Mynydd Y Betws amble (Marilyn, Ammanford).

Updated: Oct 3, 2020

4.1.2019 - Mynydd Y Betws 373m, Marilyn and County High Point for Swansea.

This was a day out to have a good hike and pick up a Marilyn in the Ammanford area. The parking spot was a small car park (4 cars) just up the road from the Scotch Pine Pub.

From here head up the road and left at the corner towards the trig point behind the first wind turbine. After the TP head back towards the road and walk on the road for nearly 2kms to the next corner. Just head 200m off road here to Penller Castle. It’s quaint, there are ditches and mounds on the castle which dates from medieval times. This is the HP of Mynydd Y Betws but it is unmarked.

From here (if you are following the trail) simply head east back to the road, over it and then follow the St Illytyd trail due east. It runs towards Pentwyn Mawr alongside a bunch of wind turbines with a forest to your right. Some 4kms later you drop down to another road which you go over. Here we carried on for another 1.5km and back to pick up the TP on Graig Fawr. All easy stuff.

Once back at the said road you head N and then NE on a wide trail which peters out after a while and drops down to a boggy river crossing (this will be overgrown in summer me thinks).

Once over the river you go steeply uphill until eventually you come out at Cwm Cathan Isaf farm…this place wouldn’t look out of place in a Texas Chainsaw Massacre sequel! Farm animals abound here (non dangerous type) and you have to go straight through the farm. We saw no dogs and no humans either but if they live here they are the hardy hippy type!

Carry on out of the farm through a gate and then you turn right on a signposted path that you follow to Blainant Cadno where you turn left over a little stream to Tir Lan. Here you will see a gate and a warning sign to ring the bell so the owners of the house above can put their dogs away. Anyhow we rang the bell with no response and walked up around the premises. We went through a couple of fields and cut across (no right of way) to another path that soon bought us back out on the road just below the start car park.

Route Summary: All in all it was an okay hike of 15.2kms in 3hrs 45mins with 400m of height gain (Garmin stats not ViewRanger). Reasonable views but not the most inspiring of hikes but still it was a day out.

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.’

Ascent Entry: Mynydd Y Betws