My main focus of this hike was reconnaissance. I’m starting to plan out a large multi day hike for the summer of 2024 which will cross over the entire width of North Wales.
In order to avoid too much walking along roads, a lot of the paths I will be following go over the mountains. I’ll also need to find suitable camping spots that don’t add too much to the overall distance of my hike.
Even though there was only one trig point, it was a good day for Nuttall bagging as I ticked 6 more off my list.
The Route
Pistyll Rhaeadr
Seen by many as the tallest waterfall in England and Wales, not all agree. It is stunning none the less. Starting my hike with a quick coffee, having the waterfall all to myself for a good twenty minutes was amazing.
From here it was a beautiful path through the valleys, following the streams through the folding hillsides.
Moel Sych
This was an example of how sometimes the marked route is not the best one to take. The first part of the ascent was fine, stretched out grassy terrain. At the end of this you can go off the marked path to continue on a further grassy ascent the the range of summits or you can follow the path. Now, this path leans very closely to the side of the mountain, and a rather steep drop.
The fog was pretty bad and this section was very wet and windy. That made it difficult for me to judge exactly what laid ahead of me. I had already seen too many areas where the ground had broken away and slipped down the side of the mountain. Making sure that didn’t happen to me was my top priority so I actually came back down, and walked thought the soggy fields to find a different path that lead up.
Cadair Berwyn
The weather made this section a little harder than it houl dhave been. It was pretty boggy along the Berwyn ridge path, and with the fog hanging low there were very little views.
Craig Berwyn
The fog was starting to show signs of clearing, I knew that I was going to passing back this way again so I waited for my return to properly bag this trig point.
Cadair Bronwen
The clouds had cleared the range, but the wind was still in full force. A cairn acts as an amazing wind break when you’re in need of a sheltered lunch spot.
Godor
The path I followed down from Cadair Berwyn towards Godor, was not an easy one to follow, these sloping fields were rather difficult to navigate in parts due to the large sink holes and the surrounding boggy terrain.
The summit was actually marked at least. Well, it may be one of the smaller cairns that I have seen but it is still there. It counts!
The path back down from here was not ideal. It rejoined the road to the waterfall pretty early on. The mix of passing traffic, passing rain clouds, and feeling a bit knackered hampered the end of my hike a little. Then again I did get this view of the waterfall which would have not happened had I taken a different route down from the mountains.
I didn’t bag all of the Nuttalls in the range, but I learnt a lot about the area. I’ve found some spots suitable for camping and of those summits that I missed, well I’ll be bagging those ones on my big hike next year.