Great Mountain Days in Snowdonia. Terry Marsh
route is the preserve only of experienced and well-equipped mountaineers. Not under any conditions should a deviation from the path be contemplated; it is far from the surest of routes, but it does head straight for a prominent finger of rock on Bwlch Main, an essential marker for anyone descending the Watkin Path.
Once safely on Bwlch Main, turn right for a brief stony section up to the café and then the summit of Snowdon above that.
From the summit, retreat to Bwlch Main and the finger of rock, but then continue along a ridge path, initially in a south-westerly direction. This is excellent walking, but the ridge becomes narrow, and has a number of rocky sections. When the path forks, bear left, uphill, to experience more rocky ridge work along Allt Maenderyn. There are a few awkward, scrambly stretches along this steadily descending ridge, where hands, knees and bottoms will be called into play. This is no place to hurry, and can be very tiring.
Eventually, you reach a ladder-stile spanning a fence, beyond which a final, rocky staircase of slate leads to Bwlch Cwm y Llan, and it is from here that those bound for Yr Aran will depart, upwards. Before deciding what to do, take a little time to inspect the old slate quarries.
The path for Yr Aran follows an old wall which, higher up, veers off to the left before turning to a south-westerly direction to climb to the summit, marked by a cairn and splendid views. From the top of Yr Aran, it is possible to head east alongside a wall, then leaving it as the wall turns to the south, by descending steeply, and without a path to guide you, in a northwards direction. It is somewhat safer, however, to retrace your steps to Bwlch Cwm Llan.
From Bwlch Cwm Llan, take to a slate gully that leads to and through a wall before skimming on down across grassy slopes. The descending path is continuous, if occasionally vague, but it does come down to intercept an old tramway used by the quarry, and along which horse-drawn trams took the slate to the top of a steep incline from where they were lowered to Pont Bethania.
On reaching the tramway, the route lies to the right, but it is worth taking a few moments to turn left towards quarry buildings in front of which lies what some have mistaken as a graveyard (SH611523). It is simply a random placement of slate slabs, of uncertain origin, although it is agreeable to think they may have been placed in commemoration of those who died working the quarries.
Return along the tramway, which passes through a few rock cuttings until it reaches the top of a clear path descending to the left, reaching the route of ascent not far from Plas Cwmllan. Now all you need to do is turn right, and retrace your steps to Nantgwynant.
Yr Aran from just above Bwlch Cwm Llan
WALK FOUR
The Pyg Track and the Miners’ Track
Snowdon from the Miners’ Track
Walkers wanting to reach Snowdon’s summit, who want neither the tedium of the ascent from Llanberis, whether on foot or by train, nor the frights that Crib Goch and Crib y Ddysgl can provoke, will opt for what has become a classic in its own right – up the Pyg and down the Miners’. And there are many reasons why those venturing onto Snowdon for the first time will take pleasure in this approach, not least the emerging prospect of mountains beyond mountains and the sheer adrenalin rush that these rocky theatres generate.
The Route
The walk starts from the car park at Pen y Pass, where the charge for parking is considerably more than the old shilling (5p) once demanded. Ignore the conspicuous track leading south from the car park, this is the way you will return. Instead, start off west, aiming for the pointed cone of Crib Goch seen in the distance. If you can’t see Crib Goch because of mist, you may want to reconsider the day’s plans.
The Pyg Track, contrary to a once-popular belief that it took its name from the initials of the nearby Pen y Gwryd Hotel, the haunt of Everest mountaineers in the 1950s, is actually named from the high-level pass, Bwlch y Moch, the Pass of the Pigs, immediately below the steep ascent to Crib Goch.
The track gains height in a series of stepped sections that lie to the north of the long ridge leading to an unnamed summit (perhaps we could be daring and call it Pen Bwlch y Moch, The Peak of the Pass of the Pigs, albeit with no justification).
ROUTE INFORMATION
| Distance | 11½km/7 miles |
| Height gain | 840m/2755ft |
| Time | 4–5 hours |
| Grade | strenuous |
| Start point | Pen y Pass SH647555 |
| Getting there | Pen y Pass car park, but note that this fills up early. Consider making use of the hourly Snowdon Sherpa shuttle bus from Llanberis or Nant Peris. |
| Maps | (Harvey Superwalker) Snowdonia and the Moelwynion; (Ordnance Survey) OL17 Snowdon/Yr Wyddfa |
| After-walk refreshment | Pen y Pass; Pen y Gwryd; Nant Peris; Llanberis |
At Bwlch y Moch the path forks. Go left, descending for a short while, to continue along the Pyg Track, and so begin a superb traverse of Crib Goch’s lower slopes, yet sufficiently elevated to have a fine view of Llyn Llydaw and the towering vertical cliffs of Y Lliwedd, which were among the first crags in Wales to be explored by rock climbers. This traverse is to be appreciated; there is nothing quite like it in Wales, and every opportunity should be taken to embrace the scenery. When Snowdon bursts into view, hopefully it will be with a clarity that draws you on.
Snowdon and Llyn Llydaw
The Pyg Track is clear throughout its length, and substantially restored in its upper reaches. Along the way it cavorts with minor outcrops and later passes below the broken cliffs of Crib y Ddysgl, where the Miners’ Track ascends from the left, rising through Cwm Dyli. The final escape is by the renowned zigzags, now pitch paved. This used to be seriously tricky in winter conditions, and is no easier now when snow and ice abound. But in normal summer conditions, there is no difficulty popping up to the finger of rock that marks the top of the path, a key marker, incidentally, for the descent.
Now all that remains is to turn left (roughly south), and follow a broad trail up to the summit of Snowdon.
You make your descent by retracing your steps to the finger of rock above the zigzags, and the turning down onto the Pyg Track. Above Glaslyn, in an area of mining debris that often causes navigational confusion, a path descends steeply to the shores of the lake. There is a stone marker, a little over a metre high, that marks the best point of departure from the Pyg Track.
The Pyg Track in winter
Glaslyn, its water tinted by copper ore, was once known as Llyn y Ffynnon Las, the Lake of the Green Fountain, and is, so legend would have us believe, inhabited by a monster, an afangc, which used to live in a pool near Betws y Coed, where it frequently wreaked havoc among the locals. Tired of its ways, they finally moved it to Glaslyn, pulled by a team of oxen, one of which under severe strain lost an eye at Gwaun Lygad yr Ych, the Field of the Ox’s Eye, on the slopes of Moel Siabod, by which way it was brought. The presence of the beast in Glaslyn’s waters is said to be an explanation of why no bird will fly across the lake.
With the shores of the lake close by, and a substantial if rocky track now underfoot, you pass the outflow from Glaslyn, and continue the descent of the Miners’ Track to mine buildings above the shoreline of Llyn Llydaw. The mines here were never very productive, and although supplied with new machinery in 1915, they closed down a year later.