Outline of most of the route.| Moel Cynghorion
clock-wise from north Moel Cynghorion |
| Estimated net time | 2-2½ hours | ||
| Difficulty | No difficulties, but in wet periods it can be difficult to find a suitable place to cross the river Afon Arddu during your ascent. | ||
| Drinking water | Access to drinking water from the river in the valley. | ||
| GSM coverage | Coverage throughout the route (December 2009). | ||
| Parking | Room for 3-4 cars at trail head. | ||
| Start height | 298 metres | ||
| Vertical metres | 480 metres for the roundtrip. | ||
| Trip distance | 4.8 km | ||
| GPS-file | X | ||
| Map |
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| Route photo |
Outline of most of the route. | ||
If arriving Llanberis from north, on road A4086, turn right 200 metres after the bus and railway station, following signs for "Snowdon footpath". You're now on Victoria Terrace. After 300 metres you will see another sign for "Snowdon footpath", and from here drive approximately 2.0 km until you have a small car park on your right hand side. Park here.
Start your walk by heading directly south, towards the base of Moel Cynghorion. When you get down to the river Afon Arddu, stay on the left hand side and follow the river east and then south. The terrain here is a bit boggy, and the river can be hard to cross, and you should be mentally prepared to wade across. After having walked along the river for approximately 1.0 km you are likely to find a suitable place to cross. This is below the north-east ridge of Moel Cynghorion, and you will have the north ridge to your right.
After you have crossed the river get onto the north-east ridge and follow it all the way to the summit. There is no path up here, and it is quite steep, but there are no difficulties. At the summit locate what looks like the highest point, and start your descent by following the north ridge down to approximately 500 metres. From here turn a little left and aim for the closest farm, finding your best route. Down at the farm you should aim for a mountain road that will take you back towards your car, but a little below the car park. At a suitable place leave the mountain road and head off-path up to your car.
This Saturday was my second and last day in Wales, and it was a pretty miserable day. Hence I didn't fancy taking on anything adventurous, and decided to hike Moel Eilio. After having tried to locate a suitable trail head for Moel Eilio west of Llanberis, and failed, I instead decided to locate a trail head further south. Eventually I found an acceptable trail head, but this time I was located much closer to Moel Cynghorion, so instead decided to hike this mountain.
After having walked along the river Afon Arddu for around a kilometre, desperately searching for a place to cross the river, I was starting to prepare myself for some wading when I found a place I felt could suffice as crossing point. The crossing was successful, and from here I decided to ascend Moel Cynghorion via its north-east ridge.
When I got close to the summit it started to rain heavily, and the summit plateau was a very windy place, so after a couple of summit photos I started my ascent. To my satisfaction the descent would go via a mountain road that had a couple of bridges crossing the river, so the problem of finding somewhere to cross shouldn't be a problem.
After I got back to the car I drove directly to the hotel, had a quick shower, and checked out. Next stop was Bolton, and an overnight stay here before catching my flight at Manchester on Sunday midday.