The Mountains of England and Wales - Nuttalls

• Location
• Description
• Contents
• Introduction
• Sample Route

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WALK 2.1 THE GLYDERS

SUMMITS:    Glyder Fach 3261ft (994m)
                   Castell y Gwynt 3189ft (972m)
                   Glyder Fawr 3278ft (999m)
DISTANCE:   5 miles
ASCENT:      2550 feet
MAPS:          OS Landranger sheet 115
                   Explorer OL17 - Snowdon / Yr Wyddfa
STARTING
POINT:        (115-649604) The west end of Llyn Ogwen on the A5. Car park and toilets.

Between the busy A5 with its almost unbroken line of traffic speeding along this main highway to the west and the twisting road which squeezes its way between the steep rock walls of the Llanberis Pass, lies a group of mountains which are second only to Snowdon itself in popularity. These mountains are indeed among some of the best with rock slabs and walls rising amid grand surroundings to fine summits of naked rock. The Cantilever Stone, looking exactly as it did in the illustration in Pennant’s eighteenth-century Tour in Wales, Castell y Gwynt, which has now joined the elite as a 3000er, and other jumbled rocks make the summit area a fascinating place, especially in mist when sudden clearings in the swirling cloud play tricks with perspective and the rocks appear gigantic.
    Several circuits of the Glyders can be devised, but the approach via Llyn Bochlwyd, returning via the Devil’s Kitchen and the Llyn Ogwen Nature Reserve, is one of the best. If possible do the walk in late spring or early summer in order to see the alpine flora for which Cwm Idwal, the first nature reserve in Wales, is justly famous. The flowers are at their best on the steep cliffs and the black chasm of Twll Du, a deep cleft in the rocks down which a stream falls for nearly 1000ft. Most of Snowdonia’s rocks are acidic with an inevitably limited variety of species, but on these cliffs layers of igneous and sedimentary rocks include those rich in lime and here a surprisingly large number of plants flourish, including several more usually found in lowland meadows. The arctic-alpine plants, of which there is a wide variety on these cliffs, are a relic of the last Ice Age; discovered first in the seventeenth century, they have been preserved because of their inaccessibility. Although the cwm itself was formed by glacial action leaving behind moraines and other evidence of glaciation, it is only relatively recently that these signs were recognised. Even Charles Darwin, who first visited the cwm in the early nineteenth century, did not recognise the forces at work on his first visit.
    The massive smooth rock of Idwal Slabs, first climbed in 1895, is tilted at an angle just too steep to walk up. Despite the apparently easy slope, the sense of exposure grows with height and it is still very popular with Hope, Faith and Charity being three of its famous routes.
    Ogwen itself consists of a youth hostel, café and outdoor pursuits centre. Idwal Cottage, opened in 1931, was one of the first youth hostels in Britain and Ogwen Cottage, the outdoor pursuits centre, was once an inn. The road beside the lake was not built until 1791 and the original packhorse bridge can still be seen under the modern bridge above the falls of Benglog.
 

ROUTE DESCRIPTION

GLYDER FACH (Small Mound of Stones)

Take the footpath beside Ogwen Cottage to Llyn Idwal and after a quarter of a mile leave this major high road at the bend, continuing in the same direction on an indistinct section. Climb beside the Nant Bochlwyd on a now much-repaired path leading to Llyn Bochlwyd and Bwlch Tryfan. At the bwlch cross the wall at the twin ladder stiles and follow the easy path which zigzags up through the screes to the left of the north-east Bristly Ridge. Joining the east ridge, follow the main cairned path through the jumbled boulders and up past the Cantilever Stone. The summit is 100 yards due west, a huge pile of massive boulders like an enormous cairn thrown up by some giant hand and the top entails some scrambling to attain it. There are grand views over the surrounding mountain ranges of the Carneddau, Moel Siabod, Snowdon, the rest of the Glyders and down into the Ogwen valley towards the sea.

CASTELL Y GWYNT (Castle of the Winds)

The path goes to the left of this new summit which involves an awkward scramble to reach the topmost rocks.

GLYDER FAWR (Large Mound of Stones)

A good path leads via Bwlch y Ddwy-Glyder to climb easily to the top of Glyder Fawr. There are two rocky tors of apparently equal height on the flat, bouldery plateau, but the left-hand one is favoured with the spot height.
    Continue west along the ridge with its plethora of cairns and descend north-west down one of the many badly eroded paths to Llyn y Cwn, lake of the dogs. From here a main track leads north-east steeply down under the cliffs of Twll Du, the Devil’s Kitchen, to Llyn Idwal. If time permits, a short detour to view the top of the cliffs where the stream plunges over should be included and if the season is right much time can be spent hunting round here and on the cliffs above the path for the alpine flowers for which it is so famous. Walk round the east side of the lake passing beneath Idwal Slabs. From here it is about a mile back along the main path to Ogwen.