Monday 7th May 2018. An ascent of Aran Fawddwy 905m/670m, Waun Camddwr 621.7m/15.5m and Glasgwm 779m/215m on the Aran massif, from Cwm Cywarch, North Wales. 17.6km, with 1090m of ascent. 8hrs 50mins.

When I looked at my records, I noted that I had only scaled Aran Fawddwy twice before, and the last time was over fifteen years ago. When JdF proposed a hike in the high Welsh hills, I suggested a round of the two 'Welsh Corbetts' on the Aran massif. This was much to his liking, so a day was set. It proved to be a good one weather-wise, the last day of the second mini-heatwave that Wales experienced in 2018.

We met up in Bala, and left his car in Llanuwchllyn at the southern end of Llyn Tegid (Bala Lake). I drove us up the narrow mountain road that leads to Bwlch y Groes, the most challenging mountain road pass in Wales, and steeply down into the upper Dyfi valley. Near Dinas Mawddwy, a lane heads north up into Cwm Cywarch, one of the most dramatic mountain valleys in Wales. It is little known, and a sure bet for a busy bank holiday Monday when the 'honeypot hills' are teeming with people.

We parked in the car park provided near the road-end. Our hopes of mountain peace and tranquillity were rather shattered by a large group of teenagers playing loud music over their car audio systems in the car park, but, mercifully, they soon departed and the valley sunk back into its customary peacefulness.

Crossing the Afon Cywarch by a little bridge, we took the path that contoured north-east up the south side of the Hengwm valley at a gentle gradient. At the top we encountered two young women whom I had seen earlier. They had been given a lift some way up the hill by a local shepherd on his ATV. I remarked to them that they had done well to persuade one of the inhabitants of the valley to give them a lift, as they were notoriously gruff. One of them told me, with a smile, that the driver of the ATV was her father-in-law!

The ridge now swung north-west and then west. We paused to view the memorial to Michael Aspain, a young member of the RAF mountain rescue team who was struck by lightning and killed on Aran in 1960. It is a sober reminder that these hills are not always as benign as they were that day. Continuing on our way, the grassy path gave way to rock among the outcrops and crags that form the topmost part of the plunging cliffs on the eastern face of the mountain. Below them lies a remote cwm, in which a small lake is situated - Creiglyn Dyfi. This lake is the source of the Afon Dyfi (River Dovey), one of the great rivers of Wales.

We reached the lofty summit, positioning ourselves carefully above the yawning drop. It seemed to plunge directly into the lake below. As well as a few other humans, the summit was occupied by a raven of some considerable size, who, no doubt, made a good living from the food scraps left on the mountain. The view, if hazy, was extensive landwards. However, the coast was lapped by fog, a tendril of which could be seen probing into the Mawddach Estuary to the west.

Leaving the summit, we headed down the south-western slopes of the mountain, mainly following an eroded path by a fence. This eventually brought us up onto Waun Camddwr, a morass of bog and peat with a few rocky outcrops that is a mere swelling on the moor. This was my final 'hill' on the Nuttall's list of the 2000ft hills of Wales, so I made sure to visit both the high points before we moved on.

It got even marshier when we reached the bwlch below Glasgwm, our final objective for the day. I skirted the marshy lake, but JdF found a way through without sinking out of sight. A tough steep ascent followed, with not a breath of wind to cool us down. After staggering up the scree and boulder field below the summit, we found ourselves at the top, a place so expansive that it has room for two lakes. The larger of the two (Llyn Figyn) is of some considerable size for the altitude at which it is situated. We rested by the cairn, taking in the hazy view. Evening was now upon us and it was time to head down.

Following a fence south for nearly two kilometres, we eventually dropped down to a bwlch, where a fine descent route awaited us. It was the first one that was safe, as the cliffs on the eastern flank of Glasgwm above Cwm Cywarch are an impressive sight, and for rock-climbers only. The track, clearly made by quarry-men in earlier times, was an excellent descent route down the steep side of Cwm yr Ychen, using a series of tight zig-zags to reach the valley bottom and the road. Once back on tarmac, it was a 500m walk north back to the car, interrupted by a fruitless attempt to reunite a strayed lamb with its mother.

Back at the car, we retraced our route back to Bala, just managing to obtain a meal in the White Lion Hotel before last orders.