Snowdonia
EASY SCRAMBLING
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SH627506 From Pont Bethania car park, turn left and cross the road to pick up the Watkin Path which passes through broad leaf woodland before emerging into open country. A steady climb takes you past idyllic cascades and plunge pools on its way into Cwm Llan. On a hot summer day the urge to linger for a dip is strong but must be resisted, for now at least! The path carries on all the way to Bwlch Ciliau, and there are interesting sights to be enjoyed along the way – including Gladston Rock and the derelict house of the former manager of the South Snowdon Quarry, which is peppered with bullet holes left by WWII soldiers using it for target practice. In 2014 the National Theatre of Wales daubed a poem on a large slab of rock which, when attempts were made to clean it, remained defaced. Indeed it is visible from the summit of Cnicht. Can you spot it?
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Bwlch Ciliau is an impressive place, with Snowdon towering above and Y Lliwedd rising spire-like into the sky. It’s a sight which some may find daunting but don’t be fooled, it is spectacular but quite friendly on closer acquaintance.
Several paths meander their way up onto
Y Lliwedd’s west peak, but for maximum enjoyment with just a hint of exposure keep left and scramble easily (Grade 0.5) to the summit. To your right steep slopes lead down into Nant Gwynant, to your left Y Lliwedd’s north-east face plunges headlong almost 400m to Llyn Llydaw, while straight ahead lies the east peak where fellow walkers (or even companions) lend an incredible sense of scale to your photographs. The view from the east peak is equally photogenic and is a good place to stop and enjoy a scene of genuine beauty and
grandeur. From the east peak stick to the ridge and descend to Lliwedd Bach and eventually to a cairn which marks the usual descent to Cwm Dyli. Now we step onto what some call ‘The last nail in the Horseshoe’ – Gallt y Wenallt. A path, faint in places, leads over humps and through boggy hollows, curving around until terminating on ‘Point 619’, a wonderful viewpoint and another logical place to halt and soak up the vista laid out before you.
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SH642532 The descent is on pathless ground and heads due west to pick up a stream, followed down to an old copper mine where a good track offers ‘hands in pockets’ walking all the way to a plantation of Scots Pine. Before long you’re back beside the Afon Cwm Llan where, perhaps, you might wish to bathe aching limbs in the crystal clear blue pools.
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SH622516 The Afon Cwm Llan is crossed by a slate clapper bridge, after which a short ascent brings you back onto the Watkin Path. Retrace your steps back to Pont Bethania at a leisurely pace, happy in the knowledge that you’ve discovered a hidden classic on Britain’s busiest mountain massif.