We were looking for somewhere a bit different for this camp and settled on Aran Fawddwy in Southern Snowdonia.
Conscious of the extra weight we would be carrying for 2 days we decided a route from Llanymawddwy would be perfect and discovered a small lay-by where we could park (grid reference SH 902 189). A short walk along the road to a signpost for Bryn Hall and Brynuchaf soon had us on the hills. We followed a path highlighted on our OS map up to Darren Ddu, the path finished half way along so from there on we navigated using the map (OL23). Gaining height we glimpsed our first view of Aran Fawddwy with incredible views all around us.
Rather than handrail the fence that ran alongside us, we took a route across what turned out to be a peat bog field! Negotiating this with the extra weight and the two dogs was interesting at times and I think we could definitely have won an award in the National Peat Bog Challenge!
Continuing on with our route we crossed over Gwaun Lydan (blink and you’ve missed it) and onto Drysgol.
Our original plan was to camp on a small plateau with a cairn that we had highlighted on the map (grid reference SH 862 213). Following some research we discovered that the cairn and plaque had been erected as a memorial to RAF Mountain Rescue team member Michael Robert Aspain who was struck and killed by lightning in 1960 whilst out on a rescue. Sadly, although the day was still clear with beautiful blue skies, the wind had really picked up and camping on a ridge didn’t seem a good option. We explored around the area and finally plumped on a spot that offered us much better protection against the wind (grid reference SH 857 215).
It was still early and we had a couple of hours of daylight left so we pitched the tent (a Vango Nevis 300), left our rucksacks at the camp and explored along the ridge looking across to Creiglyn Dyfi.
Back at camp with rumbling tummies we fired up the jetboil and had dinner. Opening a bottle of wine we sat and watched the sunset around 4.20pm, the sky transformed into an orange glow.
The temperature soon plummeted and we lost daylight very quickly so sought refuge in the tent to listen to the best of Neil Diamond on the iPod, finish the wine and munch on a bag of kettle crisps and wine gums.
We’re regularly asked about our sleeping set up so I thought I’d share what I took with me. I used a Vango season 2, ultralite350 sleeping bag and added a Sea to Summit thermal extreme liner. My mat is a Therm-a-rest NeoAir Xtherm which adds some insulation against me and the cold ground! I’ve also got into the habit of putting all of this inside an Alpkit Bivvy; I do this mainly to stop my sleeping bag slipping off my mattress (which used to happen a lot) and it also protects my sleeping bag from the dogs wet paws.
Wine and snacks all gone, the wind blowing a gale outside we turned in for the night around 9.30pm. The dogs had long since given up on the Neil Diamond tribute party and were curled up asleep in their sleeping bag. What a night we had! I love my Vango tents and the Nevis didn’t let me down; the wind picked up through the night, bending the central pole and pulling out a couple of pegs. The forecasted 50 to 60mph winds had definitely arrived at camp. Setting the alarm, which I have to do because snuggled up inside my sleeping bag I have been known to sleep through the sunrise in the past, I was soon off into the land of nod!
Waking up at 7am, unzipping the tent door we could already see the dawn of a new day was going to be something special. Quickly getting dressed we left the camp set up and walked back to the path and started the short ascent to the summit of Aran Fawddwy arriving just in time to see the sun appear on the horizon. Have I mentioned the wind? The wind was ridiculous; we couldn’t talk, I got knocked off my feet a couple of times, I lost my hat and the dogs nearly took flight! We took a few photographs and beat a hasty retreat back to the tent where we all had breakfast and a cup of Horlicks.
Packing up camp is so much easier in the dry weather and we were soon ready to start our descent. We’d looked at different routes the previous night and had toyed with following a path down to Cwm Cywarch but this would have meant that we’d have had quite a hike along the road to get back to the car. Not fancying the road; we decided to retrace our steps and return the same way as we’d come, although we did amend the route slightly and followed a fence as much as we could which avoided a lot of the peat bogs.
This wasn’t a massive walk, although the summit of Aran Fawddwy is 905 metres so we gained height over the trip. It took approximately 3.5 hours to walk into camp and around 2 hours to return back to the car the following day; the pace was pretty relaxed with lots of photo and snack stops.
I’d definitely recommend this route for Aran Fawddwy and we soon realised that we need to return soon to explore the area a bit more.
Sounds like a great adventure!