Cribyn & N escarpment
from Pen y Fan98 The Great Outdoors Spring 2019
up at this shapely ridge from
below as we cycled along. Llyn
y Gader looked so invitingly
bright blue ater our cycle that
we dived in for a swim – a
sharp reminder that it was
actually February. Slogging
steeply uphill to reach the start
of the ridge warmed us up
again.
From Y Garn, we started
peak-spotting. Snowdon
sprawled to the east. To the
north rose the modest rounded
lumps of Mynydd Mawr and
Moel Eilio. South, Hebog
peeked from forest. he Nantlle
Ridge stretched away invitingly
to the west, and beyond it
shimmered the sea.
A grassy section led us
towards our next summit,
Mynydd Drws-y-coed. his
impressive-looking shark’s
in is actually attainable by a
series of fun, easy scrambling
steps. If you don’t fancy that,
there’s a path to the let. he
steep, rocky slopes of Clogwyn
Marchnad slipped away below.
We continued to the next
top, Trum y Ddysgl, before
teetering along a lovely
pinched-in section of narrow
grassy path, which then
widened and deposited us on
the rounded lump of Mynydd
Tal-y-mignedd, randomly
crowned by an obelisk in 1897,
to celebrate the Diamond
Jubilee of Queen Victoria.
Sitting below this memorial
we contemplated the jagged
edge of Craig Cwm Silyn. Ater
descending to the col Bwlch
Dros-bern, we weighed up our
options: scramble or take the
path? We chose a hands-on
line close to the wall, which I
recommend, enjoying the view
down to the lakes of Llynnau
Cwm Silyn sparkling below.We inished our sandwiches
while whizzing over Carnedd
Goch and Craig Goch, Wales’s
smallest mountain with just
six inches above the 2000t
at which many consider hills
become mountains. Until 2008,
Craig Goch appeared on maps
as 1,998t. However, it was then
re-measured following a
campaign by walkers, and later
upgraded.
With its friendly tightropes,
views down to llyns encircled
by cwms and korma-spiced
scrambling, it had been a
relaxing day out, we relected,
ambling down to our car.
Our sandwiches long gone,
we headed without delay to
the brilliant beer garden in
Rhyd Ddu, where we expected
to overhear lots of walkers
bragging about their walk up
neighbouring Snowdon, while
we kept smugly quiet.Further informationMaps: OS 1:25,000
Explorer sheet OL17
(Snowdon/Yr Wyddfa) or
Harveys 1:25,000 Superwalker,
Snowdonia North.Transport: Regular buses
from Caernarfon and
Beddgelert to Rhyd-Ddu,
including a Snowdon Sherpa
service. If planning to use a taxi,
try Huw’s Taxis, 01286 676767.
If leaving a car at the end, the
best place is Cors y Llyn.i
Information: Llanberis
TIC, Electric Mountain
Visitor Centre, 01286 870765.[Captions clockwise from top]
Cairn on Craig Cwm Silyn; Some
locals; Swim in Llyn y Gader