The Moel Eilio horseshoe
| Distance | 15 km |
|---|---|
| Ascent | about 1000 m |
| Time | 6 h 15 min |
| Start | Llanberis, car park by Llyn Padarn |
| Map | OS Explorer OL17 |
Conditions
Blustery westerly, gusting 40 mph on the tops by the forecast and it felt about right, especially crossing the cols. Showers every forty minutes or so, each one arriving as a grey curtain over Anglesey and reaching us a few minutes later. Cloud base went up and down all day between about 500 and 800 m, so the summits came and went. Yr Wyddfa stayed in cloud the whole time. About 10° in Llanberis.
Route
From the village, up the steep lane past the youth hostel and on along the track towards the open hill. Where the track levels out we left it and headed up the long grassy north-east shoulder of Moel Eilio. It is a slog rather than anything difficult, and the wind got stronger with every step. The summit at 726 m has a big round stone shelter and we were glad of it.
From Moel Eilio the ridge swings south-east and the walking gets lovely: a broad grassy crest with steep drops on the left into Cwm Dwythwch. Down and up to Foel Gron, then Foel Goch at 605 m. The fence along the ridge is a reassuring handrail in cloud, and we used it for most of this section.
Down to Bwlch Maesgwm, where the old track crosses from Llanberis to Rhyd Ddu, and a short, steep pull up Moel Cynghorion (674 m). Its top is flat and featureless and in cloud it was hard to be sure we were on it, so we walked a little square around the highest-looking ground and called it done.
From Cynghorion we dropped north-east to Bwlch Cwm Brwynog and joined the Llanberis Path just below the halfway point, then followed it all the way back down to the village. A lot of people coming down at the same time, most of them soaked. Chips in Llanberis.
Next time
Do it the other way round, so the wind is at our backs on the long climb up Moel Eilio. Skip the Llanberis Path at the end and come back down the Maesgwm track instead: quieter, and it would cut out Cynghorion on a bad day. Waterproof trousers on before the first shower, not during it.