-goch and Mynydd Perfedd to the rocky summit of Carnedd y Filiast, finally dropping out of it as we descended towards Marchlyn Bach, revealing good views north over Anglesey.

Our descent was on zigzagging tracks through the abandoned Dinorwic slate quarry, which had lots of interesting and dramatic sights to enjoy up close, as well as good views over the valley to the Snowdon range. Afterwards I joined Stuart for a cup of tea at the MAM hut, Glan Dena, where he was staying, before returning to Betws-y-Coed for dinner.

Route map: https://www.plotaroute.com/route/1797045

Saturday’s group walk offering was a little short for my taste, on the northernmost reaches of the Carneddau, and nobody else was tempted by my offering on Snowdon. I chose to do my own thing anyway and stuck with my advertised plan, starting in Llanberis. Again, the day started quite bright but the cloud dropped progressively through the morning. Moel Eilio was clear as I set off from the village, but well in the cloud by the time I reached the summit about an hour later. I did drop out of the cloud at the saddles before Foel Gron and Moel Cynghorion at least.

Once over Moel Cynghorion, I joined the Snowdon Ranger path and followed that the rest of the way up Snowdon, reaching the snowline at around 900m and joining the masses where the path converged with the popular Llanberis and Pyg/Miners tracks. An icy cold wind and dampness in the cloud encouraged me not to linger for long at the summit, which was a shame as I could see blue sky above and suspected that lingering might have yielded views if the cloud were just to drop by another few metres! So once I’d donned an extra layer and had some lunch in the lee of the café building, I marched off down the Llanberis path, parallel with the railway (not in operation at this time of year, of course), overtaking plenty of others as I went. Brisk walking and not many stops meant the full walk had only taken me five hours!

Route map: https://www.plotaroute.com/route/1797048

I had a leisurely afternoon reading back at the hostel, then met up with a few of the others for dinner at the Plas y Brenin outdoor centre – something I did not previously know they offered to non-residents!

On Sunday, I met up with Mike and Stuart again for a walk that Mike and I had, by chance, independently suggested, around Cwm Eigiau in the eastern Carneddau. As it was a fairly long route, we convened just before 8:30am to make the most of the available daylight. Surprisingly, the small car park at the head of the road was almost full at this early hour!

After an easy approach to Llyn Eigiau along tracks, the initial ascent was on small trods through rough heather onto the north ridge of Pen Llithrig y Wrach. Once we’d passed the northern top, the path became better defined and made for easier going the rest of the way to the summit. We enjoyed fine views over Cwm Eigiau and the route ahead, although Carnedd Llewelyn was in the cloud.

After a snack by the summit, we continued west, dropping steeply then reascending the craggy ridge to Pen yr Helgi Du. The descent west from there required a little easy scrambling, with dramatic views over Ffynnon Llugwy below, before the final ascent up to Carnedd Llewelyn. We entered the cloud not far above the saddle, but could tell at times that there was brightness above and I remained hopeful that the forecast possibility of an inversion might be right. Sure enough, only around 50m below the summit, we did emerge into the clear sunshine to enjoy all-around views over the cloud as we had our lunch. No other peaks seemed to be consistently clear, with only brief glimpses of Carnedd Dafydd to the southwest, and surprisingly none of Snowdon beyond that.

We followed the easy-angled ridge north over Foel Grach and Carnedd Gwenllian, then made a pathless descent northeast over easy grass to outflank the crags and steep ground before turning south to reach the pretty hidden lake of Dulyn. A couple of dramatic waterfalls tumble down the cliffs into the northern end of the lake. A short final re-ascent led us to Melynllyn, from where an easy track led us all the way back to the cars. A fantastic day out in the high hills!

Route map: https://www.plotaroute.com/route/1798217

On Monday, I finally got the chance to meet all the rest of the Gentian members on the trip, as we all walked together up Moel Siabod. The forecast was for a grey day with low cloud, so I wasn’t hopeful of many views and, sure enough, we didn’t have to ascend far before we entered the murk. We traversed the eastern slopes of the hill, past a couple of small lakes, to reach the bottom of the Daear Ddu ridge, a pleasant easy scramble leading directly to the summit.

To my surprise, it soon became clear that there was blue sky not far above us again, and we were really pleased to break out into the sunshine at around 700m! The peaks of Cadair Idris were visible in the distance to the south, along with others less far away to the southwest – Moelwyn Mawr and Moel Hebog perhaps. We also enjoyed seeing lots of Brocken Spectres to our right, with the cloud below us in the cwm above Llyn y Foel.

Once we’d clambered up the remainder of the ridge, the summit of Moel Siabod gave even an better panorama, with the high Snowdonian peaks of Snowdon, the Glyders and Carneddau coming into view. We had lunch in the warm sunshine by the summit trig point, with not a breath of wind to chill us. Then, having said my goodbyes, I made a brisk solo descent of the north ridge then tracks and paths through the forest and along the river back to the start, to make sure I was back in Derby in time for band rehearsal. Not long until the Midlands Championships!

Route map: https://www.plotaroute.com/route/1799184

All in all a very good weekend away enjoying time in the hills with like-minded companions. Even though many of the members are significantly older than me, it felt like we had plenty in common, and I look forward to trying one of their more normal bunkhouse meets at some point later in the year. The cloud inversions on Carnedd Llewelyn and Moel Siabod make it truly a weekend to remember!

My full photo album is available on Google Photos here: https://photos.app.goo.gl/wkdJRLQs1hrvz7dg6