The Carneddau
To the north of the Ogwen valley, the vast wilderness of the Carneddau presents itself. From the road they generally look bland and uninspiring. But the treasures of this place lies hidden from the road and provide many surprises that compete and even win over the scenery to be found in many of the best parts of the Scottish Highlands. It's as if a slice of the highlands has been brought down south for us deprived folk of Englandshire!

The rounded slopes of the northern Carneddau seen from the northern Glyderau

The northern hills of the Carneddau

Carnedd Llewelyn seen from the south on the eastern ridge of the Glyderau

From the road, the direct ascent is via the south ridge of Yr Ole Wen. A more interesting route visits to corrie of Cwn Lloer first before ascending the east ridge of Yr Ole Wen. Once high up the going is rocky to Carnedd Dafydd where the breathtaking cliffs of the 300m high Black Ladders make many people slightly giddy at the huge drop. The walk to the highest summit, Carnedd Llewelyn, at 1064m follows the cliff edge for a good part of the way. Yr Elen is a minor, but very striking summit that branches off west from Carnedd Llewelyn it holds its own striking corrie that contains the tiny lochan of Ffynnon Caseg.

The southern ridge of Carnedd Dafydd

Pen Yr Ole Wen seen from Carnedd Dafydd

Pen Yr Ole Wen seen from Y Garn

Yr Elen seen from the east

The way north from this summit takes you into deeper wilderness along increasingly grassy high ridges. The ridge splits at the uassuming summit of Garnedd Uchaf. The northern route takes you over Foel Fras before descending to the north Coast. A day hike from the north Welsh coast to Ogwen is often done by this route and is well worth doing. The weatern ridge Sprawls out into a series of foothills above the town of Bethesda.

Carnedd Dafydd seen from Carnedd Llewelyn with its imposing north facing cliffs

The grassy ridges in the north of the Carneddau

Another scramble to consider is the ascent of the Llech Ddu spur that brings you very close to the summit of Carnedd Dafydd. This route includes a walk up the Cwn Pen Llafar from Bethesda and includes the magic scenery mentioned already. It is a grade 1 scramble and is regarded as a good introductory scramble. It gives you a closer look at the imposing cliffs and it has a feeling of remoteness that makes it all the more appealing.

The striking profile of Yr Elen seen from the north

Llethr Gwyn in sunset - a hill above Capel Curig

Carnedd Llewelyn seen fron the northern slopes of the Carneddau

To the east of the summit of Carnedd Llewelyn, the ridge continues into other less frequented areas. The ridge gets narrow at times and there are about two scrambly rock steps to negotiate. It is the narrowest walking ridge in the Carneddau and some less well known crags can be seen from this ridge which makes it all the more worthwhile.

The scramble on Pen Yr Helgi Du

The shapely hills east of Carnedd Llewelyn

Wild ponies on the Carneddau

In Summary the Carneddau is a vast expanse of mountain to such an extent that it cannot be thoroughly explored within the period of a day. But do explore it or you'll otherwise miss out on one of the Welsh hidden treasures.

Foel Fras - the most northerly 3000ft summit in Wales

The valley north of Carnedd Dafydd

The valley north of Carnedd Dafydd

The Swallow falls in Full Spate

Between Capel Curig and Betws Y Coed there exists some fine forests to explore including the famous Swallow Falls. The forest rises up above the main valleys and as such, has some fine viewpoints of the Conwy valley.