Cribyn & N escarpment
from Pen y Fan98 The Great Outdoors July 2019
the north-east ridge. Dappled
sunlight lapped across carpets
of violets and bluebells, and a
cuckoo called from the far side
of bright green birch trees.
The high outline of the
Carneddau swept above
Capel Curig and some of their
slopes looked as though they
had been recently smoothed
out with a spatula. The bare
hillsides around Ffynnon
Llugwy contrasted with the
woods and outcrops to the east,
where a small unnamed lake
glittered like a jewel.
I veered right from the
old miners’ track and took an
indistinct path towards a stony
gully. The long ridge of knobbly
rock was a bit like walking on
the back of a dinosaur, though
at one point great slabs of
stone resembled steps that
might encircle Machu Picchu.
Prehistoric comparisons
continued when the crest of
Tryfan poked into view: four
jagged fins were a stegosaurus
preparing for battle. Just
imagine the rumpus if an
angry Tryfan leapt across Llyn
Ogwen and picked a fight with
Pen yr Ole Wen!
The summit of Moel Siabod
was a superb viewpoint and it
is claimed all but one of the 14
highest peaks in Snowdonia
can be seen from the top –
and without having to turn
your head. I certainly had
the weather to put this to the
test: Glyder Fawr and Glyder
Fach were bathed in bright
sunshine whilst darkening
shadows turned Snowdon into
a sculptural showpiece. Further
south, the lonely hills around
Llyn Edno began their long
wriggly procession towards the
lumpy Moelwyns.
Daear Ddu, the eastern
ridge, tumbled down from
the trig point. This offered athousand feet of knee-knocking
descent and allowed close-up
views of the steep crags above
Llyn y Foel, where there were
as many islets as there were
inlets. In the far distance,
the old power station at
Trawsfynydd could have been a
ruined castle but, down below,
a real one had caught my eye.
The restored Dolwyddelan
Castle, thought to have been
originally built in the 13th
Century by Llywelyn the Great,
Prince of Gwynedd, stood atop
a prominent knoll on the north
side of the Lledr valley.
The rocky band eased
towards a sturdy new
footbridge and a blanket of
comforting conifers. A track
across the moor soon dropped
back into the world of the robin
and the redstart, where shady
waterfalls tinkled as the sun
slipped behind a curtain of
gnarled mossy trees.Further information
Maps: OS Explorer
1:25,000 sheets OL17
(Snowdon) and OL18 (Harlech,
Porthmadog & Bala)Transport: Nearest station
Betws-y-Coed, with bus
links provided by the excellent
Sherpa bus service and others –
see eryri-npa.gov.uk for detailsi
Information: Betws-y-
Coed National Park
Centre (01690 710426)[Captions clockwise from top]
View looking north-west to
the Carneddau, with Carnedd
Llewelyn to left of centre; View
east from the lower slopes of
Moel Siabod looking across wild
moorland towards Mynydd
Cribau; Pen Llithrig y Wrach
seen looking north from the
ridge leading up to Moel Siabod