Hillwalking in Wales Vol 2

The second book in a two-volume series describing walking routes up every 2000-footer in Wales – all 166 of them. The routes are arranged alphabetically over the two volumes. Vol 2 covers the Ffestiniog hills to the Tarrens.

How to use this guide

A full introduction to Hillwalking in Wales appears at the beginning of Vol 1, but a summary of the way the chapters are arranged will be useful. Each chapter is arranged as follows:

• List of peaks and lakes in each mountain group
• Diagrammatic map
• General overview
• Main ways up each of the peaks
• High-level walks
• Lower-level walks/easier days
  

All routes are numbered. Each number begins with a two-letter prefix to identify the mountain group concerned (eg RG stands for the Rhinogs). The main routes are then numbered sequentially (eg RG1, RG2, etc). Localised variations within routes are distinguished by numeric suffixes (eg RG2,1). High-level and lower-level/easy day walks are given H and L designators respectively after the mountain group code (eg in the case of the Rhinogs high-level walks are numbered RG H1, RG H2 etc).

The maps are diagrammatic only and should not be regarded as a substitute for the proper OS map. Their purpose is to show the relationships between the various routes in the simplest and most uncluttered way. Details of towns, roads, streams and so on are therefore only shown where needed to give a general sense of location, and are not necessarily consistent between one map and another. To avoid congestion only the main ways up each peak are shown. The other walks are not marked, nor are the local variations indicated by numeric suffixes to their route numbers.

Each peak is considered in turn (the order in which they are treated has been chosen to minimise cross-referencing and is neither alphabetic nor according to height). Brief introductory notes on the peak itself come first, followed by descriptions of the routes on that peak. It is advisable to gain at least a general impression of each group as a whole before concentrating on any particular peak or route.

Taken together the walks include visits to all the lakes. Except in a few cases, where it would mean a rather artificial expedition of little interest to the majority of ramblers, this means routes to the very shoreline; otherwise it is to a nearby vantage point from where the really dedicated can make their own way. A glance at my diagrammatic maps will usually show which sections of the text to read to obtain the routes to a given lake. However, please bear in mind that these maps do not include the high-level, lower-level and easier day walks, nor the suffixed variations. (Alternatively the index gives the page numbers where directions for each peak may be found.)

Finally, there is always a difficulty over the spelling of Welsh place names – even the Ordnance Survey is not fully consistent! I have therefore adopted spellings from the latest available OS maps at the time of writing and standardised on those. However, complete success in this would probably be too much to hope for, and I therefore apologise for any residual errors or inconsistencies.