Gorllwyn

[john923]

Time, at last, to try out some new boots which were still awaiting their first excursion a month after I'd bought them. So we picked this modest little Hewitt. Just a couple of hours drive took us past Rhayader to the Elan Valley and a parking spot at the SE end of Caban-coch reservoir (SN901616).
The route starts off by heading roughly south along a good track bordering the Rhiwnant river and then follows a tributary, the Nant Paradwys.

Looking north down the Rhiwnant valley

As height is gained the track dwindles to little more than a sheeptrod as you approach the Bwlch y Ddau Faen, which is marked by a stone on the left of the path. From here we got a good view of all the higher ground to the south, with the unmistakeable outline of Cribyn, Pen y Fan and Corn Du in the middle.

View south from Bwlch y Ddau Faen

We then headed NE over pathless terrain, although there are a few boundary markers to help. The going was much easier than expected with only a couple of boggy patches and even these seemed fairly firm after such a dry September.
Presently we got to the southern cairn first, with the trig point at the other one. Good view westward to the twin cairms of Drygarn Fawr.

The twin tops of Gorllwyn

Looking towards Drygarn Fawr

From the top we continued NE for a mile until just past the small pool of Llyn y Ferlen before swinging roughly WNW to descend. A bridleway is marked on the map but we somehow managed to miss it and in fact must have descended pretty much parallel to it for a good while over unpleasant tussocky grass and wet bits before reaching firmer ground.

Ah, the reservoir - must be nearly down now

So, a decent short walk. Not the most prepossessing of hills but good for a bit of solitude off the beaten track. And the boots? Well they're fine but my ankles were a bit sore afterwards - I'll have to play around with lacing next time. We'll see how we get on in Snowdonia at the end of the month.

[Hewin]

I did Great Rhos, Black Mixen and Bache Hill for a quick one on the weekend with my dad and his dog. I was looking at doing these two and wondering about the use of the paths but it looks like you can just walk in a straight line between them! I think I'm going to try and do the 7 in the Berwyns and take a look a Pistyll Rhaeadr while I'm there. It depends on what my old man and bro in law can hack! I'm planning 20-30 miles

Thanks for the pics though, they are good for perspective

[john923]

Yeah, really must get round to doing the Radnorshire 3 sometime. Be interested to hear how you get on in the Berwyns - do they deserve the 'boring' appendage that I've read about?