An exhilarating and ultimately exhausting traverse of some of the most dramatic hills that we had yet encountered, finishing at the base of Cadair Idris. Sadly the walk was without sheep encounters.

Date walked: 5th July 2019

Distance: 9.5 miles miles according to the guide book

Maps used:  OL 23 – Cadair Idris and Llyn Tegid

Guide used: Cambrian Way by A.J.Drake (7th edition, 2016) , though a new guide has recently been published which is much better: Walking the Cambrian Way by George Todd and Richard Tyler (Cicerone Press)

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According to Drake’s guide, this was an important point in the Cambrian Way: yesterday we had completed the Middle Section of this 285 mile trail and were now starting on the 93.4 mile Northern Section. Which by my reckoning means that give or take a bit we had so far done about 191 miles! Drake reckons that the next couple of days “represents the Cambrian Way at its best”.  The new guide makes no such division or comment.

After Neil and Paul had left one of the cars at the end of the days walk we still managed to be underway by about 9.30, leaving the A470 just north of Dinas Mawddwy….

… and heading steeply uphill into the dense conifer plantation of Coed Foeldinas.

It was slow going, not made any easier by a nagging doubt about whether we had taken the right path.  (We had). After half a mile we emerged from the wood and continued round the side of the hill, still climbing, but more gently now.

Below us  the A470 headed north…..

….whilst we turned south, climbing steeply again up the side of Foel Dinas on an increasingly narrow path that sloped steeply towards the Maesglase valley.

It was difficult terrain as the slope was always tending to try and turn ones foot over on its side but eventually we made it to the wooded edge of Bwlch Siglen (check point 22 of the Way), pausing for a break and to enjoy the view.

The undergrowth was thick with fruit-laden bilberry; I’d never seen such profusion of berries on these common moorland plants. Sadly my picture of this was so poor as to not be worth including, so you’ll just have to take my word for it.

The path now took us round the horseshoe of the escarpment called Craig Maesglase.

Crossing a steam that was tumbling down into the valley, I took the opportunity to fill my hat with water and give myself a refreshing dowsing. Paul followed suit.

It was unnerving to be so close to the near-sheer rock face…

… but an ouytcrop immediately next to the cliff (as it happens this is on the front cover of the new Cicerone Guide) proved too much of an attraction for Fearless Neil….

 … and I had to imitate his recklessness (though admittedly not quite so close to the edge).

The views were dramatic…

… as we continued northwards around the edge of the horseshoe….

….heading for the 2,214 feet peak of Maen Du.

Having climbed nearly 2,000 feet since leaving Dinas, we kept most of this altitude for the next couple of miles, the path now heading west over rough grass, keeping a stock fence on our right.

As we approached the escarpment of Craig Portas, tomorrow’s destination of Cadair Idris seemed (to me at least) a long way off and suddenly quite intimidating. But my, it was certainly very special to have this wonderful landscape to ourselves.

We stopped to take in the view…

…. and for long enough to make it worthwhile for Paul to get out his sketch pad.

We had to lose a hundred feet or so as we approached Craig Portas ….

….. and then having rounded that horseshoe, regain those feet and add a few hundred more as we climbed above the valley of Cwm Ratgoed.

Our route took us to the top of that particular valley, giving us a splendid view to the cloud-topped summits of the Rhinogs which we plan to cross on our next trip.

But we still had plenty to do today – and I was feeling tired and barely up for it.

A very steep descent was followed by an equally challenging climb…

… to get us to the trig point at 2,198 feet  of Waun-oer.

Time for a group photo.

From Waun-oer we followed a fence for nearly two miles, thankfully without having to gain or lose much height. This was the edge of Mynydd Ceiswyn.

Over to our left, in the distance, we could make out the turbine-topped ridge of Mynydd Cemmaes….

…. but the more compelling view were the nearing peaks of Cadair Idris.

We took a sharp right hand turn, heading directly for Cadair, but from here we began to descend quite steeply.  As the new guide points out, the path wasn’t very clear and we drifted too far south, but we could see a clear track that we knew that we needed to meet and only had a bit extra to do when we met it.

Leaving this track we followed the line of a stone wall, Cadair Idris beginning to loom above us.

Our path continued down into the valley, though, …..

…..where Neil’s car was a welcome sight in a small car park alongside the busy A487.

I was completely done in by the time we finished. How on earth was I going to mange to climb Cadair the next day – at 2927 feet the highest point of the way that we had so far encountered.

Most of these images and several others can be licenced for use by Getty Images if you follow this link.