Cefn Eglwysilan and Mynydd Y Glyn (nr Pontypridd South Wales).

Updated: Oct 3, 2020

Cefn Eglwysilan 382m and Mynydd Y Glyn 372m

This was a day out after a week of heavy snow but with most of it thankfully having dispersed under a barrage of recent rain. The plan was to do these two Marilyns in the same day. Both of them were near Pontypridd as such and were within a half hour drive of each other.

Cefn Eglwysilan

Things didn’t look very promising as I drove over the high moorland single track road which was effectively the back way into Senghenydd. The road was devoid of snow but it was still hedge high on the banks. Anyway down into the town I drove and simply parked in the street, got my sack on and headed through the town and up a farm track west to Park Newydd farm at GR ST110906. The air was crips and the sky blue so things looked promising but I did wonder how much snow there was underfoot.

At the farm I spoke to the owner who advised me to just walk off trail on his land if the farm track was beset with snow…thank you I said…to which he responded with a wry grin ‘No matter butt you can pay me on the way back down!’ Thick the snow was on the path and an oncoming horsewoman told me that she had failed to get up onto the moor. Anyway off I plodded and twenty minutes later after plowing through the odd drift and mounting a few hedgerows I got onto the common where the snow was pretty clear. In the main the drifts were collecting between trails and hedges more than open land.

Once on the common I headed north in a loop to come down south via the radio masts at GR ST098911. Within an hour of the start I was at my trig point. Another uninspiring valley Marilyn but still a good hike. I was dry, the sky was blue and I was out and about having yet another bimble…happy days. Off I went heading further south into the little valley where you walk along Eglwysilan Road for a while (1.5k) over a cross roads and past the quaint church at ST106890 for another km before riding up the steep but very short pull up to the trig point at Mynydd Meio at 321m. Coming back down from Meio my intended path back over the common (the only one) was snow-logged so I just headed off downhill on Eglwysilan Road for a rather tedious 4-5 k hike back to my start point. No matter I was happy, a good burst start to the day with no rest breaks until I got back to the van.

Parking and access: Ample roadside parking very close to the start point.

Route Summary: An urban start with a farm track to get to a broad mountain top with okay views and wide footpaths. Bit of work across country to get both trig points. A tedium road hike to finish for 4-5km but that was due to my out route being blocked by snow. All in all a 11.5km hike with 389m of ascent done in 2hrs 25mins.

Mynydd y Glyn 372m

This was going to be a quick hour hike at the end of the day after doing Cefn Eglwysilan in the morning and it turned out to be just that.

Parking up at the start location turned out to be easy with a small lay-by there that was adequate for the purpose. Again there was the urban start but I soon hit the common and headed up south east on the path until I hit what was left of a stone wall and headed due south for two kilometres still heading up hill. After the wall runs out you head across country SE for a short while to the trig pint…no views of note but okay…and then follow another wall heading SW back down over the common. The ground drops down sharply for about 800m before you rejoin the ingress path back down to the start point. All in all a very simple hike and I was still dry and had a very good day out with two bimbles on two Marilyns. I was happy and headed for home.

Parking and access: Small lay-by at a T junction and plenty of nearby street parking near the start location.

Route Summary: Easy moorland path, bit of off piste trekking following the wall but easy enough. Adequate footpaths on the way down. All in all a 5km hike with 280m of ascent done in 1hr 10mins.

GPX files: For gpx files go to the Peakbagger website by following this link and go to the bottom right hand of the page and click ‘Download this GPS track as a GPX file.’