Home » Routes » Europe » Wales » Snowdonia National Park » The Glyderau » The Best Walks in the Glyderau » Moel Berfedd – Another Snowdonia Mini Mountain Adventure

Moel Berfedd – Another Snowdonia Mini Mountain Adventure

By Dave Roberts   

on March 11, 2016    No ratings yet.

Moel Berfedd – Another Snowdonia Mini Mountain Adventure

Route Essentials

Route Summary

A mini adventure in the shadow of Snowdon and the Glyderau.

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

Distance

4.4 km

Ascent

261 m

Time

2 hours

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

Start Location

Pen y Pass

Difficulty

Moderate Walk

Hazards

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. 

Moel Berfedd – Another Snowdonia Mini Mountain Adventure Ordnance Survey Map and GPX File Download

View the full route map

Download file for GPS

Moel Berfedd – Another Snowdonia Mini Mountain Adventure

There are a surprising number of these mini mountains in Snowdonia, and even 500m from the honey pot of Pen-y-Pass, you can find a corker of a hill along with total isolation.

The hill of Moel Berfedd doesn’t really find itself onto any significant hill list, and barely rises 70m from the col that separates it from Glyder Fawr. That shouldn’t put you off, as even at 482m, this diminutive summit provides an hour or two’s adventure. It’s barely 5km walking, and an ideal walk if you’ve arrived in the area on a Friday evening and you want to maximise your weekend’s walking by getting a quick walk in.

1 Start the route at Pen-y-Pass, with the stile passing the Youth Hostel to the left. The path rises steeply, and you’ll soon be at the col. Views back towards Yr Wyddfa and Crib Goch dominate the view in one direction while behind you towers the rough Cwm Ffynnon and eponymous Llyn Cwmffynnon. You’ve barely walked or climbed, yet the rewards are already piling in.

Moel_Berfedd_005

2 The next section across to Moel Berfedd is along the rough ridge, which has outcrops and bogs in equal measure. Keep high, and where the going does look to be blocked by a bog, there’s always a dry(ish) route that’s easy to follow. Moel Berfedd itself has a grassy slope that’s wet, but brings you up to a shallow col just below the summit. It’s a short climb to the right to the actual summit, though it does first appear that the summit is the crag to the left to start with.

3 You can see down three valleys, and the mountain masses of Yr Wyddfa and Glyderau, which are particularly impressive from this angle.

Moel_Berfedd_001

4 Descend roughly east towards the wall that’s just about visible from the summit. This brings you past a small pool, from which you can either follow the wall (very steep) or veer left for a route that’s just rather steep instead, but direct towards Pen-y-gwryd. You could descend towards Llyn Cwmffynnon if you want a gentler descent. It was a particularly wet descent today, which is a strange combination on steep grass, and slippery to boot.

Moel_Berfedd_002

5 Aim for the wall again as the slope relents, and then directly for the trees that hide the Pen y Gwryd. This flatter area looks boggy as you approach, but looks worse than it is. Pass through a gate and cross a stile before following the road to the Pen-y-gwryd Hotel. Stopping here is a  must!

Moel_Berfedd_004

6 Cross the Llanberis pass road, and follow the road towards Beddgelert for a few 100m until you reach the signposted path for Pen-y-pass. This is an improved path, rough in places, but easy enough to follow. It does seem to lose a lot of height on the way, considering you’re meant to be going uphill, and felt like it involved more legwork than walking up Moel Berfedd in the first place!

On arriving back at Pen-y-pass, a visit to Mallory’s was obligatory!

Local Information and Recommended Maps and Guidebooks

Route Summary:

A mini adventure in the shadow of Snowdon and the Glyderau.

Route Start Location: Pen y Pass

Distance
Ascent
Time
4.4 km 261 m 2 hours

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

Activivity Type: Moderate Walk

Summits and Places on this Route

Facilities

There’s a good cafe at Pen y Pass these days, as well as public toilets in the same block. Over the road you’ll find Mallory’s Bar in the Pen y Pass Youth Hostel.

Hazards

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! £10 a day, £6 for 4 hours. Very early arrival advised. Park in Nant Peris for the Park and Rid

Public Transport:

Sherpa Buses from Llanberis, Betws-y-Coed, Beddgelert, Caernarfon and Porthmadog stop at Pen y Pass at varying frequencies. Check out the Snowdon Sherpa page on Walk up Snowdon for the latest Snowdon Sherpa rundown.

Traveline for UK Public Transport

Weather Forecast:

Met Office Snowdonia Mountain Weather

Check out our Best Mountain Weather Forecast?

Recommended Maps

Guidebooks:

Please rate this

Dave Roberts

More Posts by Dave Roberts

Leave a Reply