A walk up Yr Elen and Carnedd Dafydd

 It’s early but the summer sun has already lifted above the hills as I pull into a little lay by just outside Bethesda. All is quiet, only the birds singing their morning chorus and the occasional bleating of newly born lambs in the fields break the silence of the still morning air. As I sort my kit out, the lack of any breeze attracts a million bugs who decide I would make a nice breakfast so I am glad when I can lock the car and start moving. The day ahead looks promising, the sky is blue, no rain is forecast and the tops are clear and inviting.

I put on some bug repellent and hope for some breeze as I get higher, ahead of me up the valley I can see the first objective of the day, Yr Elen prominent on the skyline. Today I’m walking up Yr Elen and Carnedd Dafydd via the quieter, less popular route that follows the Afon Llafar river up the valley before climbing onto Yr Elen from the north. Skirting round Carnedd Llewellyn I’ll follow the ridge line onto Carnedd Dafydd before dropping off the mountain and heading back to my start point via the Mynydd Du ridge.

As I head up the footpath, the Sunlight is bouncing off the moving waters of the Afon Llafar, reflecting in my eyes like a disco glitter ball. The day is warming up and the soft rippling of the river provides the only soundtrack as I walk up the valley heading towards Cwm Moch. It’s pleasant walking along a grassy path with little incline, the hard work is still ahead.

As the head of the valley is approached a decision has to be made about when to cross the river to the other side ready for the climb up to Yr Elen. Fortunately by this point the Afon Llafar has started to split into the myriad of streams that feed into it from the heights above and the confluence of these seems the best spot to cross over in order to avoid getting wet feet. Once on the other side of the valley I take some time to admire the view.

The dominant feature is Ysgolion Duon, (Black Ladders in English). Ysgolion Duon is an impressive cliff face with many climbing routes that forms part of the north face of Carnedd Dafydd and the Afon Llafar valley probably provides the best view of it. Being North facing, it doesn’t get any sunlight even in summer and it’s dark appearance is probably what gave it its name. Many years ago I scrambled up it whilst on a winter mountaineering course at Plas Y Brenin. The head of the valley is pretty steep so I backtrack slightly and traverse up the open hillside following an angled ascent until I reach the col in between Foel Ganol And yr Elen.

At the col, the steep path up to Yr Elen rises up and this is followed, with it gradually becoming steeper and rockier all the way the summit of the mountain. From the summit there are good views of Anglesey, Puffin island and the North Wales coast. The views South and West are obscured by the relative proximity of Carnedd Llewelyn and Carnedd Dafydd but the Eastern Carneddau can be seen and the pointy top of Elidir Fawr stands out above the Mynydd Du ridge to the West.

The top itself has two spiky rock outcrops marked with piles of stones that seem to compete for the highest point but as they are only a few feet apart you can visit both. The huge bulk of Carnedd Llewelyn commands your attention and there are good views of its North West face plunging down into Cwm Caseg. The small lake of Ffynnon Caseg, its dark deep blue waters contrasting with the verdant green grass around it sits at its foot, six hundred feet below your feet. After admiring the view and a bite to eat, I set off along the short saddle ridge that joins Yr Elen to Carnedd Llewelyn.

This provides some interest as the ground drops away on both sides as it is crossed. When the path starts to rise towards Carnedd Llewelyn I check my GPS and traverse around the mountain on the faint path that roughly follows the 930 metre contour until it eventually joins the main Dafydd to Llewelyn path at Bwlch Cyfryw drum. From here I can see all the way back down the Afon Llafar valley and beyond that all the way to the coast.

The way ahead is on the obvious path which follows closely to the edge of the ridge along the top of black ladders with the next summit Carnedd Dafydd being seen ahead on the horizon. There is a real sense of loftiness and space walking along this path. The Carneddau are high mountains, they contain the largest area of ground above 2,500 ft in Wales and England as well as seven of the highest peaks in the country so you have a great vantage point to admire the land around you as you walk along this airy footpath in the sky. Climbing up towards the summit of Carnedd Dafydd the views become increasingly expansive and quite magnificent with a full 360 degree panorama of Snowdonia laid out before your eyes.

After negotiating the slight incline up to to the summit shelter of Carnedd Dafydd you can take your pack off, relax and take some to time to soak in those views. I meet only the second person of the day in the shelter, a runner, she doesn’t hang around though and after a brief ‘hello’ she is off to Carnedd Llewelyn leaving me alone to enjoy the solitude.

I generally walk alone in the hills, not that I’m anti social but it means I can walk at my own pace (generally slow) stop, take pictures, eat and linger when and where I want to. It also gives me some ‘me’ time away from family, work and other distractions of life where I can process my thoughts, work things out and generally re-centre myself. ‘Mindfulness’ if you like although I think I was practicing it long before mindfulness became a ‘thing’. From Carnedd Dafydd the path to Pen yr Ole Wen is followed for only a short while before I drop off the path to the North West. The going is steep and hard work at first with big blocks of rock, Rhyolite I think, to walk over but it eventually eases and the Mynydd Du ridge is then joined.

From the ridge there are good views across the Afon Llafar valley to Yr Elen and Carnedd Llewelyn. The ridge is followed all the way back to the start point where you can rest a while, satisfied in the knowledge that you have enjoyed another fine day in the Welsh hills. 

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