Ridge Walk to Diffwys

Distance 15 miles

Ascent 1,120m

 

From the cottage, we walked up the hillside through fields and along stonewalls, up past the sheep fort (not disturbing the occupants today) along to Bwlch Y Llan. After a short distance we left the clear path and headed up a very steep grassy, rocky path alongside a wall directly up on to the ridge to Bwlch Cwmmaria. An undulating walk in the clouds took us across the gap at Bwlch Y Rhiwgyr up to Diffwys at 750m the highest point of the day. The trig point sits precariously on a steep edge, shrouded in clouds. There was nowhere conveniently out of the wind to sit and have lunch so we headed down a bit. Here we met a chap (at 462m) who was walking the coastal path and had decided to take the hillier option today and had got lost. We walked down with him a while and gave him directions to Tal-y-Bont, then we left him to continue our walk the other way down along the grassy ridge of Braich to Uwch Mynydd. We stopped part way down for a not very sheltered but large lunch. A pleasant path led along the valley floor and into a wet cow track. Wet cow track eventually became dry cow track which became dry sheep track, then we passed through a farmyard with the smallest digger in the world and out on to a lane. We followed the lane around back into Barmouth and into the Last Inn for beers and dinner, hoping our feet didn't smell too much of cows.