Overview of route to Moelwyn Mawr.
| Moelwyn Mawr from
Penrallt Moelwyn Mawr |
| Estimated net time | 2½-3 hours | ||
| Difficulty | No difficulties. | ||
| Drinking water | No stable access to running water. | ||
| GSM coverage | Coverage throughout the route. | ||
| Parking | Room for a couple of cars along the road at trail head. | ||
| Start height | 215 metres | ||
| Vertical metres | 565 metres for the roundtrip. | ||
| Trip distance | 5.8 km | ||
| GPS-file | X | ||
| Map |
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| Route photo |
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From the village Beddgelert in north-west Wales, where roads A498 and A4085 intersect, drive across the bridge and 2.3 km south on road A498. Turn left onto A4085 and drive 6.1 km. Turn left where signed for "Croesor" and drive 3.2 km to a 4-way junction. Turn right, signed for "Tan-y-bwlch", and drive 700 metres. There's a gate after a couple of hundred metres, which you need to close behind you if not open when you get there. Park on the right hand side of the road where a farm road starts on the left hand side of the road.
Start your hike by following the farm road 850 metres north-east, to where it bends right. From here continue north-east on grassy slopes, and aim for a flank to the right of the highest of the small tops along Moelwyn Mawr's south-west ridge. When you get up to the col right (east) of this top you will find a path leading to the summit. The path is a little vague at the top of the flank, and then is more defined along the summit ridge. The summit is marked by a proper cairn.
Descend by reversing your ascent route.
I had had a very active week-end in terms of hiking, and was feeling the strain, but there was room for one final hike this Sunday morning before driving back to Birmingham airport and the flight back home. The last of the eight hikes I had partly planned for the week-end was Moelwyn Mawr, and despite not having found any descriptions of the route up from south-west I decided to try this route. And with no morning mist I got a good overview of the route from trail head and made up my mind to have a go.
Walking into the valley was easy and enjoyable, but as soon as the terrain got steeper I started to struggle and had to stop several times to regain an acceptable heart beat. Thankfully things got a little better when I got up to the path and could continue on firmer ground.
The effort was however well worth it and I had superb views towards Snowdon and the other Snowdonia mountains. And for a change I sat down at a summit and rested for a while, enjoying the views and a sandwich. I also took the opportunity to give Njål a wake-up birthday call.