As a post-celebration of my retirement last summer, I had invited a number of friends to a hill-walk in Mid Wales as an opportunity to catch up while walking together. I had shared many days on the British hills with them over the years, though we had not hiked together for many a year. For November, the weather forecast for the day was quite tolerable, and indeed proved better than expectation.

The six of us gathered in the car park below the waterfall (£4 a day), and set off on the steep winding path up the south-east ridge of Moel Sych. This levelled off higher up into a boggy eroded mess below the summit cone, but with some nimble footwork we were soon at the summit cairn. The view was extensive, with most of the major ranges of Eryri (Snowdonia) easily recognisable. Unfortunately I had left the battery for my camera back home, so had to capture the autumnal beauty with my very limited back-up camera.

After pausing on the summit for photos, we set off north-east along the edge of the very steep escarpment to the highest top in the range - Cadair Berwyn 832m. The highest point for many years had been considered to be the one on which the trig point still stands, but hill-surveys have firmly established that the middle top is the highest. It makes a far more fitting summit, with jagged rocks perched above the steep vegetated cliffs that plunge down into the cwm below, in which sits the lonely pool of Llyn Lluncaws ('Cheese Lake').

A short stiff pull brought us up to the summit. There I produced from my rucksack a bottle of whisky and a buttered loaf of bara brith for us to share to mark the occasion. The tradition on the UK hills is normally to mark the completion, or a notable point, of a hill-list with such an event. However, getting to retirement was quite a notable event for my hill-hikes also, so I departed from the tradition just this once!

After summit photos we decided to extend the walk beyond the original plan by pushing on to Cadair Bronwen 785m. However, some 30 minutes into the hike it became apparent that progress would be slow due to the boggy state of the path. Continuing would put in jeopardy tea and cakes in the waterfall tea rooms. As this was an integral part of the day we decided to turn back.

We retraced our steps to the summit of Cadair Berwyn. There we split into two groups of three, agreeing to meet by the lake in the cwm below. Three of us took the steep descent from near the summit, while the rest headed back to Moel Sych to take the gentler east ridge of this hill down to the lake. As we descended, a strong gust of wind hit us from the valley below. The wind had changed from south-west to south-east.

All worked according to plan, and, now together again, we headed down the attractive valley on another boggy path. Further down this developed into a proper prepared path, making for much easier walking. We were soon at the road, and a hike of some 500m brought us back up to the car park. We were in good time for the planned tea and cakes, and even to admire the waterfall before dusk fell.

With IB, TM, SH, PS and MS.