Lately, as you might know if you’ve read previous posts, I’ve been seeking out some of the quieter areas. Partly to find hills and mountains I’ve not walked before, and partly to avoid the crowds – not because I’m unsociable (no, really!), but purely to maximise ‘mountain time’ and not spend a large chunk of it looking for car parking spaces!

But when a friend, new to regular walking, wanted to ‘walk a bit higher, not further’ where better to introduce her to the mountains of Eryri than in Cwm Idwal, my undisputed favourite place in Wales. If we were to design a glacial cwm from scratch, wouldn’t it look pretty much like this? It has the lot – not only a spectacular landscape and ice age geology that led Darwin to his discoveries, and the cracking walking, scrambling and climbing routes that go with that, but also its myths & legends that connect the land to its celtic history and welsh princes.

No surprise then, for such an outstanding location, that even wet Mondays are busy in this ‘staycation era’. And though finding a parking space involved a bit of a hunt, it was well worth it. This time round, with a few hours to play with on a damp, drizzly day, a circular walk of the lake was perfect – the higher option to the large boulders just below Twll Du (Devil’s Kitchen) before dropping down again onto the path that skirts the other side of the lake. But we’re going to have to return soon, on a better day, and carry on up to Y Garn for the 3 way views towards Tryfan, Yr Wyddfa, and down into Nant Ffrancon. Or better still, take its north east ridge for the speed with which it elevates you to 3000 feet.

That’s Eryri at its best.

Eryri ar ei orau.