Cnicht Walk From Croesor – Climbing the Welsh Matterhorn
The alarm was a jolting intrusion into consciousness at 6am in the morning on that November Saturday morning. I had been planning on rehearsing with my Beach Boys tribute band (Surf’s Up UK if you’re interested!), but the drummer had only gone and caught Covid – the rehearsal and upcoming gigs were now off. Cue the violin music….
With a full weekend suddenly free and a new waterproof coat to test for Camping Secrets (the Mountain Equipment Lhotse), the stage was set for a dash to North Wales with a keen wife and daughter for a wilderness adventure. We had booked a last minute pitch at the always excellent Snowdonia Parc campsite and just needed to pack our bags the night before using our trusty camping checklist.
The Moelwynion mountain range in North Wales is not a commonly visited set of hills, but offers some wonderful scenery without the hordes of people which the bigger giants like Snowdon and Tryfan attract. My particular favourite mountain in the Moelwynions is Cnicht which is often referred to as the Welsh Matterhorn.
It is best approached from the tiny hamlet of Croesor which is nestled just beyond the Plas Brondanw estate which was previously the home of Clough Williams-Ellis who created Portmeirion. The Cnicht Walk from Croesor is an absolute classic and I really wanted the girls to experience it.
After a quick rush of getting dressed, eating some porridge and making individual flasks of tea (for me), coffee (for Ali) and hot chocolate (for Loz) we were in our faithful campervan by 7am and heading for the M6 and M54 from Birmingham towards Snowdonia.
Getting to Croesor from England
We let Google be our guide as we drove past Shrewsbury, and because traffic was surprisingly heavy it took us off the usual A5 route to Oswestry and on to a small road (the B4396) towards a small village called Knockin. This road was a revelation – mile after mile of picturesque scenery, coupled with wonderful snippets of village life regularly interspersed. It was great to not be driving!
We eventually made it to Bala and stopped for a loo break and a rucksack fill of pasties and sandwiches for the coming day. Onwards we drove past Afon Tryweryn before hitting the village of Maentwrog and the Ffestiniog railway. At the Oakeley Arms hotel we turned onto the B4410, and then just past Llyn Mair we turned off to the right onto a very narrow road heading upwards – this was allegedly the road to Croesor, but it could hardly be termed a road – more of an ancient track! I had doubts we would make it, but Ali is nothing if not a great driver and eventually we pulled into Croesor unscathed after a few gates had been traversed.
Croesor is a tiny little collection of around 30 houses with a school (but no pub!) and is nestled under some rugged countryside and scenery, including the mighty Cnicht itself. There is free parking available and a loo which was a saviour at this stage of the day. Hand washing needed the village stream though!
Croesor to Cnicht
Out of the carpark we took a sharp right turn and headed upwards through Croesor in a north-westerly direction. We soon passed through a gate with a signpost signalling Cnicht rather ominously. The air was crisp and my daughter Loz was babbling away as she often does when she’s happy.
We crossed a sty and turned northwards before the path rotated around in a north easterly direction – this was the path to Cnicht proper! Combinations of turf, bracken and exposed rock were everywhere on a scale much larger and magnificent than the spectacles I grew up with on Dartmoor. It felt great to be out, and I powered off on my own for a bit, leaving the girls behind trying to read a paper map. Rain was beginning to fall and so I unpacked the Mountain Equipment Lhotse shell to give it a run-through for our in-depth review.
I was slightly shocked when I looked back to see the sea glimmering in the distance. I had forgotten how close to the coast and Porthmadoc we were. Again it put me in mind of Dartmoor where you can see the sea of Torbay whilst stood on Haytor.
Cnicht – Putting Hand to Rock
Soon the path was heading steeply upwards and mist had started to shroud our journey. I was worried the view at the top would be non-existent. Loz was undeterred though, and took the lead like only an 11 year old can. My aging legs certainly weren’t the sprightliest, and I implored myself to try and lose some weight when I got back.
If you’re new to scrambling up mountains then Cnicht is an excellent starter. It lacks the sheer drops of Tryfan or Crib Goch, and you never feel out of your depth. Climbing it is exhilarating and you have that wonderful sleight-of-hand magician’s trick of multiple summits before you get to the summit.
Miraculously an aperture appeared in the grey cloud surrounding us and we could see a blue lake in the west like a mirage. Was it possible that the sun might make an appearance and burn the mist away? I was hopeful, but in the meantime rain was battering down, and putting the Lhotse through a good workout. Luckily it seemed up to the task!
We were on the final climb now and getting hungry. The others had eaten their hot pasties back in Bala, but I had saved mine – miraculously it was still warm several hours later, but I was not going to take a bite until I was sat on top of Cnicht!
Be sure to check out our in-depth roundup article on the best hiking boots for walking and climbing in the wild
And finally we were there and it was glorious. The cloud melted away and sunshine was beaming down – we could not believe the transformation in the space of about ten minutes.
It was a perfect time to sit on our waterproof trousers, eat some food and pour the hot drinks we had hauled up in our day rucksacks. A couple of crows were circling above and I was happy to see them instead of the usual seagulls – those birds get everywhere!
After our lunch we carried on in the same direction – the walking was fairly flat here along a ridge carrying us to Llyn yr Adar – a large lake up in the hills. What’s not to like? We turned eastwards here, heading across very boggy ground towards Moel Druman in the distance and Llyn Cwm-corsiog.
Suddenly Loz did a big jump over a boggy patch and was up to her waist with one leg. We all burst out laughing but then the realization of a wet remaining walk must have hit her because the tears started to fall. Luckily this was a brief interlude before we were on our way again.
Signs of man’s influence on the landscape were getting more frequent. This area was often mined back in the Victorian era, and there is much slate littered over the ground. There are also clear signs of the old tramway from Croesor to Porthmadog and we stopped close to the quarry near the path at Bwlch y Rhosydd which was our way back to Croesor.
Incredibly we had been walking for around 4 hours, and the sky was starting to darken. The original plan had been to continue on to another peak of Moelwyn Mawr, but our pace had been too slow. We took the south west Bwlch y Rhosydd path, climbing over rills and streams and putting our waterproof boots to the test. My toes were beginning to hurt a little bit, and I realized again how out of practice I was.
By around 4pm after another couple of miles under our belt, we were back at the welcome sight of the Marco Polo campervan. The drive to Beddgelert and on to the Snowdonia Parc campsite was beautiful and highly recommended. We pitched up and went for some drinks and a meal in the bar – a fantastic day overall.
