Moel Hebog, Snowdonia
There’s no easy way to climb this Snowdonia classic. But as this route demonstrates, it’s always worth the effort.
At 782m, Moel Hebog (the Bare Hill of the Falcon) is the highest of the so-called Nantlle Hills. It’s also the most imposing, towering over the chocolate box village of Beddgelert.
It’s one of those hills that really doesn’t have an easy way to climb it. But it’s also one that always pays back with amazing views west to the coast and north to the Snowdon massif. And surprisingly, despite the mountain’s close proximity to some of the area’s most popular tourist attractions, it’s one of those hills you can still find real solitude on. Especially if you approach from the remote valleys to the south.
This walk does just that, bagging the rugged, rock-topped summit of Moel-ddu along the way. Choose a good day, as nav is awkward in places.
1
SH573502 Head back to the main drive and turn right to continue down past a couple of houses and around a right-hand bend. Now follow the waymarked bridleway towards Beddgelert, eventually passing the Meillionen railway station and continuing out onto open hillside, with great views of Moel Hebog above you. Stay with this to a gate that leads to farm buildings and ignore the arrow left, instead turning right then left onto a concrete track. Follow this to more buildings and around to the left. Now look for a gate and footpath on the right.
2
SH583476 The path doesn’t really exist on the boggy ground, so head straight up to a marker post then slightly left through a gap in a wall. Follow this pretty much straight up again (south/south-east) until eventually a waymarked gate ushers you out onto rough pasture. Now bear half-left, climbing slightly and gradually easing away from the wall, eventually rounding a pronounced spur. The path here is hard to find and the ground is complex, but if you head south from the crest of the spur, you’ll meet a wall that will handrail you upwards to where the path passes its end. Stay with it, curving rightwards to round the hill to your right, and it eventually spills into the delightfully wild Cwm Goch, where a clear, wet track leads to a ford.
3
SH582464 Cross and head up to a wall, which you now keep to your left to follow over more awkward, wet ground – nobody said this was going to be easy! You eventually pass through the wall to keep ahead in the same direction and, thankfully, when you pick up the next wall, you also pick up a clear grassy path that leads up to a gate in Cwm Oerddwr.
4
SH579453 Keep ahead, with a wall to your left, and after the next gate, drop steeply until you can break left onto the boggy plateau. Keep the wall to your left and follow it to a gate, which you go through to climb steeply, still with the wall to your left. The path dips after another gate. Here break right to climb directly into the col between the two peaks of Moel-ddu. Continue to a ladder stile on your left which gives access to the 553m northern top. This has to be one of the best viewpoints in the whole of Snowdonia, with the Snowdon group and Moelwynion to the fore.
5
SH579442 Drop back to the stile and bag the southern top too. Now drop right to retrace your earlier steps back down into the col. Keep the wall and stile to your right, and the remnants of the slate mine to your left, and climb the steep ridge of Bryn Banog ahead. The summit is a few metres north of the wall and tops a wonderfully airy skyline ridge walk that eventually drops north into Cwm Cyd. Drop almost to the level of Cwm Cyd then break left to hug the hillside above the boggy plateau and pick up a faint path at the far side. Follow this right past two small tarns and start the brutal ascent of Moel Hebog. Head pretty much straight up to start with, then veer slightly right as the ground eases. Cairns then lead to the summit which is buried in a wall.
6
SH565469 Keeping the wall to your left, follow a steep path down into Bwlch Meillionen. Pass through the wall and turn right to follow a clear path down, keeping the wall to your right the whole time.
As it levels, you’ll see a huge, tree-topped boulder ahead. 20m before you get to this, go right through a gap in the wall and head half-left to drop to the wall that leads from the boulder. Turn right to follow this to a stile and climb this to follow a footpath into the forest. Now continue
down, crossing a succession of forest tracks. Eventually you get deflected left for a few paces, then right down another narrow path. At the bottom of this, turn left onto the forest track and follow it to rejoin the main track you followed on the way out. Turn left to retrace your steps to the finish.