Arenig Fawr - Wednesday 13 October 2021
Route
Arenig Quarry - Arenig - Pant-yr-Hedydd - Llyn Arenig Fawr - Carreg Lefain - Y Castell - Arenig Fawr (Moel yr Eglwys) - Arenig Fawr South Top - Arenig Fawr - Craig y Hyrddod - Arenig Quarry
Parking
Verge parking approximately 1 mile from the turn off to Arenig from the A4212 near the disused Arenig Quarry. The Grid Reference is SH 830392 and the nearest postcode is LL23 7PB.
Mileage
7.8 miles
Terrain
Good mountain paths with some scree sections. Care needs to be taken in the wet in and around the summit of Arenig Fawr as the rock is extremely polished therefore slippy.
Weather
Overcast all day with rain and low cloud above 2000ft (610m)
Time Taken
5hrs 30mins
Total Ascent
1958ft (597m)
Map
OL18 Harlech, Porthmadog and Y Bala
Walkers
Dave, Angie & Fudge with Howard Smith
Arenig Quarry - Arenig - Pant-yr-Hedydd - Llyn Arenig Fawr - Carreg Lefain - Y Castell - Arenig Fawr (Moel yr Eglwys) - Arenig Fawr South Top - Arenig Fawr - Craig y Hyrddod - Arenig Quarry
Parking
Verge parking approximately 1 mile from the turn off to Arenig from the A4212 near the disused Arenig Quarry. The Grid Reference is SH 830392 and the nearest postcode is LL23 7PB.
Mileage
7.8 miles
Terrain
Good mountain paths with some scree sections. Care needs to be taken in the wet in and around the summit of Arenig Fawr as the rock is extremely polished therefore slippy.
Weather
Overcast all day with rain and low cloud above 2000ft (610m)
Time Taken
5hrs 30mins
Total Ascent
1958ft (597m)
Map
OL18 Harlech, Porthmadog and Y Bala
Walkers
Dave, Angie & Fudge with Howard Smith
GPX File
If the above GPX file fails to download or presents itself as an XML file once downloaded then please feel free to contact me and I will send you the GPX file via e-mail.
Route Map
We started today from a small parking area however there are plenty of these little lay-by's along the minor road
From the parking area the route headed east along the road for a mile until we reached this large double gate with side access. This gate gives entry to the access track to the dam at Llyn Arenig Fawr Reservoir. The gate is located at Grid Reference SH 846 395.
As we ascend gently along the access track, now in view behind us is the reservoir of Llyn Celyn
Continuing along the access track Fudge smiles - grassy swathes are his favourite type of terrain
Nearing the Llyn the craggy lower slopes of Arenig Fawr come into view - the slope to the left is our route of ascent up the ridge
Llyn Arenig Fawr now in full view. The Llyn's primary purpose is to supply water to the nearby town of Bala and the numerous small villages in the surrounding area. Y Castell and Bryn y Dyfrgi provide the backdrop.
Approaching the outflow of Llyn Arenig Fawr with our ridge route of ascent up Y Castell now in full view to the centre right
The dam wall of Llyn Arenig Reservoir. At this point, despite the forecast we thought we might be in for a really good weather day up on the summit - how wrong we were.
Howie & Angie outside the Llyn Arenig Fawr Bothy. The building more than likely originated as a shelter for reservoir construction workmen. At a push it is suitable for 2 or maybe 3 people to comfortably spend the night in.
We dutifully signed the Bothy Visitor's Book before continuing our climb to Arenig Fawr
From the Bothy, the route crosses the outflow of the Llyn via this small footbridge
Looking to the Dam Wall of Llyn Arenig Fawr Reservoir - our route of ascent is now seen to the left
Looking across Llyn Arenig Fawr to Bryn y Dyfrgi
The first part of the ascent to Arenig Fawr is via the subsidiary climb to Y Castell - the going was very good underfoot
Llyn Arenig Fawr from the ascent to Y Castell
Looks like our luck with the viz would be out today - loads and loads of thick grey soup ahead as we continue to climb
Almost at the summit now as we negotiate a traverse along sloping scree
The final approach to Arenig Fawr - as if to annoy us even more it had started to drizzle
With Fudge on the 2802ft (854m) summit of Arenig Fawr (translated as "Large High Ground")
Next to the summit Trig Point is a large plaque embedded into rock which commemorates a plane crash from 1943
On August 4, 1943, an American B-17 Flying Fortress from RAF Molesworth took flight on a night training mission but tragically crashed into the slopes of Arenig Fawr. All eight American crew members on the aircraft perished that night. In honour of the crew, the local community installed a memorial plaque after the war in 1945. By 2019 the plaque had degraded to the point whereby the names inscribed had faded so badly that they could not be read. Subsequently, Volunteers raised £2,500 for a new plaque which was installed in September 2019.
On August 4, 1943, an American B-17 Flying Fortress from RAF Molesworth took flight on a night training mission but tragically crashed into the slopes of Arenig Fawr. All eight American crew members on the aircraft perished that night. In honour of the crew, the local community installed a memorial plaque after the war in 1945. By 2019 the plaque had degraded to the point whereby the names inscribed had faded so badly that they could not be read. Subsequently, Volunteers raised £2,500 for a new plaque which was installed in September 2019.
The summit of Arenig Fawr complete with large wind shelter constructed out of an ancient cairn
Approximately 1/4 mile to the south is the summit of Arenig Fawr South Top. At this point it was our intention to walk a further 3/4 mile to the south and visit Arenig Fawr's South Ridge Top but by now the weather was starting to deteriorate further therefore we decided to call it a day and return to Arenig Fawr to begin our descent back to the start.
Leaving Arenig Fawr via an initial rocky descent. The way down is easy enough - just follow the fence line.
Despite the poor visibility someone had a fun day out
With Howie on the descent to the start with Arenig Fawr behind us
Looking south west over to Moel Llyfnant
Almost down now - I really enjoyed this descent now that the mist had cleared
Always a sure sign that Fudge has had a really good day out