plateau at 839382 where a break in the crags permits a rough but practical line of descent to AG1. Care is needed as the slopes are covered in deep tussocky heather with half-hidden boulders and the occasional pothole; not unlike one of the more tiresome parts of the Rhinogs!
Moel Llyfnant
It is never easy to live in the shadow of a famous relation, and that is precisely Moel Llyfnant's problem. Seen from the Lliw Valley, Arenig Fawr and Moel Llyfnant stand very much on equal terms. From the more usual N viewpoints, however, Moel Llyfnant is totally outclassed – small, grassy, smooth and round where Arenig Fawr is vast, rugged and photogenic. However, it is still a worthy addition to a day spent exploring its better half. Although it is a predominantly grassy hill, Moel Llyfnant is capped with a small rocky crown and sprouts minor crags on its S and W flanks that demand respect in mist.
N ridge (AG5)
Walk to Amnoddwen as in AG2 and then branch R through the forest. After a second deserted farm, Amnodd-bwll, stay with the path as it curls round Llyfnant's N ridge and peters out. Now take to the hillside for a short slog up to the summit cairn. This simple walk can also be commenced from the A4212 at 806385 where a forest road signposted to Nantddu leads to Amnodd-bwll (AG5,1).
E face (AG6)
Follow AG2 to the col between Arenig Fawr and Moel Llyfnant, then prepare for a hard grind up the hillside. The col is marshy in places, and dry feet are best ensured by staying close to the remnants of a tumbledown wall. Tiring though it can be in hot weather, this is the best way up Moel Llyfnant as there is something about this lonely col that makes the ascent a strangely rewarding experience. Arenig Fawr is tremendous across the valley.
SW face (AG7)
A SW descent is useful if you wish to move on to Foel Boeth. It is simply a matter of rambling down the rough broken slope until you meet the bulldozed road that penetrates the upper reaches of the Lliw Valley near the farmstead of Beudy Uchaf at 797344. In mist proceed N from the summit for about 200 paces before dropping down in order to avoid some minor crags.
S approach (AG8)
For another descent follow the summit fence S until you are clear of crags R. It is then a straightforward but soggy trek down to the road near Pont Blaen-lliw.
Foel Boeth
Seekers after excitement should look elsewhere. Foel Boeth is the undistinguished top of a dull featureless ridge that rambles on for nearly 2 miles without any significant variation in height or, indeed, much at all to set it apart from the drabness of the surrounding moors. The most likely reason for tackling it is simple ‘peak bagging’. Strictly speaking it is, like Arenig Fawr, a twin-topped peak with Gallt y Daren at 778345 marginally higher than Foel Boeth itself (but this is merely hair-splitting when there is so little of character on either ‘top’).
S and E approaches (AG9)
Foel Boeth can be plodded up almost anywhere from the mountain road to the S or from the stony road that penetrates the upper Lliw Valley from Pont Blaen-lliw at 802336. With damp tussocky grass the staple fare, there is much to be said for keeping the tramp as short as possible!
Arenig Fach
Arenig Fach looks singularly uninspiring from Arenig Fawr or the road; not worth climbing. What a contrast when it is viewed from the Migneint or Carnedd y Filiast! Then it assumes a dominating air and looks every inch a mountain, even though there is still no sign of the craggy E face that watches over the almost unknown Llyn Arenig Fach. This is a shy hill and one whose treasures must be coaxed.
The vast summit plateau is ideal for sunbathing: cushions of heather to lie on, bilberries to feast on, dips for shelter from the wind, plus views to uplift the spirit. All the Arenigs are splendid viewpoints but Arenig Fach is twice blessed, towering as it does over the Migneint's wilderness of moorland and bog. Even a dull day cannot entirely dispel the magic, while in sunlight the mosaic of purples and greens, yellows and browns, hillocks and dips, pastures and streams, casts an ethereal spell that will live in your memory.
Note Caution is de rigeur in mist; on three sides slopes are steep and quickly lead to rough trackless terrain. When in doubt steer a SE course, later trending E, to let the gentle Bryn Du ridge (AG12) bring you safely down.
S approach (AG10)
Leave the A4212 through a gate at 826400 (opposite the entrance to Rhyd-y-Fen Farm) and climb steeply N over ancient pastures, crossing several tumbledown walls on the way, until you meet a more substantial wall beyond which grass succumbs to unbroken heather. Continue slightly W of N, keeping to the crest of a shallow ridge. There is no track but despite the heather the going is a joy, with only the occasional hidden boulder to watch out for.
Avoid the urge to forge ahead when the trig point peeps over the skyline. Instead bear R above the lowering crags that cradle Llyn Arenig Fach in the stony depths below. Follow the N rim of the plateau round to the trig point with ever-widening views of the Migneint.
Llyn Arenig Fach route (AG11)
Leave the A4212 through a gate at 845418 and thread your way up gently wooded slopes until the crags guarding Llyn Arenig Fach rear ahead and you stand on its shoreline. Lack of a path is barely noticed. Continue to the N tip of the lake where a playful track snakes up the bilberry/heather-clad slopes with consummate ease, breasting the summit plateau close by the cairn.
Bryn Du ridge route (AG12)
The best way off in thick weather.
Leave the trig point in a SE direction but bear E after 0.5 mile for the ridge. The only problem is gaining access to the road. You could do worse than aim for 845418 and AG11.
Migneint route (AG13)
Do not underestimate this round trip of a good 12 miles of trackless walking. There are obvious shortcuts, so have a go – but choose a fine day!
This walk through the Migneint follows the grain of the land (in so far as there is one), takes in most of the sights and throws in an ascent of Arenig Fach for good measure.
Start from Pont ar Gonwy (778446), keeping W of the stream. The first objective is the minor top of Llechwedd-mawr (779436) and its small cairn. Then on to the first of Migneint's two lakes, Llyn Serw, where a 5min diversion W reveals one of the few rocky outcrops in this vast morass – an unsuspected little cliff watching over the infant Afon Serw.
Spot height 479m at 786425 is the next target, bringing the second cairn of the day. You are now on the crest of a shallow rise. Follow this SE until it falls away to a broad marshy depression. Nearby is an isolated farmstead, Cefngarw, still used for sheep shearing. Keep well S of it to ensure an easy crossing of the Serw.
So far, though trackless, the going has not been at all bad. However, reaching the next checkpoint – the cairn at Carnedd y Gors-gam (813417) – involves 1 mile of deep heather. Pretty to look at, but an ankle-twisting tormentor with only the odd sheep track for respite. Panting up the steep slopes beyond (past a primitive shepherd's hut) seems welcome relief and you will enjoy lunching on Arenig Fach's breezy top, reclining
