Carnedd Llewelyn (1062m) & Yr Elen (962m), Snowdonia, N Wales

The idea of this trip to North Wales was to incorporate some hillwalking into the week. As you can see from previous recent posts, the photographic touristic carrot dangling in front of me seemed greater than to risk no photos up on top of a cloud covered mountain.  This particular day, believe it or not was the best day available in the mountains.

As I was staying only a 10 minute drive from Bethesda, it seemed right to utilise this as a starting point for the walk. As this was the first and indeed the only walking I did in the week, I opted for something ... a bit gentle.
For the benefit of hillwalkers reading this ... if any ! ... I made a decision to avoid Carnedd Dafydd at the bottom of the map (a future target from Ogwen cottage to include Pen yr Ole Wen) in favour of Yr Elen which may seem isolated on it's own for another occasion. I have to plan these walks carefully as it's not often that I can come to this location .... with suitable weather ( I managed Elidir Fawr in 2002, Glyder Fach in 1997 and Snowdon in 1996, a poor return for the car mileage !!)

On leaving the edge of Bethesda (where incidentally I bought my sandwich every day at the Spar shop!!), I followed the road for a bit further past a few farms and out into the open countryside. The long gentle path down the valley reached was bordered by my targets for the day on the left and Carnedd Dafydd on the right.

At the end of the valley, the path somewhat disappears a little and becomes a faint track that goes off up the hill to the left. There was time to stare in awe at the imposing cliffs of Carnedd Dafydd.

.... and look back to the light shining on it's descending slopes to the right.

1950 air crash wreckage, Bethesda and Anglesey in the distance

A rescue helicopter on a training run up and down the valley. I was spotted and it turned to go back to base.

A bit more ascent and I had made it to the top of the second highest mountain in Wales for the first time. Notice the strip of water in the distance which is the Menai Strait.

From the safety of my lunch stop shelter. I noticed two walkers who had to shout at each other to make themselves heard as the wind was so bad.

Onwards towards the lesser summit, but by no means less spectacular of Yr Elen ...

... and the view under the cloud towards Menai and Anglesey

I took a slight de-tour without covering the summit of Carnedd Llewelyn again and re-joined the path at the aircraft wreckage to retrace my steps along the valley. There is a circular route back to Bethesda but didn't like the idea of getting my feet wet in the river today !!

Time for a last look at Yr Elen in the foreground, the dark shape of Carnedd Llewelen in the background and some other friends I met near the end ...

Seathwaite and Great Gable

Seathwaite farm, set in the southern extremity of Borrowdale valley was the start of this walk today and has the unusual award of being the wettest inhabited place in England. This location is well known amongst serious walkers as the starting point for many of the high Lakeland mountains including Scafell Pike, the highest mountain in England. The seemingly tranquil place gets upset by the constant footfall of walking traffic, particularly as it is an option for the national three peaks challenge ( climbing the highest mountain in Scotland, England and Wales for charitable causes within 24 hours). It can of course be even more hectic for the farmer........

Barn gate

On leaving the farm, Taylorgill force soon becomes apparent while the route continues to the left and crosses the stream at Stockley bridge. The path then climbs into the picture from the left behind the trees in the centre of the photo.
The view below is taken from the opposite direction from the previous photo looking back towards the valley....

The walk continued up to Sty head pass (488m) where i stopped for lunch, as once again because of cloud cover I started this walk late. There is a first aid / stretcher box here which has historical significance in that it is the only remaining example of such an item in the area. This concept was thought up in the 1930s prior to mountain rescue teams to assist injured climbers at this outpost. These days, its use is of interest only as equipment disappears and it is an alternative winter shelter !!

For the walkers amongst you, last time I climbed Great Gable I used the more conventional route from Green Gable to the north and moved on to Kirk Fell in the west before returning to Sty head via Climbers traverse.
This time I wanted to re-visit a part of Climbers traverse and ascend from there. This route is famous for the pioneers of rock climbing and some unique geological features......

After about 30 - 45 minutes of trying to keep to the path and climbing over large rocks and boulders that seemed to block the path, I came to a 45 degree angle scree shoot called Great Hell gate......

I was supposed to carry on and find Little Hell gate with more rock features on the way such as Napes needle and the Sphinx ( if you've never seen photographs of these two things before, I recommend you look up Google images for both). However, as the time was marching on, this would probably have to wait for another visit, so in the meantime, it was time to enjoy the view towards Wastwater, the deepest lake in England.... famous for the training of divers...

Proceeding up the side of the scree shoot, I spot the summit area in cloud in this Lord of the Rings country...

One of the locals is a bit bemused by my choice of route........

I soon arrive into cloud with not a lot to see except this profile of a Wiltshire walker that I met up with on the descent to Sty head. The summit was soon reached where there is a memorial of the fell and rock climbing club dedicated in 1924 to the soldiers of World War 1. There is a memorial service held up here every November....

The cloud didn't lift, so I descended the mountain to see what was underneath it, by the more usual route down to Styhead tarn...

The "resort" of Sty head tarn is famous for wild camping  ( a few tents in the distance by the shore), Art work and painting leisure interests.....

.......   and a relaxing swim after a hard day on the mountains !! ...........