Rhinog Fawr from Cwm Bychan
| Distance | 9 km |
|---|---|
| Ascent | 650 m |
| Time | 5 h 20 min (slow going) |
| Start | Cwm Bychan, farm field parking by the lake |
| Map | OS Explorer OL18 |
Conditions
Warm and bright inland, 16° in the valley by ten o’clock. A bank of sea mist was sitting off the coast at Harlech when I drove in, and by early afternoon it had come up over the western edge of the range and swallowed the summit. Inside it the temperature dropped by several degrees and everything went quiet. No wind to speak of, which is unusual up there.
Route
Paid at the honesty box and set off from the head of Llyn Cwm Bychan on the signed path to the Roman Steps. They are almost certainly medieval rather than Roman, a packhorse way of big flat slabs laid through oak wood and then open heather, but nobody calls them anything else. Lovely walking, and the only easy ground of the day.
At Bwlch Tyddiad, where the steps top out, I turned right (south) and followed a faint path alongside the wall over rough, bouldery ground. The Rhinogydd are famous for their heather, and it is every bit as bad as people say: knee-deep, hiding holes between the gritstone blocks, and it grabs at your ankles on every step.
The path drops slightly to Llyn Du, a dark little lake under the north face. From its eastern end a rough, steep path heads up the slope to the left, more of a gully than a ridge, with some easy hands-on moments. It comes out onto the summit plateau a short way from the trig point at 720 m.
The mist arrived about ten minutes after I did. I had taken a bearing back to Llyn Du while I could still see it, which turned out to be the most useful thing I did all day. Came back down the same way, slowly, and the Roman Steps felt like a pavement after the heather.
Next time
Gaiters, definitely, and long trousers even in warm weather; my shins looked like I had fought a cat. Allow half again the usual time per kilometre in the Rhinogydd. And it would be good to try the full traverse to Rhinog Fach some year, with someone who can drive the second car.