~Aberglaslyn Circular~
6th July 2017
Pass of Aberglaslyn
Scroll down for photos and a description of the walk....
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Machno Valley |
A498 Parking, nr Beddgelert |
On the left, the view of Machno Valley as we close the second gate on the lane down from the cottage; on the right a parking lay-by close to Beddgelert. We are going to do a circular walk in the area and as such I can see no virtue in paying to park in Beddgelert, may aswell leave the car where there are no meters.
Llyn Dinas
The plan is to walk the Beddgelert, Aberglaslyn, Cwm Bychan circular and there are few finer walks than this in North Wales. From the car, it is possible to cross the river outlet from the lake (above) and walk off-road to Beddgelert.
Moel Hebog
Like a child with a chocolate bar but no means of opening the wrapper, I look up at the mountains and know that this week it's all lower level stuff, but that doesn't stop me longing for the feeling of reaching the heights!
Cottages in Beddgelert
There are a set of views on this walk that always attract the lens and this is one of them. It's a warm, dry day but the sun isn't always shining. After sandwiches by the river, we head down towards the railway crossing. Walkers can walk on either side of the river and can visit Gelert's grave if they want. We did that the other day, so don't need to do so again.
Nantlle Ridge
A fine walk over many tops awaits the attention of my boots sometime in the future.
Welsh Highland Railway
It's been very quiet on the railway whilst we've been here. If we are to see a train it will be a northbound train as the southbound ones whistle all the way down the sharp curves and frequent crossings north of Beddgelert and you know it's on its way.
Welsh Highland Railway - Northbound Train
Bang on cue, a train appears from the south with just one whistle at it emerges from the Aberglaslyn Tunnel. We are in a good place to watch it go by.
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Hauled by a Garratt articulated locomotive, this train will stop at Beddgelert before heading up the line to Caernarfon.
Pass of Aberglaslyn
A simply gorgeous walk along the riverside. The path keeps to the left as you head downstream and is a little testing in places, but there are steel hand-holds where necessary.
Aberglaslyn Pass
Nantmor
Nearby is a National Trust car park, toilets and information board. There now follows a steep climb through woodland.
Into The Woods
Karen often asks how a climb compares to our usual ascent of Pendle and I said it was a bit less than a Pendle (730ft) - but that was just a guess and part of my usual tactic to make things sound easier than they might actually be.
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Cwm Bychan
The gradient eases after you leave the woods, but it remains an uphill walk for quite some time.
Cnicht and Friends
Cnicht is left of centre with its steep ascent to the summit. I'm not sure about the other peaks in view from this point.
Aerial Runway
The remains of mining activity in the area. The ropeway would have brought copper ore from the lodes above down to the processing plant near Nantmor.
Karen in Cwm Bychan
Karen had chosen a top to match the heather. A closer look at the map reveals an ascent of nearer to 900ft than the 730ft on a simple ascent of Pendle Hill and Karen was beginning to suspect a little economy with the truth from me.
Close to the top of the walk, a view down to Llyn Dinas.
Llyn Dinas
Ah well, we've lost the sunshine but it's an easy descent down to Llyn Dinas. The walk finishes with a short leg back to the car on the roadside.
Llyn Gwynant
On the way back to the cottage and over the pass to Capel Curig, almost everyone stops to take a photograph down the valley to Llyn Gwynant. It also serves to let the dawdling vehicle ahead to drift off into the distance and give you a short rest.
In the evening...
Moel Siabod
Walkers: Karen, Molly and Me.
Route: Llyn Dinas, Beddgelert, Pass of Aberglaslyn, Cwm Bychan, Grib Ddu, Llyn Dinas.
Refreshments: There are loads of refreshment opportunities in and around Beddgelert.
Weather: Sunny and Warm.
Time Taken: About 7miles; 4hrs and 30 minutes, including sandwiches by the river in Beddgelert.
All photos copyright Richard Ratcliffe 2017 ©
Take me back to the start ....