As today involved a fair bit of driving, as the hills were covered in cloud and it was raining, I opted for an easy day ascending two Sub2000ft Marilyns near Dolgellau.
For my ascent of Foel Offrwm, I parked in the Llwybr Cynwch Precipice Walk car park. There is currently no charge to park in this car park.
Hill: Foel Offrwm
Date: Friday 10th March 2017
Company: Just myself
Distance: 2.9km, Ascent: 235m
Time: 1Hr 5Mins
Car Park for Foel Offrwm and for Llwybr Cynwch Precipice Walk:
From the car park, I crossed the road and had a brief chat with someone working on the hillpath. I then set off along the track skirting round the hill.
Initial track ascending Foel Offrwm:
After a couple of hundred metres walking, the tarmac track came to an end and I followed the grassy track beyond.
Grassy ascent of Foel Offrwm:
I stopped a couple of times during the ascent to take photos, albeit views were not great due to the low cloud.
Views during ascent:
Llanfachreth and Cerniau:
After circa 30 minutes of walking, I reached the hill fort located just below the summit.
Hill Fort on Foel Offrwm:
Hill Fort on Foel Offrwm:
At the summit there is a large square cairn. I clambered up onto the top of
the cairn and then decided to walk a short distance beyond the summit to
ensure I definitely visited the high point.
Large square cairn at the summit of Foel Offrwm:
Hill Fort and wall on Foel Offrwm:
Looking back to the summit:
I then made my way across to the large wall which I followed for a short distance down the hill before returning to the car park via my inbound route.
Following the wall downhill:
On reaching the car, I had a quick look at the map for another nearby Marilyn. I noticed Craig y Castell was only circa five miles away.
Hill: Craig y Castell
Date: Friday 10th March 2017
Company: Just myself
Distance: 3.9km, Ascent: 180m
Time: 1Hr 10Mins
Craig y Castell is located close to Cadair Idris and both walks start from the same car park. There are two rates for parking in this car park. £2.50 to park for four hours or £5.00 to park for the day.
Information board in Cader Idris car park:
From the car park, I made my way along a road leading towards a farm. I
could have taken a more direct route up the hill but decided to take an indirect route to avoid cattle
on the hillside.
Looking towards Craig y Castell:
A short distance beyond the farm I entered a gate and made my way up through the grassy field.
Initial ascent:
Looking towards Craig y Castell:
En-route to Craig y Castell, I passed a rocky bump which would appear to be called Tyddyn-Evan-Fychan.
Tyddyn-Evan-Fychan:
After passing Tyddyn-Evan-Fychan, I had to step over a rusty barbed-wire fence.
Several knolls en-route to the summit:
Heading for the summit of Craig y Castell:
To get to the summit I also had to climb over a large stone wall. A stile would have been useful!
Small crag on Craig y Castell:
On reaching the summit area, I visited the highest point in the heather and visited a nearby high rock.
At the summit of Craig y Castell:
Tal-y-Waen:
During the descent the cloud lifted a little allowing me to see Cadair Idris, a hill I am really looking forward to ascending on a nice day.
Cadair Idris appearing out of the cloud:
Cadair Idris appearing out of the cloud:
I returned to the car via roughly the same route. Hopefully the weather and visibility will improve during the next few days.