North Wales
12.6km/7¾ miles 6 hours
1 SJ074295 Leave Tan-y-Pistyll car park area by way of a marked gate and path to the north-east. Take a few minutes now to visit the beautiful waterfall, or make sure you do on your return. Ascend through woods, via a gate into Open Access land as marked. Immediately take a stony path rising through heather. It’s steep to start, rising quickly via zigzags. There are numerous pitched paths and grassy tracks that have been used to access the upper waterfalls, but you’ll want to find a route that keeps to the rising shoulder, and dosen’t detour to the falls (below you now). Its steep, but the views back into Cwm Blowty open up quickly, as do those to Cadair Berwyn’s shapely summit, peeking over grassland ahead. After 20 minutes the ascent evens out and you’re on high moorland, following a grassy path. Meet a gate/ fence and access the east/ right-hand side of this.
2 SJ069304 If you’re keen on contouring edges, then you’re able to access a great vantage point to view the route ahead at SJ070307 and then handrail the edge until you can catch up with the fence line rising to Moel Sych (easier walking nearer the fence after the 679m spot height). It’s very pleasing to reach the heights of Moel Sych and see the sky and landscape all around you.
3 SJ066318
Stride along the best 2km in the Berwyn range – Craig Berwyn – keeping as close to the edge as you feel comfortable, with the outcrops of spot height 830m beckoning (it’s not Cadair Berwyn’s official summit, but more impressive looking!). Peat hags can cause some hopping action at times.
4 SJ076335 A descent from Cadair Berwyn uses boardwalk to cover some deeper peat hags – much welcome. A quick, grassy descent will see that Cadair Bronwen appears ever closer and it’s worth a there-and-back detour to claim this top and find Bwrdd Arthur (Arthur’s Table) rock.
In good conditions you’ll enjoy a fine view back over the route so far. Come back to an obvious bridleway crossing and descend from Bwlch Maen Gwynedd (Gwynedd Stone Pass).
5 SJ075340 Easy and sweeping walking along the bridleway to a gate at SJ080337. A boundary stone marks the Powys and Denbighshire counties here. Descend more steeply on grass and woodrush to about 620m and pick up a sheep track continuing to contour at this height, towards the forest plantation ahead. This is why sheep and goats have two legs longer than the others, apparently! Easier ground awaits at the old slate quarry. Past an old caban (hut) ruin, find a long, dark quarry entrance; above is a larger hole for careful exploring en route.
6 SJ075326 Easier ground beyond the quarry will lead you towards Moel yr Ewig. Choose to swing upwards towards spot height 724m to gain the ridge, fence line and stile at SJ073320. Great viewpoint up towards Cadair Berwyn’s underbelly and down to the near circle Llyn Llun Caws, a delightfully small glacial lake nestled in the cwm. A grassy descent and path bring you to the lake.
7 SJ072316 After your track along some more remote terrain, it’s a welcome walk down from the cwm, on a clearer path back towards Tan-y-pistyll. The incline is easy on the legs; take some time to look back at your route taken, as Cadair Berwyn looks imposing from this path. Ensure you cross the stream at SJ076310 and pick up a long, grassy descent. At SJ075298 switch back to a bridge to access a broad, slate track to the myriad of waterfall paths you accessed earlier.