11 March 2024
Even the drive to the start point for this walk is exciting. The narrow streets of the isolated community of Llanrhaedr-ym-Mochnant are left behind and there is a challenging five mile drive up a winding single track lane to the car park next to the Pystyll Rhaedr camp site. I arrived and parked at 08:00 (£5.00 flat rate daily charge via pay and display machine). Fortunately the car park was open, although notices say it is locked outside the hours of 9am to 5pm. As I expected my walk to take about eight hours, I would have been concerned if I hadn’t had leeway to ensure getting back to my car before the stated locking up time.
As I approached the end of the road, I had of course seen the scenic waterfall ahead. At 240ft (80m) high it is Britain’s tallest single-drop waterfall and given recent high rainfall I am guessing it was at its most impressive.
I pulled on my boots and gaiters and set off up the mountain path. The visibility was poor and of course worsened as I climbed higher and was walking above the cloud base. There’s steep drops over cliffs but it wasn’t too foggy for me to see that and I was following a fence line so unlikely to stray. The ground was extremely wet and boggy.
Before long I was at the cairn marking the summit of Moel Sych.
The ground became even more squelchy and I dodged the most boggy areas.
I made my way towards Cadair Berwyn, the highest I would be all day and indeed the highest top in the range at 832m but not at the trig point which is only 827m. There was a shelter just before I reached the trig point but I continued on. This was definitely well into the cloud and so missed the amazing views that are possible on a clear day.
I continued further to the point where the path to Cadair Bronwen branches off. This summit is also said to be an excellent viewpoint, but on a day such as this the additional thirty minute diversion didn’t seem worthwhile even for someone like me who “enjoys” virtual views.
However as I continued towards Tomle, my third peak for the day, the cloud cleared from Cadair Bronwen and even Cadair Berwyn was out of the clouds for a short time.
By the time I had climbed over Foel Wen and was making my way to Mynydd Tarw, the views into the valley and of the high peaks on the other side were stunning. The cairn on Mynydd Tarw formed a perfect shelter for a lunch stop with views.
As I ate lunch, the weather worsened again. I didn’t stay for long and so I began descending on a boggy indistinct path before ascending to a small peak, Rhos, marked by a boundary stone. I climbed again to a tumulus, which also afforded a good view.
The path became unclear as I descended on a field full of sheep. Oddly the entire flock began running, even though I wasn’t particularly close. Eventually I reached a stony track leading to farm buildings at Maes. I’d seen a walk description warning of dogs here. Fortunately they were all securely tied up or in cages. As I passed, there was one dog that I noticed with bared teeth and wild looking eyes – definitely looked like a dangerous animal.
I arrived at a road at the hamlet of Tyn-y-ffridd but merely crossed the road and took a path which still had some remnants of old signage. I was delighted to arrive at a good track and thought my navigation issues were behind me. However, in error I continued on the obvious track and missed a turning. Eventually I realised but managed to amend my route so as to avoid too much back-tracking. This mistake did cost time but soon I arrived at the road leading back to the waterfall car park and was able to maintain a brisk pace, arriving back at my car around 4pm.
Apart from a few cars that passed me during that final trek back to my car, I hadn’t seen anybody all day. These superb mountains do appear to be well off the beaten track. However I also noticed that many path signs had been obliterated or removed as if walkers aren’t particularly welcome, which seems a pity. Moreover there isn’t much infrastructure to support a large number of visitors – that five mile single-track road would be a nightmare with much traffic and in addition the car park at the waterfall is small with no parking along the road.
Despite the weather, I had enjoyed an amazing adventure through some stunning unspoilt mountains as well as seeing the picturesque waterfall at what is probably its most impressive given the recent high rainfall.
Where's Kathryn? 