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We were staying in the nearby village of Betws y Coed and wanted to hit a mountain peak. Not wanting the crowds and traffic that a day on Snowdon normally produces, we headed towards Capel Curig to take on the wonderful Moel Siabod.
Parking just outside of town, we headed down past Plas Y brenin Outdoor Center and over the small bridge at the bottom of the path. The view up the lake from here gives a fantastic sight of Snowdon, and at the right time of the day is stunning. Moving on from here, we entered the main woodland and headed up through. The paths here are very easy to follow, but they are a little steep so are somewhat energy sapping. We took our time and pressed on through the woodland. There are a few paths off to the side but ignoring these, we headed directly at the mountain.
Upon leaving the woodland, we found that there were some fantastic views that had been hiding away. Looking back towards Crimpiau, as well as over towards Snowdon, you get a taste of exactly what Snowdonia has to offer. From here we continued to follow the path upwards. The direct nature of the path means that you rarely lose sight of it, all the way up towards the summit. It’s rockier, the closer you get to the summit. Due to the previous few days of rain, the rocks had become slippery at points, so we had to take care.
Eventually, we passed a stile and the ground started to flatten off a little more, still direct and aside from a few sections where there had been steps cut into some rocks, it was even easier walking. We managed to keep a good pace until very near the top where the path joins with a secondary path from Pont Cyfyng. At this point, the top is a huge boulder field with little in the way of an obvious path. The route and destination in front were very clear, so we carried on through here being careful where we placed our feet. It’s not dangerous really, but you’re much more likely to roll an ankle here or slip if the ground is wet.
Eventually, we got to the storm shelter just below the peak and then headed to the summit itself. From here you can see 13 of the 14 highest peaks in Wales while standing on the highest peak on the Moelwynion range. Once we had taken in the breathless views across what feels like most of Wales, we moved further down the mountain and sat eating lunch while watching clouds pour over Mt Snowdown in the distance.
Finishing up, we headed back through the boulder field trying to pick up the path again and soon managed to find it. From here, we retraced our steps all the way back down, luckily the views on the way down were just as fantastic with some great mountains opposite. We soon began planning our next day in Wales when we could look to tackle even more of these.
In summary, a great ‘there-are-back-again’ walk. The views on top are wonderful. However, and it is definitely one to do on a clear day, as you can see for miles in almost every direction with little standing in the way.
