A walk up Foel Fras and Carnedd Gwenllian


It’s a clear fresh Autumn morning as I pull into the top car park at the end of the Aber falls road. There is only one other car parked up and it looks like it has been there all night. The Sun has only just risen over the horizon and it takes the early chill away as I pull on my boots and sort out my rucksack. The air is still and nothing is moving. All that can be heard is the sound of bleating sheep on the hillside.

The Carneddau

The route to Foel Fras starts on what is an old Roman road across the hillside. History is close to the surface here with standing stones and neolithic burial chambers including the well known Maen y Bardd all nearby. Setting off from the car park the open hillside is soon reached and there are views of Anglesey, Puffin island and the Great Orme to enjoy as progress is made up a steady incline. The old road, really just  a rocky track, leads to a junction where a signpost points the way to our first summit, Drum.

A sign points the way

The Roman road is left at the junction and the incline increases as the track contours around Foel Ganol and then starts the climb up to Drum. Eventually, after following the track all the way, the lovely summit of Drum is reached. Here you can take a rest in it’s substantial shelter and admire the views. Being an outlier on the Eastern edge of Snowdonia the views from Drum North and East are remarkably extensive. The river Conwy, It’s estuary and all the coastline from Anglesey over to Llandudno and beyond can be seen. The view west however is blocked by our next objective Foel Fras, at 3,097ft the most Easterly three thousander in Snowdonia.

Foel Fras from the summit shelter of Drum
The route to Foel Fras

 

The route to Foel Fras starts by first heading downwards to a boggy col. There are some random stepping stones to alleviate the worst of the bog and most of the wet ground can be avoided. There then follows a heads down, into low gear, grind up a steeper incline that leads you to the rounded summit. The incline is not too steep however and the going underfoot is on a good carpet of grass and heather.

The summit of Foel Fras

This all changes however once the summit of Foel Fras is reached. The top of the mountain is marked by a fine trig point but it is surrounded by huge boulders which look like they have been dropped from a dumper truck in the sky all over the summit plateau. A long, straight and well built wall which starts just below the summit and runs right across the summit plateau is also a prominent feature. Various accounts seem to exist as to who built the wall, the most exotic being that is was built by French prisoners during the Napoleonic wars. There is a stile near the summit and if the wind is up the wall can be crossed and provide welcome shelter and a place for a rest and bite to eat.

The summit wall on Foel Fras

At the top I meet up with a young man who is packing up his bivi bag. It turns out he has just said goodbye to his mate who has gone off to walk all of the Welsh three thousanders in one go. The young man was heading back down to the car which was the one I had seen in the car park to go and meet him at Ogwen and Nant peris with supplies.

From Foel Fras my next objective of the day, Carnedd Gwenllian can be seen. As with the path from Drum, the walking is initially downward onto a grassy, slightly boggy flatland in between the mountains before slowly rising to the summit. Although I say summit, the top of Carnedd Gwenllian is really just a rocky mound which is only slightly higher than the surrounding landscape. Because of this, although at 3,035ft it does rise just above the magic number it is often forgotten or neglected to be included as one of the Welsh three thousanders.

Carnedd Gwenlian

Prior to 2010 Carnedd Gwenllian was known as Carnedd Uchaf. A campaign to have it renamed was successful and in 2010 it was renamed in memory of Princess Gwenllian of Wales, the only daughter of the last King of Wales, Llywelyn ap Gruffudd. After the conquest of Wales by Edward Princess Gwenlian was sent to live and eventually die in a convent in England so she could not produce any future heir to the Welsh throne. I also happen to like it as my own daughters name is Gwen.

The Northern flank of Yr Elen from Carnedd Gwenlian

Arguably, the views from the summit of Carnedd Gwenllian are better than those from Foel Fras. The coastline from Anglesey to Llandudno and the Blue Irish sea can still be seen but you also get the added bonus of a close up view of the Northern flanks of Foel Grach and Yr Elen, the latter being quite dramatic.

Llyn Anafon from the col.
Ponies of the Carneddau
The banks of Llyn Anafon

I return the way I had come, visiting the summit of Foel Fras again but at the boggy col, rather than plod back up and over Drum I drop down to the lovely Llyn Anafon reservoir where I sit for a while on its dam wall enjoying the afternoon sun and the peace and quite of the little corrie it sits in before making my way back to the car along the reservoir road.

For map and route details of this walk click ‘learn more’ below

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