Cadair Idris and its summits


Forum » Walk Reports » North Wales

By SheepFarmer on 24/04/17 at 3:35pm

Hills walked:
Cadair Idris - Penygadair (Marilyn, Hewitt, Nuttall, HuMP, High Hill of Britain, Clem, Sim, and Tump)
Mynydd Pencoed (deleted Nuttall)
Craig Cwm Amarch (Hewitt, Nuttall, Sim, and Tump)
Cyfrwy (Hewitt, Nuttall, Sim, and Tump)
Craig-las (Hewitt, Nuttall, HuMP, Clem, Sim, and Tump)
Craig-y-llyn (Hewitt, Nuttall, HuMP, Clem, Sim, and Tump)
Date started:09/07/2014
Distance:16.4 km or 10.2 miles
Ascent:1272m or 4173ft
Descent:798m or 2618ft
Start OSGB:SH671088
Time taken:6:42
Naismith:5:24

Cadair Idris July 2014

Having seen this mountain frequently I thought it was about time I walked it, so I did. Although rather than go the route where everyone else does I took a longer more peaceful route up round and back taking in some of its lesser summits. These were - Craig Cwm Amarch, Cyfrwy (The Saddle), Tyrrau Mawr & Craig-y-llyn.

Note my GPS batteries ran out ¾ of the way round so the 1st GPX file is the recorded track & 2nd is the plotted route onwards. My moving time based on recorded plus Nasmith time of plotted was 5hr 14m.

GPS Track

GPX Plot

note : the WayMaps show the stone track above Gwastadfryn as a road but its not.

Conditions were a nice fine day, T shirt weather in the bottom & going up slope, sweatshirt added on the tops, ground conditions were good in terms of dryness but we had just had a spell of fine sunny weather with no rain for a week or more. The route in terms of path on the ground varied from none going up the end of Mynydd Pencoed to blatantly obvious from where the popular routes join in, to thinning out as I went on round plus vehicle track on way down.

Another point is after the summit I followed the edge on to The Saddle rather than take the well trodden Pony Path slightly below, but this does take you into a boulder field.

Pic 1- Looking back SW down the valley

Pic 2 - Oh I do like to be beside the seaside :D - with a zoom lens - Looking out to the sea near Tywyn from the steading of Pencoed

Pic 3 - The view out SW ish from 2/3 up the steep slope to Mynydd Pencoed.

Pic 4 - The high point of my walk Cadiar Idris or more properly Penygadair comes into view.

Pic 5 - Looking down onto Llyn Cau from halfway along Craig Cau

Pic 6 - Nearing the summit looking out over the now hidden Llyn Cau and seeing the Minffordd Path following the edge & the landscape beyond.

Pic 7- The summit shelter & trig pillar on the summit itself.

Pic 8- Having moved on from the summit the view semi down to Llyn Y Gadair & beyond.

Pic 9 - The Pony Path coming up from the NE

Pic 10 - Looking back over The saddle to Penygadair half hidden & Mynydd Moel beyond

Pic 11- Barmouth / Afon Mawddach with zoom from Tyrrau Mawr

Pic 12 - A slightly different view of Barmouth plus Llynau Ceregennen taken just after moving on from last pic.

Pic 13 - Halfway down the view of the flanks & tops of where I'd walked that day.

Pic 14- Descending more the track ahead & looking along the length of the valley

Pic 15- The monument to Mary Jones who is part of welsh cultural history, after walking 26 miles barefoot for a copy of the Welsh Bible, there was a whole lot about it in the chapel by where I parked at Llanfihangel-Y- Penant - I prefered a good pair of boots!




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