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Daear Ddu Grade 1 Scramble up Moel Siabod

By Dave Roberts   

on May 16, 2017    4.8/5 (5)

Posted as a walk in – Best Mountain Walks in Snowdonia, Best Walks in the Moelwynion, Europe, Snowdonia National Park, The Moelwynion, Wales

Daear Ddu Grade 1 Scramble up Moel Siabod

Route Essentials

Route Summary

Daear Ddu is a relatively straightforward Grade 1 scramble with loads of variety.

See the end of the article for local information about parking, public transport facilities, pubs and cafes.

Distance

11.64 km

Ascent

817 m

Time

4-5 hours

Calculate the time using Naismith’s Rule and factor in your own pace.

Start Location

Pont Cyfyng

Difficulty

Hard Walk, Scrambling, Scrambling Grade 1

Hazards

Scrambling and navigation needed in mist

Weather Forecast:

Met Office Snowdonia Mountain Weather

Check out our Best Mountain Weather Forecast?
Remember that we cannot outline every single hazard on a walk – it’s up to you to be safe and competent. Read up on Mountain Safety , Navigation and what equipment you’ll need. 

Daear Ddu Grade 1 Scramble up Moel Siabod Ordnance Survey Map and GPX File Download

View the full route map

Download file for GPS

Daear Ddu Grade 1 Scramble up Moel Siabod

The Best Route up Moel Siabod has to be the scramble up Daear Ddu. It’s a relatively straightforward scramble that follows the Daear Ddu ridge from Pont Cyfyng near Capel Curig, with most of the trickier sections being avoidable.

Daear Ddu Grade 1 Scramble up Moel Siabod Full Route Description

If ascended along the tourist path that starts at the Plas y Brenin, one would be forgiven for thinking that Moel Siabod is a relatively dull hill, with excellent views towards Yr Wyddfa being the redeeming feature. However, there’s another side to this mountain. A much more interesting, though not overly difficult scramble along Daear Ddu. It can be ascended from Dolwyddelan (see here for a route where we managed to miss out on all the scrambling) or from Pont Cyfyng near Capel Curig.

1 – Park or take the Sherpa bus to Bryn Glo car park and follow the busy A5 a couple of hundred metres towards the bridge at Pont Cyfyng. Cross the bridge and follow the minor road, keeping an eye out for the Moel Siabod signpost.

2 – The good track leads steeply uphill, past a few houses and soon relents as it reaches open hillside. In a further kilometre you’ll reach the un-named quarry lake and uphill beyond that a disused quarry pit.

3 – The track becomes a narrow path beyond the quarry, taking you up towards Llyn y Foel. The area surrounding the lake tends to be rather boggy so choose your route with care! The shortest is directly across the northern end of the lake towards the base of Daear Ddu. Of course, this is still technically the same range as the Moelwynion and so the easiest route will no doubt find some bogs that reflect that ease in ooze. Alternatively, you can head off and around the southern end of the lake or contour around the cwm and keep high above the wettest areas.

4 – On reaching Daear Ddu, you’ve now got a sustained but easy scramble over 1km and about 300m ascent. Like most scrambles, they’re almost impossible to describe in a guide. The three of us took totally different routes, depending on what appealed at that moment. The best advice is to keep right and close to the crest, and that there are no problems that are unavoidable. One such was near the summit, involving an easy scramble but with the illusion of some exposure.

5 – The final section of the Daear Ddu ridge is mainly bouldery, and brings you out directly onto the summit of Moel Siabod from where you can now enjoy that view on a truly worthwhile mountain. You’ll need to allow some time to take it all in – from Yr Wyddfa / Snowdon, Glyderau and the Carneddau, to the Moelwynion and lesser known hills to the east, this is one of the finest viewpoints in Eryri (Snowdonia).

6 – Descending from Moel Siabod’s summit can be tricky as the path isn’t obvious. Your best bet is to follow the summit ridge NE, from where you should be able to pick up the obvious path down to Capel Curig. Or, for an even better end to the route we suggest that you return along the summit ridge to Pont Cyfyng. Our rationale was to descend the quicker route in order to get a quick pint in!

7 – The tourist path needs little in the way of explanation, though a little eroded in places, is straightforward enough and gets you down quickly. You’ll need to pay a bit more attention to the footpath once you arrive at the forestry, where we missed the quickest way as we took the route that was already known to us. Turning right as soon as you reach the wider forestry track will cut a few minutes off the trip, or just descend to Plas y Brenin. Turn right here and you can return all the way to Pont Cyfyng along good tracks and footpaths.

Local Information and Recommended Maps and Guidebooks

Route Summary:

Daear Ddu is a relatively straightforward Grade 1 scramble with loads of variety.

This walk includes the Washi of Moel Siabod

This walk includes the Hewitt of Moel Siabod

This walk includes the Nuttall of Moel Siabod

Route Start Location: Pont Cyfyng

Distance
 Ascent
 Time
11.64 km 817 m 4-5 hours

Calculate the time using Naismith’s Rule and factor in your own pace.

Activivity Type: Hard Walk, Scrambling, Scrambling Grade 1

Summits and Places on this Route

Facilities

There are plenty of pubs and cafes in Capel Curig

Hazards

Scrambling and navigation needed in mist

Remember that we cannot outline every single hazard on a walk – it’s up to you to be safe and competent. Read up on Mountain Safety , Navigation and what equipment you’ll need.

Parking :

Limited parking at Pont Cyfyng, and a small car park behind Joe Browns in the village.

Public Transport:

Sherpa buses from Betws y Coed and Llanberis

Traveline for UK Public Transport

Weather Forecast:

Met Office Snowdonia Mountain Weather

Check out our Best Mountain Weather Forecast?

Recommended Maps: 

Guidebooks:

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Dave Roberts

Dave Roberts founded Walk Eryri in 2004, with the aim of providing routes that are off the beaten track. Walk Eryri is now part of Mud and Routes which continues to provide more off beat routes and walks in Snowdonia and beyond. Dave has been exploring the hills of Eryri for over thirty years, and is a qualified Mountain Leader. Dave also established Walk up Snowdon, Walk up Scafell Pike and Walk up Ben Nevis just to mention a few.

More Posts by Dave Roberts

4 thoughts on “Daear Ddu Grade 1 Scramble up Moel Siabod”

  1. Mark Smith

    Did this 5/9/13 returned via ridge, great fun 1st half then petered out to a scree path. Nice route – we wouldnt have tried it before it was suggested here!

  2. daveroberts

    Scree Path? Did you end up to the left of the ridge? The ridge itself takes you over huge boulders to the summit. That’s the beauty of scrambling, it’s different each time and for each person!

  3. Mark Smith

    We did most (I think) of the scramble up to the summit and returned via the ridge – also good fun – will be back on a summer day to sample the view, still atmospheric in the mist though… The scree path was the last 1/4 of the route. Anyway it was a good day in the hills!

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