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.

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Cnicht

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‘Cnicht’, an old English name for a knight’s helmet, well conveys the elegance of this fine peak. It is also known as the ‘Matterhorn of Wales’. With names like that you are entitled to expect something special – and you will not be disappointed. Cnicht is among the most rewarding and popular hills in Wales, and no wonder! Who could fail to respond to the sharply pointed cone it displays to Croesor, Portmadog or the Vale of Glaslyn? Climb Cnicht from Croesor and you are spurred on along a slender rocky ridge that is airy but never exposed, exhilarating without ever imposing too strong a demand. Cnicht is the ideal family mountain; despite its robust appearance even a child can climb it and enjoy the views from Lleyn to Cader Idris.

Some purists complain that the thrill of this approach is not matched from other directions. This is unfair; Cnicht is no ‘one route’ mountain. Try the Llyn Llagi or Gelli Iago routes and you will experience the ethereal charm of the W foothills; a landscape of little hillocks outcropping everywhere, secluded lakes, secret places, all richly cloaked in the browns, greens and purples of rampant bracken and heather. Climb Cnicht via Llyn Cwm-y-foel and you will rub shoulders with the calamitous, fearsome slopes it throws down to Cwm Croesor.

Croesor route (SM7)

If Cnicht is a model mountain then this is the model ascent, with the objective displaying its most charismatic face almost all the way.

Turn R as you leave the car park in Croesor and follow the road until it ends at a stile. Step over the stile onto a stony track which climbs through a charming little glade. As you leave the glade, and the slope eases, turn R to join a bulldozed road. Stay with this until it peters out in bog near another stile.

Over the stile is the best natural ‘lawn’ in Snowdonia, a velvety stretch of fine-grained turf fit for bowls. (The NW ridge of Grisedale Pike in the Lake District is similarly endowed.) Watch the track; it gets a bit faint hereabouts (not that it really matters for Cnicht is now revealed in all its glory and the general direction is clear enough).
A further stile over a wall leads to a rough, bouldery track that runs alongside a rocky knoll before climbing through rocks and heather. This brings you to a grassy saddle at the foot of the final rocky pyramid, where the track temporarily divides. The R branch (which looks the more difficult) is the easier, especially in descent where a cairn indicates where the track divides. From now on it is sheer delight as the track twists and turns up the slender ridge, never exposed but with the sort of thrills you normally get only from exposed positions.

Llyn Llagi route  (SM8)

Little Llyn Lagi could well lay claim to being the roundest lake in Wales.

The converted chapel at Blaen Nant (635490) is the start for this popular walk. Go through the kissing-gate as indicated by the footpath sign and descend slightly to the dwelling of Llwynyrhwch, keeping it to your R. A grassy path then wends through boulders and heathery thickets until more open, marshy ground heralds the approach of Llyn Llagi, spectacularly backed by dark cliffs and the white plummeting falls from Llyn yr Adar 600ft above.

The easiest course is now L along a well-worn track that ascends a gully NE of the lake. This curves round to skirt the shores of Llyn yr Adar (Lake of the Birds) – a bleak, featureless sheet of water with a tiny island that is an oasis of green in the yellows and browns of the encircling fells (and the invariable nestling place of a couple of seagulls). Note You can reach the same spot more adventurously by scrambling up beside the falls – SM8,1. From Llyn yr Adar work your way S to the rim of this spacious tableland where a well-used path leads to Cnicht. On the way you pass Llyn Biswail, attractively framed against a rocky bluff.

The scenery is on the grand scale. An immense panorama R is dominated by the Snowdon horseshoe, while L the gaze is held by the blue of Tremadog Bay, the towering Moelwyns and the far-off Arenigs. Cnicht itself gradually assumes the form of a long, tapering ridge with splintered slopes plunging precipitously into the chaotic abyss of Cwm Croesor.

Gelli Iago route (SM9)

For a peak as popular as Cnicht this beautiful walk has a freshness that is as surprising as it is welcome.

Leave the road at 632484, walk down the lane, go through the dwelling of Gelli Iago and cross the tumbling stream over an old flagged bridge. Straightaway a gritty track appears, lonely and neglected now, though it was obviously in regular use once as stepping stones are still in place over boggy patches.

Behind you the Snowdon massif is gloriously framed in the arms of the cwm while Cnicht looms impressively ahead. But wait awhile before launching your final assault. Stay with the track as it veers S into Bwlch y Battel and the nameless reedy lakelet at 637467. Next climb up the hillock to spot height 458m (635469) for one of the most hauntingly beautiful vistas in Snowdonia: Tremadog Bay, the Hebog hills, the Nantlle ridge, Yr Aran, the Snowdon horseshoe (less Crib Goch), the Glyders, glimpses of the Carneddau including Pen Llithrig-y-wrach, Moel Siabod, the Moelwyns, and of course Cnicht itself. But this is not all. Superimposed is a purple-green foreground of heathery humps, hollows and knuckles of rock, with Llyn Arddu and Llynnau Cerrig-y-myllt peering timelessly from their rocky cradles; flawless beauty, profound silence.

When the time comes to leave you have three choices:

• R to a scree slope and the final pyramid on SM7
• L to gain the ridge by a grassy rake S of Llyn Biswail (SM9,1) or
• A direct frontal which is easier than it looks (SM9,2).

Llyn Cwm-y-foel route (SM10)

Park at Croesor, return to the crossroads at 632447 and turn L up-valley. After a short 0.5 mile, at a group of cottages nestling in a shady glade, proceed sharp L down a cart track. After a few moments bear R at a gate to join an old quarry tramway. Stay with this until you come to a gate at 643454 where you must leave it L to cross a bridge and join a conspicuous green path snaking across the hillside.

The next mile is vintage stuff with panoramic views of the valley and the relics of bygone industries. The crags of Cnicht rear L, seeming much higher than they actually are and quite fearsome when wreathed in mist. Behind is the shimmering sea. Unfortunately Llyn Cwm-y-foel, when you reach it, is not up to the same standard. Service as a reservoir has taken its toll so you will probably not linger long by its gravelly shores.

A choice of two routes now awaits.

• Tigers can carry on N until a steep grassy rake at 657475 offers a direct pull up to the ridge (SM10,1).
• Much more pleasant, though slightly circuitous, is to work across country to Llynnau Diffwys, two sad-looking lakes trapped in drab little hollows high above Cwm Croesor. Next on to the enchanting Llyn Cwm-corsiog (good bathing) to pick up a track along its W shore. This takes you to a cairn at 657477, near Llyn yr Adar, to finish as in SM8.