Gallt y Wenallt on a wet day.
Whilst working as a volunteer on a gold Duke of Edinburgh, and not being needed on the third day, I decided to go for a walk from the Hertfordshire Snowdonia centre where the staff were staying. The weather was less than perfect, so a short walk up to Gallt y Wenallt was decided upon. For those who don’t no where this is, it is on the ridge to the east of the Snowdon horseshoe peak of Y Lliwedd.
With full waterproofs on I left the centre and joined the Watkin path, which leads up Snowdon. I really enjoy the view from the track, near to the start of the walk, when you round a bend and see this waterfall.
I continued up the path and was met by a man descending, he told me not to bother going up to Snowdon as the path was like a river and he had turned back. I thanked him for his advice and walked on until nearly level with the waterfall on the Afon Cwm Llan, where I left the main path and descended along a wall down to the river. The river was very lively after all the rain which had fallen over the last few days, and made the stone slab bridge seem very narrow with the turbulent waters below.
After crossing the river there was a path which lead up the side of the hill. It first leads through a small wood, although walking on this path with the recent rainfall was like walking up a stream. The path eventually left the wood and continued up and over a wall and into the side of Cwm Merch. After crossing another wall, the path levelled out and I was now in cloud, visibility was poor but I pressed on along the path. This was probably the access track for the old cooper mine, which was up ahead. The old mine buildings slowly appeared out of the mist and I could hear the waterfalls beyond, which added to the atmosphere.
The path ended at these buildings and any tracks ahead seemed very vague: I now had to cross the stream ahead, which seemed more of a raging torrent with impressive waterfalls just above an obvious crossing point. Needing to cross the stream, and with this obvious crossing point where the water seemed too high, I moved up the slope and crossed the stream over the top of the waterfall.
Once across I moved across the back of the Cwm looking for a what on the map seemed like a good rib to follow up to the top of the ridge and after a bit of struggle with the very wet and rough ground I found the rib and soon made quick progress up to the top of the ridge and turned east and soon arrived on the summit of Gallt y Wenallt with no view I didn’t hang around a few photos a spot to eat and i descended the same way.
The rain which had relented a little after I had made it the old mine workings, was now back, but there was little wind and once down the track and past the walls I came out of the cloud and a view was restored.
I was soon back on the Watkin path and back at the centre, a little soggy, but having enjoyed the walk. On a fine day, this would have been a good walk with lovely views and the possibility to continue up the ridge over Lliwedd and onto Snowdon, even doing an Eastern horseshoe walk coming back down Snowdon’s south ridge.
A map of the route here route
