Plynlimon (Pumlumon)

[Hantswalker]

I first heard about Plynlimon nearly 30 years ago. What limited information I had, conjured up a picture of a remote mountain in a wild part of mid-Wales; a dreary wet moorland with encroaching coniferous forests and limited views. Better put it off for a later day. That day arrived and I contrived to ensure conditions would be as favourable as possible by choosing a dry sunny Saturday in July.

Plynlimon is one of Wales' principal mountains, the highest point in mid-Wales and the largest watershed in the Principality. Many rivers have their source on the four Hewitts described here including the Severn and the Wye. The forests are there, but on the broad summit ridges they hardly intrude at all and the views are surprisingly open. The tourists route to the summit of Pumlumon Fawr starts at Eisteddfa Gurig on the A44 but this does not lend itself to a natural circuit of the 4 Hewitts, at least not without a lot of backtracking or a very long route to circumnavigate the whole range. So I chose to walk from the Nant-y-moch reservoir in the west, and with inspiration from poppiesrara's report I had the perfect starting point and I followed his route more or less throughout.

Park next to the pumping station just where the Nant-y-moch river enters the reservoir. For an anticlockwise circuit, taking Y Garn first, a faint track can be found running alongside the small plantation. The going underfoot is very wet in places, in the July sun the humidity is high and mosquitoes abound. In a wet spell this start to the walk will be off-putting but the open hillside is not far away.

Nant-y-moch river with the south ridge of Plynlimon in the distance

The going suddenly improves dramatically and to make things better the views start to open up.

Drosgol across the Nant-y-moch reservoir. The route from the pumping station follows to the right of the trees in this view.

The going is largely trackless (in the sense of a path making a beeline up the hill) but numerous sheep tracks contour the slopes.

In this view, an alternative start can be seen from the large stand of trees to the left

At this point I saw the first of several large moths about 3 - 4 inches across. ID anyone?

What is it?

As Y Garn is approached, much of the next part of the route can be seen, with the gentle slope to Plynlimon offering encouragement.

Plynlimon across the northern slopes of Y Garn

The stony summit of Y Garn is uninspiring but the views are wide ranging. To the south the huge Cefn Croes wind farm is prominent, the heat haze providing a thankfully obscuring effect. To the west the striking blue of the Irish sea distracts the eye from another more distant wind farm, whislt to the north Cadair Idris stretches across the horizon.

Leaving the summit of Y Garn, the route follows a rollercoaster of shallow ups and downs alongside the edge of the forest. I can imagine this becoming tedious on a backtrack return if the Eisteddfa Gurig start point is used, but it is soon behind us and the broad tourist route track makes easy going to the 2 large cairns, trigpoint and winbreak on Pumlumon Fawr.

The route to the next two summits, Pen Pumlumon Llygad-bychan and Pen Pumlumon Arwystli can be adequately summarised in a single photo.

The slight rise to Pen Pumlumon Llygad-bychan with Pen Pumlumon Arwystli beyond.

It is along this section that an exploration can be made for the source of the Wye. I think I found it but in such dry conditions no running water could be found. Those looking for the source of the Severn will have further to walk northwards but I suspect only the really keen will bother.

The return from Pen Pumlumon Arwystli follows the same approach path as far as the col, when the northern slopes of Pen Pumlumon Llygad-bychan can be contoured until Llyn Llygad Rheidol comes into view.

Llyn Llygad Rheidol with the summit of Plynlimon and the track back to the valley

Pathless slopes lead down to the small reservoir and a Landrover track makes an easy descent to the road.

[john923]

Nice report and pics, Hantswalker.

The moth looks like an Oak Eggar, and I'm guessing its more likely to be the northern sub-species Lasiocampa callunae.

I remember reading an article about Pumlumon in a recent Wildlife Trusts magazine which dealt with long term plans to improve the landscape. This involved planting more trees, allowing some of the hillsides to re-wet and become boggier and a move to switch from sheep to cattle grazing. (There is some background info at http://www.wildlifetrusts.org/index.php?section=environment:livinglandscapes:schemes ). It'll be interesting to see if future reports show these changes over the next decade or two!

Regards, John

[Hantswalker]

Thanks John.

I am sure you are correct about the moth. I saw a female in flight on the Brecon Beacons on Wednesday this week.

It is interesting what you say about environmental improvement. Back in the 1970s there was a sign at the start of the Eisteddfa Gurig approach which stated:

FOOTPATH TO PLYNLIMON (not Pullumon) and was signed by the Ponterwyd Improvement Committee. How things have changed. Not very Big Society.