A solo circuit to traverse the western hills of the Hirnant range and return on the Aran side via the waterfall of Pistyll Gwyn and the Aran ridge.
The Hirnants to the west of Llyn Efyrnwy form an upland area several miles long around the 500m contour that presents an impressively steep and incised facade to the upper Dyfi valley, yet I don’t recall so much as a passing mention of walks in these hills anywhere in the literature. We have often gazed at these hills from the familiar Arans across the valley but never resolved to walk them, due mainly perhaps to our suspicion that the going would be rough. The region does have several Dewey 500m tops which form the outward leg of this circuit, a neat linear traverse of the broad moorland crest with a short out-and-back to Mynydd Coch.
On the Aran side there is one new top: Pen Foel-y-ffridd. This is a classic case of a virtually unknown hill drawing attention from a list and delivering more than expected when climbed. On previous walks further north in the region we have looked down the valley and seen the impressive shape of a hill, so striking that we thought it must be a familiar mountain seen from an unusual angle, but this is it. Not only is it a grand viewpoint, the descent route northwards leads to an excellent walk around the rim of the cwm hosting the waterfall and long cascades of Pistyll Gwyn, and this section was the real highlight of the new territory I explored.
As for the moorland traverse from Cefn Coch to Tir Rhiwiog, it has its moments and there are some easy bits, but it’s largely even rougher and boggier than I expected and very hard going at times. It feels really wild and secluded with wide vistas of rough moorland where very few feet have trodden, attributes that lend a real magic to other regions we have walked, but here I found a different atmosphere, desolate and uninspiring. A late summer visit with the vibrant heather in flower and a drier passage would probably have made a difference, but on the evidence of this trip I couldn’t honestly recommend it to anyone but peak baggers and those who relish a challenge, although if you walk it with a partner you might have some fond memories to laugh about afterwards in the locker room.
8 Comments
Geoff excellent trip report as always,I’ve rescued a couple of stranded sheep and always make sure my wife hasn’t got hold of the camera.
Thanks John.
Plenty of opportunities for regrettable photos when rescuing sheep!.
Geoff - it looked a wild and boggy in places? Loved the inversions photo’s from Friday morning, it was definately the right morning to be out early.
Gary ….
Geoff - did an almost identical backpack back in 2006 from Dinas Mawddwy except I crossed over to the Aran hills at Bwlch Y Groes pass. Unless I am wearing rose tinted glasses I think that I really enjoyed it,especially the Afon Clywedog valley. Maybe time has eroded the bogs and heather from my mind!
A walk that I really remember for being tough was the area between Foel Cwm-sian Llwyd and Cyrniau Nod in the Berwyn mountains - waist high heather with lots of small holes to fall into. I think I nearly considered giving up backpacking after that one!
Gary,
The wild I quite liked but the boggy… Much better on the Aran side and the inversions were a surprise.
James,
I should have done the walk in late summer really, sun and flowering heather can perk up the spirit no end. The Clywedog valley is easy and good walking, a usually deserted area and we walked up there on our Dyfi Hills walk from Dinas Mawddwy.
I remember the trek from Cyrniau Nod, it is interesting at times!. We did it on our Hirnants backpack, the only one I’ve described as ‘hard’.
Incidentally, is it your good self I often see credited on Geograph?.
I think it was the flowering heather that kept me going on the slog over Cyrniau Nod on an August bank holiday. I was brushing clouds of the stuff into the air as I clambered through it. Sun always makes a difference to how I feel on a walk - raises the spirits on a bleak desolate moor.
I have posted a few pictures on Geograph - usually a bleak bit of hilltop! Got into it for a while then got bored. Great site though for researching walks and seeing what the terrain is like.
A great trip report as always Geoff, nice photos too. I love that area of Wales, so much exploring to do. The more I go the more potential I see.
Thanks Steve.
We never tire of this region and there are always new nooks and crannies to seek out.