Cwm Bochlwyd (June)

PLEASE NOTE: The GPX trace on this route is for use as a guide only, its accuracy may change depending on the scale of map you are using. Use in combination with judgement and a paper map. We have taken all reasonable steps to ensure these walks are safe and correctly described. However things do change and all outdoor activities involve a degree of risk. The publishers accept no responsibility for any errors or omissions or for any injuries or accidents that occur whilst following this walk. Trail magazine, Copyright Bauer Media Limited.




Distance 8km (5 miles)
Total ascent 900m
Time 5 hours
Start / Finish layby by the A5 just below Milestone Buttress (SH663602)
Nearest town Bethesda
Terrain rough and rocky with plenty of hands-on ground – particularly on the north ridge of Tryfan, Bristly Ridge and Y Gribin Ridge. Difficulty can be kept at a Grade 1 scramble if the well-trodden easy options are taken at every obstacle, but harder variations are often possible too. Take great care if wet or windy.

Accommodation YHA Idwal Cottage 0845 371 9744; Plas Curig hostel 01690 720 225; camping and bunkhouse at Gwern Gof Uchaf (01690) 720294 and Gwern Gof Isaf (01690) 720276
Public transport buses link Capel Curig, Bethesda and Bangor: www.snowdoniagreenkey.co.uk
Local info www.visitwales.co.uk 
If you like your scrambling easy but exciting, and in mountainous portions, then this classic craggy circuit is quite simply the best route of its kind in Wales. Packed into one short yet varied expedition are more climactic rocky highlights than you might encounter in a week’sworth of trips elsewhere. First comes Tryfan, the majestic symbol of Snowdonia. Climb it via the north ridge, where the scrambling starts not far from your car and ends nearly 600 vertical metres later at Adam and Eve, the twin monoliths that guard the summit. Dare you make that notorious leap from one to the other?

After an easier descent of the south ridge comes the next headline grabber, the spectacular coxcomb of the Bristly Ridge, scramble a pulse-quickening ascent among tottering towers, where you can indulge those alpine fantasies without recourse to ropes and jangly bits. Up on top is the Glyder Fach plateau, an austere moonscape of giant tumbled boulders; don’t miss your photo call with the famous Cantilever, and the enjoyable scramble through the gothic shards of Castell y Gwynt. After all this you might expect the descent to be an anticlimax, but think again. Having bagged the nearby summit of Glyder Fawr, backtrack to Y Gribin Ridge for an airy and enjoyable clambering finish, and superb views back to the improbable-looking ground you covered earlier.



SH663602 Scramble From the layby go through a gate and climb a steep path just left of a drystone wall, bearing left beneath the Milestone Buttress to reach the lowest shoulder of the north ridge. Now pick your own line up the broad crest, weaving over a series of steep little walls and ledges where the scrambling difficulty can be varied to suit. Pass a quartzy terrace; just to the right is the leaning block known as The Cannon (easily missed).

The next scrambly section can mostly be avoided on the left, but it’s better climbed head on. Above this is a second big rock platform. Passing left of a prominent pinnacle, a polished scramble then leads over a minor summit into a tight notch. A direct ascent from here is Grade 2; an easier line slants right into a blocky gully, which leads to Tryfan’s north summit. Beyond a bouldery saddle is the higher central summit. 

SH663593 Continue over a gap to the lower south summit, then on down the rocky south ridge. Cross a saddle marked by a drystone wall before climbing slightly onto the little Far South Peak. It’s easiest to bear slightly right from here down bouldery slopes to a path that leads to Bwlch Tryfan.

SH662588 Scramble Above rises the Bristly Ridge. Thiscan be entirely avoided via a path on its left, but that’d be a shame. Instead climb an eroded trail by a drystone wall to reach a scrappy gully that breaches the base of the obvious ridge. Climb this (watch for loose rock), bearing slightly left onto easier ground where the gully steepens. Above, the ridge soon narrows and breaks into towers. Climb the first tower direct. From the gap beyond, pass just to the right of the next big tower, then bear up left through a little niche to regain the crest. The ground now eases leading onto the summit plateau of Glyder Fach.

SH656582 Scramble Heading roughly west across the plateau from the highest pile of rocks, the way is barred by the jagged tor of Castell y Gwynt. A rough path cuts left to skirt around this dramatic minor summit, but it’s much more fun to climb straight over it. Now descend to Bwlch y Ddwy Glyder, from where a welltrodden trail leads straight to the top of Glyder Fawr.

SH64257 Scramble From this final summit backtrack towards the Bwlch y Ddwy Glyder, bearing left onto a level area at the top of Y Gribin Ridge. Now descend the ridge. A rubbly path just left of the crest gives the least scrambly line, but there’s much more enjoyment to be had by sticking directly with the ridge top overlooking Cwm Bochlwyd, where you’ll find a series of little hands-on sections. Below the rocky upper crest the ridge becomes wide and grassy. Follow the obvious path down to a trail junction.

SH652594 Go right to the outflow of Llyn Bochlwyd. Cross the stream and head north-east over the hillside to meet another well-trodden path, which descends quite steeply to the A5 a short distance west of the start point.