North Wales: Moel Penamnen

[jonathan - norfolk]

This walk from Blaneau Ffestiniog, was a complete contrast to the previous day's walk up Snowdon. Once the quarrying is left behind, the walk quickly feels like an exploration of a remote wilderness area. The path that leads up out of the back of the quarry is well way marked, but initially goes up left into the trees and then up onto the moors.

Way mark pointing up into the woods.

Walking out towards the moors.

The path comes and goes, and is wet and boggy in places, but I loved it. The sun shone and the visibility was excellent. No cloud on any of the peaks, so the Moelwyns, Snowdon massiff, and Glyders could all be picked out as we walked.

Despite the perfect weather, not another soul was seen until we reached Blaneau Ffestiniog later in the afternoon. My granddaughter was less enthusiastic and muttered something about the reason for not seeing anybody all day, was that nobody else could possibly want to come up here! It's not for everyone then.

Moel Penamnen seems a long way away as you approach it, but it is quickly attained and the walk off along the ridge is dry and pleasant. However, care needs to be taken once you are off the ridge. Even when you are on the route, care needs to be taken. Short cuts are ill-advised, there's a lot of quite dangerous bog between the woods and the lakes. It's best kept clear of. Knowledge of what plants will probably take your weight, and which ones almost certainly won't is an asset!

Retrospective from the lakeside track. Distant views of the Snowdon massiff (centre) and Moel Penamnen (right).

We'd originally intended to take in Manod Mawr and Manod Bach, however, we decided to take the mining track back to the path that leads out of the quarries. It's an excellent track and makes for a good safe, escape route should you need one. It also provides an excellent approach if you just want to climb Manod Mawr.

our_route.gpx Open full screen  NB: Walkhighlands is not responsible for the accuracy of gpx files in users posts

Map: Length: 6.46 miles 10.4 km Ascent: +481m -487m Naismith: 2h 53m
Howevr, my GPS indicated that we had walked 7.25 miles and ascended c. 1350'. It also took us 3.25 hours.