A trek through the Moelwnion hills to the north-west of Blaenau Ffestiniog. This is the route we originally intended to walk on our recent Crimea Pass trip that we were forced to abandon earlier in April and improvise a new one.
This time we followed our easy ascent line through lower Cwm Lledr via the westerly rail underpass using the excellent track made for the construction of the Blaenau tunnel air shaft, culminating with a steep direct ascent to the summit of the very rarely walked Moel Dyrnogydd.
The middle section continues the westward arc of hills to the high point of Moel Druman and descends a splendidly wild, trackless line to Cwm Corsiog.
The final section crosses the Rhosydd quarry area to ascend Moel-yr-hydd and continue via the Stwlan mine track below the cliffs of Moelwyn Mawr and Craigysgafn, a new path for us that we have never seen described before.
Another heatwave was forecast for this period and hydration was a primary consideration, though a decent breeze at height helped a lot with the blistering temperature. The final low section of the route via the Stwlan access track and valley road, the quickest option chosen due to time constraint, reminded us that even when well hydrated, there is still a danger purely from the temperature: we were feeling seriously grim as we slowly plodded into Blaenau and found relief in the shade and air con of the Co-op.