15.9.2020 - Pen Y Helgi Du 833m and Pen Llithrig Y Wrach 799m, Carneddau, North Wales.
This was a stunning blue sky day out on an okay route but one that did have gorgeous views of the whole Ogwen Valley. Parking was at Gwern Gof Isaf campsite where we were staying. £8 per night to pitch a tent/camper (each) or all day parking for £2. These are very reasonable prices fair play!
We walked out of the site onto the A5 and turned right and shortly after there is a path/wide track on the left hand side of the road that takes you all the way to Tal Y Braich Uchaf, a crofty type holiday cottage. You walk around the cottage to the left and veer right. It’s not long before you cross a fence and handrail the fence for a while before you head NE across a pretty boggy water table/small river valley towards an obvious path on the hillside of Llithrig. Note: If you carry on a bit further you might hit the start of the path but I don’t know.
Anyway, this next kilometre is not the best, a bit boggy and tufty but it’s not long before you hit the path/quad track. This path is decent but ‘not’ marked on the map. It will take you uphill to a footbridge that goes over a man made water channel that traverses the hillside. Once over the channel it is pretty much pathless/heathery with the occasional sheep trail here and there. A kilometre after the water channel you cross a fence and it is pretty much the same for the next steep kilometre too all the way up to the cairned summit of Pen Y Llithrig Y Wrach. From the start it is a 440m pull to the top of Y Wrach.
From here it is a simple down and up on a decent path. You go down to Bwlch Y Tri Marchog and up another quite long pull of around 200m to the unmarked summit of Pen Y Helgi Du. From Helgi Du you simply head south on an another good path all the way to either Tal Y Braich Uchaf (if you wish) or you can hang a right about 700m before on a decent path that takes you SW to join up with the water channel again where you follow it to a tarmac track that takes you all the way down to the campsite.
Parking: At Gwern Gof Isaf campsite (see above).
Route Summary: From Tal Y Brauch to the summit of Y Wrach it is pretty much a tufty, boggy and heather slog. Apart from that it is decent paths, tracks and trails everywhere. A half decent route but one that has great views of the Ogwen Valley and most of the Carneddau ridge.
Route Statistics: 12km and 690m of height gain in an all in time of 4hrs 30min.
GPX files: For gpx files go to the Peakbagger website by following these links and go to the bottom right hand of the page and click ‘Download this GPS track as a GPX file.’
Ascent Entry on Peakbagger: Pen Y Helgi Du and Llithrig Y Gwrach.
OS Overview using ViewRanger.
The main view points on this route was the superb views of Tryfan. Both summits are pretty indistinct.