Walk up Moel Y Gest The Long Way
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Route Summary:
Half day’s walk to an excellent viewpoint above Porthmadog.
| Distance |
Ascent |
Time |
| 11 km | 406 m |
Calculate the time using Naismith’s Rule and factor in your own pace.
Start and Finish: Porthmadog Railway Station
Facilities:
In Porthmadog.
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.
Public Transport: Traveline for UK Public Transport
Parking and Post Code for Sat Nav (where applicable):
Weather Forecast:
Check out our Best Mountain Weather Forecast?
Recommended Maps:
Landranger 123 Lleyn Peninsula Map , Explorer 254 Lleyn Peninsula East
Guidebooks:
Llyn Peninsula – Circular Walks Along the Wales Coast Path, Llyn Peninsula: Wales Coast Path Official Guide (Bangor to Porthmadog), Walks on the Lleyn Peninsula
Summits and Places on this Route
- Moel-y-gest (263 metres)
Places Nearby:
- Bedd Gelert – Gelert’s Grave - 8.9km
- Rhinogydd Moel Ysgyfarnogod Wild Camp - 10.3km
- Llynnoedd Cerrig y Myllt - 10.4km
- Llyn Du (Craig Drwg) Wild Camp - 10.5km
- Moelwynion - 11.4km
Walk up Moel Y Gest The Long Way Details
Moel Y Gest is a small, but mighty hill. It stands alone, Porthmadog’s very own little hill, but don’t underestimate it! It can be steep to ascend the walk up Moel Y Gest and the summit involves a few stretches of easy scrambling that just adds to the fun in our opinion!
1 Start at Porthmadog station, cross crossing and left along past the rear of council estate and along the path known as the Cyt. Folllow this towards Alltwen.
2 At Alltwen – cross the main road, follow the pavement for a short distance left before taking the first road right towards the school. Continue onwards through the car park of Alltwen Hospital. There’s a proper bridleway beyond this, and there are views across to Moel y Gest which you’ll see from every angle on this walk!
3 Continue your walk on bridleway, then minor road, turn left on track, and cross the V BUSY main road and then you’ll be back on the old green tracks downhill. This brings you to and past a church at Penmorfa. Continue until turn left, past a character cottage, and the going is a bit wet in places on this path, but nothing taxing. Pass a house or two and turn right at Pont Wern (The Wern Estate Bridge), when you have to cross the busy A497 road.
4 Continue left on the main road until you reach a track after 100m and turn right though a large gate. The track ascends gently, and takes you along the shoulder of Moel Y Gest, pass a couple of cottages and below the summit. There are routes up from this side, apparently, but none are exceptionally obvious from this angle. The track continues to ascend, with the views opening out down the Llyn Peninsula, and finally across to Harlech and South Snowdonia over Tremadog Bay.
5 At this viewpoint, cross the wall at the stone stile – the gate has been padlocked – and take the path that angles uphill towards the col between the two summits. You can follow the wall up if you want a more direct, adventurous route up! The path is clear, but slightly wet in places, and takes you with little effort or fuss to the main ridge.
6 From the main ridge, you’ve a rough walk across to the summit, which you’ll need hands for in places. It’s not hard scrambling, and adds to the interest. It’s mostly avoidable, but as is usual in these cases, you’ll often be making the route harder for yourself. Finally, you’ll reach the rather large Moel Y Gest summit area, which has spectacular views in all directions.
7 Retrace your steps to the col, and continue along the sketchy path to the east summit – keeping the wall to your right. The sketchy path then heads off left and downhill, becoming clearer to follow.
8 Continue downhill steeply towards Porthmadog, with the path slippery in places. Ensure that you turn left into the forest when the path forks, rather than right as that brings you to the Tyddyn Llwyn caravan park. The path zigs and zags pleasantly through the forest, and the walk up Moel Y Gest is all but over as soon as you reach the main road (Penamser Road) where you turn right.
9 This final section along the road can be turned to your advantage as there’s both a Millets and a Gelert shop here for a bit of outdoor themed shopping! Continue along the road into Porthmadog itself, where there are plenty of facilities. We stopped at the Royal Sportsman today as it was on the route, but there are a few other good pubs in the town.
Dave Roberts
Dave also established Walk up Snowdon, Walk up Scafell Pike and Walk up Ben Nevis just to mention a few.
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