Monday 1st May 2018. An ascent of Mynydd y Dref (Conwy Mountain) 244m/58m, Penmaen-bach 245m/53m, Alltwen 255m/92m and Cogwrn 203m/36m in the Northern Carneddau, from Conwy, North Wales. 13.5km, with 660m of ascent. 4hrs 25mins.

I had driven past these hills so many times on the A55 and glanced up at them, wondering what walking they offered. From below, they have an Alpine quality. To be honest, their very modest altitude had left them low on my priority list. I had made a mistake. They are small hills indeed, but they pack a rocky punch. In fact, they are small mountains. They are composed of rhyolite, a volcanic rock, an extrusive equivalent of granite in its chemical composition. This gives the ridge a rugged nature of much greater interest than many a higher hill in Wales.

I parked in the main long-stay car park in Conwy next to the castle (£3.50 all day) and wandered through the bustling town to the quayside, picking up the route of the Welsh Coast Path. This did a loop along the shoreline, before heading back into the outskirts of the town, crossing the railway line by a high footbridge. Steep lanes led up to the beginning of the access land which encompasses much of the ridge. Excellent paths meander up through the rock formations, offering sea views if one sticks to the ridge crest. I had started my hike in sunshine, but with a cold north-westerly wind. Within half an hour the wind had swung round to blow from the south-west. Rain was expected later, and might come in earlier.

As I ascended, I passed a group of children learning rock climbing on a small quarry wall on the south flank of the mountain. I was soon on the summit, a rugged area in the midst of an extensive Celtic hill fort, set in a commanding position. The wind was strong, and getting stronger. I followed the crest through the ruined hill fort, rejoining the main path to head down steeply to a grassy bwlch.

I picked up a track heading north-west, in the direction of Penmaen-bach, my next objective. After passing a small walled field, a haven of green in the midst of heather brown and purple, I took a narrow path winding up to the summit. This was a dome of rock in a fine setting. Before moving on to Alltwen, I detoured west in an attempt to view the serrated arête that is such a striking feature of this hill when driving east on the A55, before the road enters a tunnel. Unfortunately it was barely visible without committing oneself to a down-scramble, which I did not care to do on my own.

Heading back towards the summit, I picked up a sheep path that descended to the walled field and beyond. This proved to be a rather prickly route, as the heather was mixed with low-lying gorse. I reached a wide track, and followed it down past a very neat and tidy farm at Pen-pyra. It was clear that the east flank of Alltwen had been scorched by fire last year, as the heather and grass were still growing back through the ashes. As I reached the summit, the wind hit me with full force, and the first spots of rain began to fall. That day it was an inhospitable place, but I resolved to return on a fine summer's evening to watch the sun set from its summit. I did not linger today.

A steep path led me down to the farm access track, which joined the road over the Sychnant Pass in a very rugged setting. The precipitous bare scree slopes of Alltwen gave the illusion that I was standing on one of the high Alpine passes where a glacier had recently been, rather than a mere 160 metres above sea-level. This was compounded by a restaurant serving Austrian food at the western foot of the pass (see at http://theaustrianrestaurant.com/index.htm).

I was now on the return leg to Conwy, but first I intended to detour slightly to visit a small summit some 500 metres east of the pass - Cogwrn (Welsh for a 'lump' or 'cone'). There was no path by the road, so I had to proceed cautiously on the narrow walled lane. I reached a track and a car park, with the cone-shaped Cogwrn above it. A little rain was falling now, so my visit was brief.

I returned to the Sychnant Pass road, descending for about a kilometre on its grassy verge to reach a green lane heading north. This was a welcome respite after the busy road. It climbed up to meet a byway running along the southern flank of the Conwy ridge. This proved a pleasant route back to the town, and my car.

I will visit these hills again for a stravaig on a sunny day. They are worth lingering over!