I live in Kent, I’m retired and I do a lot of walking. My wife still works, joins me on a weekend walk every week and hates hills. So I was amazed and delighted when, last October, she agreed to a walking holiday in Snowdonia. We don’t have much in the way of high hills around our way, let alone mountains, so our priority was to climb Snowdon – partly for the bragging rights (it’s important for people to have at least heard of a mountain) and partly because we thought that if we can do Snowdon then other big hills should be a doddle!
We were incredibly lucky to find a self-catering cottage in what has to be the perfect location. Clogwyn Cottage is one of two cottages on a working farm at the foot of Snowdon. And it’s on the quieter west side of the mountain with the Rhyd-Ddu path passing close by to the south and the Ranger path about a mile away to the north. Better still, the land in between the paths belongs to the farm, so we could take any direct cross-country route we wanted.
Our route (the summit is east of the cottage!)Soon after setting off. Clogwyn Cottage is the yellow building on the far rightThe weather forecast said our first day would be the best day of the week so, with some trepidation, we headed for the Rhyd-Ddu path and up the mountain. The views became increasingly wonderful and brief photo stops were the only breaks needed. There was a clear path with some steepish bits but also more gentle ascents and very few people.
Nearing the summit we negotiated the narrow ridge called Bwlch Main. Fortunately, because this could have been the point of return for my wife who doesn’t like heights, the drop on the steeper side was obscured by clouds that appeared at just the right moment, and we crossed it without really knowing what we’d just done!
Approaching Bwlch Main...Clouds making a timely arrival!The summit was, predictably, very busy. It was also in the clouds, but we were under them almost as soon as we set off down the Ranger path and the magnificent views were back. Heading north, several paths leave the summit as one and it was busy for a while, but once on the Ranger path we were again almost alone. This path was easy – a bit rocky in places, but a few mountain bikers passed us and that always bodes well!
A very quiet Ranger pathWe left the Ranger path before it reaches the main road and headed back to the cottage. Our route took us across boggy terrain and between and over some huge slate piles, but having just climbed our first mountain, nothing was too much trouble now.
Crossing a slate pile. Behind is Mynydd Mawr which we did a few days later - the wind, rain and cloud made for a far tougher climb!Actually, although we’d just completed a nine-mile loop that we weren’t entirely sure we’d be able to manage, our elation was slightly tempered by the knowledge that it wasn’t particularly difficult after all. In fact, ten months later and many more big hills conquered, we look back at Snowdon as being relatively straightforward – and know now that climbing a pathless lesser hill in poor weather is infinitely more challenging!