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At the end of July I took the train with a friend to Llanrwst with the aim of walking the main peaks of the Carneddau and Glyderau, staying at Ogwen Cottage Youth Hostel overnight.
We arrived at Llanrwst in beautiful weather, and ambled to The Old Ship Inn for dinner, a fine pub in the nearby village of Trefriw famed for its half shoulder of Welsh lamb.
Afon Conwy on the way back to Llanrwst B&B.
In traditional fashion the following morning the fine weather did not last and grey skies greeted us as we climbed the short, sharp hill up to Llanrhychwyn and Penrallt, from where fine views were offered over the Crafnant valley towards Cefn Cyfarwyod and Crimpiau:
A good path over Cefn Cyfarwyod allayed my initial fears that the section could be very boggy on the flat hill top, which instead wound its way pleasantly down to Llyn Colwyd Reservoir. By this time the mist was starting to descend, swirling around the now-visible Pen Llithrig y Wrach (Slippery Hill of the Witch) and the rain began.
Approaching the mainly-pathless Pen Llithrig from the north we cut past Garreg-Wen quarry and followed a fence up to Craig Ffynnon, another short, steep climb. Further on the views opened out over the 'atmospheric' (quite literally, given the mist) Llyn Colwyd:
And to Cwm Eigiau:
At this point my friend collapsed from exhaustion and I left him behind!
In abject ignorance of the Met Office forecast, the weather deteriorated further into thick fog and rain. By about 4:30pm we had reached the top of Pen Yr Helgi Du where we met two lost souls (one of whom was an ex-police officer!) and showed them the way down the mountain via the broad spur of Y Braich. With the highest summits still to conquer and no prior experience of the route, we waited for half an hour to see whether the weather would clear. When the gloom persisted we decided it would be wiser (given slippery conditions, poor visibility, rain and steep ascents with bits of scrambling ahead) to leave the high Carneddau for a future walk and meandered easily down Y Braich.
Finally emerging from the mist at the bottom of Y Braich:
From the foot of Pen yr Helgi Du it was an easy walk to Ogwen Cottage through the Ogwen Valley, following the footpaths parallel to the main road. As we arrived at the Youth Hostel in the evening, the clouds had lifted somewhat, and broke briefly in spectacular fashion:
Then it clouded over again (the story of the trip)...
Nevertheless, an enjoyable day's walk through some stunning scenery. More to follow...
