Ridges, Summits & Starts: Nantlle Ridge Multi-Day Hike & Wildcamping

With the second May Bank Holiday about to commence and the forecast looking good it was time to make the most of it and head to Snowdonia for a multi-day hike involving wild camping.

With other plans on Saturday morning I couldn’t spend 3 days on the hills as I would have liked but I was looking for a new route that would offer a diverse experience including mountains, ridges, llyns and forests. As it was Bank Holiday I knew only too well that the popular mountains of Snowdonia were going to be rammed, so I tried to keep away from these areas.

Looking at my ‘Welsh Mountains to-do List’ I spied a route that offered everything I was looking for: Nantlle Ridge. Referring to my maps I plotted a route that would take me over a number of mountains, following the ridge that ties them together. Here I would drop down into Cwm Pennant before ascending towards Moel Lefn and back down through Beddgelert Forest.

The important part of this route was to ensure that there were water sources along the way so I could top up my water supply over the two days. I spied a couple of streams high up on the mountain's flanks but as the weather had been fair of late I assumed that some of them would be dry. I made a plan of where to water resupply supported by a few back up options. I also had my Life Straw and ‘Water-to-Go’ bottle with filter if needed so I felt well prepared.

I decided to start the route from the village of Rhyd-Du, leaving the car there and heading up to Y Garn (not the one above Llyn Idwal) for the first night. Driving through Snowdonia mid-afternoon I passed the usual long lines of parked cars and wondered if I would actually get a parking spot in the village. Fortunately, as I arrived there was one space free so I parked up, grabbed my kit and headed toward Y Garn, passing Llyn y Gader on my left. By this time it was early evening and the slog up to Y Garn was certainly a shock to the system.

Arriving at the top, I had a splendid view across Snowdonia and found the perfect place to pitch my tent looking out towards the North Wales coast. An ideal location to watch the sunset! Once the tent was up and dinner was eaten I headed off for a late evening explore along the ridge up to Mynydd Drws-y-coed. With a bit of a scramble at the top I stood on a large boulder and looked around, taking in my surroundings. As the light began to fade I could see the twinkling lights of the villages below and I was once again excited to feel disconnected from that world and reconnected to the natural world.

After a bit more exploring I headed back to the tent where I watched a beautiful sunset that slowly gave way to clear night skies. Spotting shooting stars and satellites I sat there once again in awe of this incredible planet and the space beyond it. I was soon ready to hit the hay so retired to my tent to fall into a blissful sleep. That’s one of the things I have noticed after years of sleeping in the wilds. I always sleep better in the wild.

Waking early to catch the sunrise I unzipped my tent to see the view of the ridge before me. Crawling out to put the Jetboil on for the morning’s coffee, I stood up and looked around me. In the dawn hue I could still see the village’s lights glowing and it almost felt like I was the only one in the world awake at this time whilst standing on a mountain top in North Wales.

As the sun began to rise higher into the sky I packed up my things and set off on the day’s walk. I made my way along the ridge, following the easy scramble to the top of Mynydd Drws-y-coed before continuing along the path with a steep drop to the right before passing Trum y Ddysg.

The path descended fairly steeply before ascending again up to Mynydd Tal-y-mignedd, where there stood a tall Obelisk, erected to commemorate Queen Victoria's Diamond Jubilee. The views were incredible and the weather was fantastic, not bad for a Bank Holiday in Britain! The path continued over a wide, flat-topped saddle before descending again by Bwlch Dros-bern. Before it began to ascend once more I picked up a path to the right that traversed Trwyn y Craig. The path began to fade and I found myself crossing uneven ground, thick with heater and strewn with rocks and boulders. Taking care to not twist an ankle, fall down a crack or trash the wildlife I took my time as I made my way toward a stone wall.

Here I was met by a rather handy stile and popped over the wall, continuing down to a stream to top up my water. This spot was perfectly nestled in the valley and I sat there for a while dipping my feet in the cold stream. I looked back to the ridge I had walked along and could just about make out two small moving dots. People! The first I had seen since leaving my car in Rhyd-Du. After enjoying relaxing in the sun I hoisted on my Bergen and once again set off, making my way up stream passing two connecting llyns.

Eventually I came to Llynnau Cwm Silyn, a large lake that narrowed in the middle to a stream where I was able to cross with ease. Making my way to the lake’s edge I sat and again dipped my feet in. I was soon joined by a couple, one of whom put on a wetsuit and entered the water for a swim. The other took out his fishing rod and cast out whilst their dog ran along the edge of the lake watching its owner swim the entire lake twice. I stopped here for about an hour to have lunch and continued to watch the fisherman and swimmer before pulling myself to my feet and cracking on with the route up Clogwyn y Cysgod.

It was a sweaty slog up to the top and as I walked I could make out many people at the summit of Garnedd-goch. I also noticed a fair few climbers on the rock to the left of the lake that leads up to the top via a gully. At the summit I bumped into a few people, exchanging pleasantries before taking my time to explore the area. The views continued to be phenomenal and I sat looking at the mountains, naming them all to myself as I scanned the landscape. Here I noted the ones I had climbed and others I was yet to climb. Snowdon had now shaken off its summit cloud and was looking grand. I wondered how many people had been on that mountain today -  a lot more than had been on this one, that’s for sure!

As the afternoon began to merge into early evening and the majority of people on the hills had began to make their way back I was left alone on the summit. Here I looked for a good spot to pitch the tent before leaving my kit so I could walk to Mynydd Graig Goch without carrying weight. It felt good to take the Bergen off, enabling me to bound across to the cairn at the summit. Here I bumped into three fell runners who were making the most of the nice evening to get a training run in before a fell running competition that was taking place along the ridge the following weekend.

Waving them farewell, I sat on a large rock and cracked open a small beer that I had brought with me. Sipping the refreshing beverage I watched a couple of buzzards out hunting and listened to the chirping of birds. I could see out to sea and all the way to the Wicklow Mountains on the east coast of Ireland. Finishing my beer I made my way back to the tent, exploring the area again as I went. With the tent up and dinner on I sat back and enjoyed the scenery surrounding me. Here I was, alone again on a mountain and I felt free. And boy that felt good. As the evening light began to fade I once again watched a beautiful sunset and sat under the stars before retreating to my tent to sleep.

I woke up early to see the sunrise and after a couple of hours walking around the area I packed up my things and set off, following the ridge in a north easterly direction to descend back down to Bwlch Dros-bern. I then dropped down to the head of the Cwm Pennant valley, stopping at a stream along the way to top up water. Once down in the valley I arrived at the old quarry, investigating the ruins with pure fascination.

The Prince of Wales Quarry (1873-1886) features evidence of the work that once went on here and has a lovely reservoir situated next to it - a perfect spot to sit and have lunch in the sun. From here I ascended up to Moel Lefn, takin a rather spicy route up that involved a bit of crag scrambling! Ascending to the top I was met by a great view across to Snowdon which was teeming with people. Watching through my binoculars I could see a line of what looked like hundreds making their way to the summit and here was me, alone on the summit of a lovely mountain in Wales.

After an unsuccessful search for Owain Glyndŵr's Cave on the mountain’s flanks (though I think I now know where it is) I descended the way I had come and eventually linked up with a path that took me through Beddgelert Forest, stopping for a brief chat with a group of people on the way. I think that must have been a total of 10 People I had bumped into all weekend! The path left the forest and continued towards Llyn y Gader. At one point it was intersected by a stream running from high off the ridge's flanks. Just further downstream there was a small pool that looked very inviting after a hot day of walking. Donning swimwear I bathed in the rather warm pool for a while in absolute bliss surrounded only by a couple of sheep. This was pure paradise.

Drying off and clothes back on I headed passed Llyn y Gader and followed the road back into Rhyd-Du, stopping off to get an ice cream at the café in the village on the way. Back at the car I popped my Bergen back in the car and looked out to the mountains that I had spent the last couple of days on.

What a truly fantastic route that had everything. Multiple summits, great ridge lines, nice scrambles, natural llyns, forests and fine views from the summit. This is a route I know I will return to many times. The fact that they remain fairly quiet on a sunny bank holiday weekend is surprising, and I felt very fortunate to have had such an incredible experience.