29.11.2020 - A loop around Tal Y Fan 610, Drum 770m and Pen Y Castell 623m, Carneddau, Wales.
This was a three Nuttall day in the remoter North End of the Carneddau to pick up Taly Y Fan, Drum and Pen Y Castell. I was glad to have the company of the indomitable Andy Dawson to do today as it turned out to be a typical claggy Welsh winter day. For most of the day there would be nothing of worth really to see.
Parking was to be at the small car park at Bwlch Y Ddeufaen nestled in the far corner of the Tafalog valley. There is enough room here for about 5-6 cars. The car park and access road is not suitable for motor homes or anything bigger than a VW transporter. Being right at the foot of Tal Y Fan it is also a popular parking area.
From the car park we headed back out on the road East for nearly a kilometre where there is a style/post on the left hand side. Simply cross over and follow the footpath steadily uphill (North) to a small col a couple of styles later. You head right here and not long after you head steeply uphill on a short pitch, cross over the stone wall that is obvious on your right to the stone trig point of Tal Y Fan. It took forty five minutes and 231m of ascent to get here. Can’t tell you about the views as visibility was about fifty meters.
From here you retrace your steps to the small col and carry straight on this time going over Foel Lwyd and then you follow a fence line steeply down hill and West back to a gate at Bwlch Y Ddeufaen. Here you simply cross over the Bwlch and head steadily uphill (SW) following a wall (that will become a fence) on your left, all easy stuff. You follow this wall on a distinct footpath for a good two and a half kilometres where you have to cross over the fence to get to the summit cairn/shelter. It had taken us three hours and 663m of ascent to here. Yes you guessed it we still couldn’t see anything!
From the summit of Drum you then head downhill and East following a fence line on your left. There is a path as such and it goes down, over a fence and then up the gentle rise that takes you to the plateaued top of Pen Y Castell. There is nothing to mark the summit top of Pen Y Castell. As far as we could check on our GPS’s there was a blocky rock near enough to the spot height of 623m. It had taken us three and a half hours and 682m of ascent to get here. Yes we still couldn’t see anything!
We had decided instead of carrying on a big loop we would take the shortest route back to the car park. We did this knowingly that we would be entering a typical Welsh water table. So from the top we went back down to the fence and right (through a small corner gate) and headed off downhill in a generally northerly direction. After a kilometre we hit a fence and crossed it and by now we were in ‘bogland.’ It was tufty, wet and boggy but not too hard going. It slowed us down but we eventually crossed the river Tafolog without any problems, passed the huge power pylons and were soon back at the car park. A day of little scenic splendour!
Parking: Small car park at start for 5-6 cars with narrow access road.
Route Summary: Distinct paths for all three Nuttalls but thereafter open country and the bogland of a big water table. The latter not being too hard going. Views, well what little we had was rugged!
Route Statistics: 13km and 725m of height gain done in a slow five hours.
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: Tal Y Fan Loop
Route Overview using ViewRanger.
Car Park at the start point.
Tal Y Fan trig pint, the gate at Bwlch Y Ddeufaen and the summit cairn, shelter on Drum.
The 'stone' which near enough marks the summit of Pen Y Castell and a series of pictures from around the Pen Y Castell area.