Tryfan and Bristly Ridge
SH648603 From 1 Idwal Cottage, walk up the pavement by the A5 to Milestone Buttress. Cross the road and through a gate onto a signed footpath.
SH663602 Follow the 2 stepped path left of the wall to its end by a second stile. Don’t cross the stile, instead bear left onto a stepped path. Nav gets tricky due to some faint paths; keep Tryfan’s ‘North Face crags’ to your right. Rise steeply over awkward rocks to an outcrop with a prominent ‘arrow-like’ vein of quartz at its base. Bend left around this, then up a scree slope and rough heathery blocks to a clear grassy ramp down to a small but prominent grassy terrace 20m below.
SH667599 Heather 3 Terrace is now a clearer path rising diagonally up the steep hillside, over well-worn rock and trampled ground. Pass a few deep gullies to your right, then bend right with the crag-line just before a very loose scree slope path. Take the top of the scree path to the ridgeline.
SH663592 Cross a 4 wall-stile on the col, then descend about 50m to a path running below Far South Head. This descends steeply over blockier ground to
Bwlch Tryfan.
Head directly up the far side on a faint path beside the wall. At a stile, take the gully about 10m right of the wall; near the start good handholds and footholds are found on the right of the gully. Bear left at the top and up the remnants of a wall.
SH660587 Take the 5 bed of Sinister Gully immediately above this wall – this is a critical navigation point, from which the scrambling becomes inescapable. Higher up, at a steepening of the gully, better holds are found on the left wall. Once above
Sinister Gully, tackle the smaller early pinnacles directly. Great Pinnacle Gap provides the crux scrambling move. Descend from the ridgeline to the left, then hug the right side of a slabby block on the critical move at the Gap, before rising on blocky holds right of the ridge. Follow small blocks out to a large cairn topped with white quartz.
SH658584 Bear 6 right from this for a quick 250m detour to the
summit of Glyder Fach, then return on the ridgeline path. This becomes boggier and faint beyond paths down into Cwm Tryfan. Pass right of some lakes in the saddle, then fork left to Foel Goch’s summit cairn.
SH677581 Take a 7 faint path along the northern edge of the ridge, past another boggy saddle, then briefly detour right for 360° views from the 763m top’s cairn. The broken blocky ridge leads over a minor top; be careful to avoid descending right towards Capel. The ridgeline becomes rough and untrodden in places with occasional exposure. A faint path left avoids the roughest bit of ridgeline.
SH691593 As the 8 ground steepens, look for a faint path forking left, roughly 1km from the 763m top – beware overshooting this due to sheer cliffs lower down. This path roughly contours for 200m, then turns abruptly right to
cross a stile over a fence.
Follow the fence
as it bends sharply right and steeply downhill, then over wet grassland near to a stream valley. Follow the valley side downhill to reach a track by the campsite.
SH687600 Turn left 9 through the gate and follow the bridleway track past both campsites to the A5. Turn left and walk back down the pavement to the hostel.