Craig Cwm Silyn trail head.
Lower part of ascent route to Craig Cwm Silyn.
Upper part of descent from Craig Cwm Silyn.
| Craig Cwm Silyn counter
clock-wise from Cors y Llyn Craig Cwm Silyn |
| Estimated net time | 3-4 hours | ||
| Difficulty | No difficulties. | ||
| Drinking water | No stable access to running water except for the stream at the end of the gravel road. | ||
| GSM coverage | Coverage throughout the route. | ||
| Parking | Room for several cars at trail head. | ||
| Start height | 235 metres | ||
| Vertical metres | 545 metres for the roundtrip. | ||
| Trip distance | 10.3 km | ||
| GPS-file | X | ||
| Map |
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| Route photo |
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From the round about where roads A498 and A487 intersect, at the base of the Lleyn peninsula in north-west Wales, drive road A487 18.2 km in the direction of Caernarfon and turn right onto a narrow road. This is the first road turning right after the village Pantglas. Drive 380 metres and turn left, and then drive 200 metres and turn right. Follow this single lane road 1.9 km and park at the bottom of the hill.
Start your hike by following the gravel road right, 500 metres to a bridge. Cross the bridge, then cross the fence on a stile, and then follow the path east approximately 1.5 km. Stay on the path as it turns south-east and continues towards the pass above the east end of the lake Llyn Cwm Dulyn. Turn left in the flat pass and head north-east, below the small top Garnedd Goch. The path now fades away, but its easy terrain north-east towards Craig Cwm Silyn. You will pass a couple of large cairns before you get to the end of the flat section and the summit, which is marked by a stone ring giving shelter on windy days.
Descend by heading back down to the stone fences and cross one of them on a stile. Then turn a little right and follow the edge above the lakes Llynnau Cwm Silyn down to approximately 500 metres. From here turn left and find your best route back towards Llyn Cwm Dulyn, and then the path back down to the bridge, and the gravel road back to the car.
After my three morning hikes I had got my self some lunch and a few minutes of rest before driving towards Craig Cwm Silyn and my fourth and final hike of the day. It was a very nice Friday by now, and I was in relatively nice territory, so was quite keen to get going. My biggest challenge was finding the right trail head but this worked out very well.
The whole hike was pretty straight forward, in easy terrain, and from the summit I had excellent views to the higher mountains located north-west. I also managed to design a route that didn't take me down via the ascent route, and this descent route was a little shorter than my ascent, but slightly more cumbersome terrain when I got down to where I had to leave the path.
This concluded my hiking for today and it was time to get some proper food in order to be ready for a few hikes tomorrow.