Sunday 3rd June 2018. A stravaig over the moors of the Elenydd, Ceredigion, Mid Wales, from the mountain road east of Tregaron. The hills were Cefn y Cnwc 527m/48m, Mynydd Tywi 548m/90m, Pt. 545m Mynydd Tywi 545m/34m, Garn Gron 541m/52m, Gopa Uchaf 509m/86m, Esgair Fawr 496m/30m and Esgair Ffrwd 487m/31m.

27.8km, with 850m of ascent. 9hrs 40mins.

This hike was effectively two walks rolled into one, and I just kept going. The weather was hot and sunny all day, and the area new to me, and challenging, so I made the most of my day.

I took the high mountain road east over the moors from the busy town of Tregaron. The road itself was an interesting drive in my new car, taking me up the southern flank of Cwm Berwyn, an impressive deep glacial valley sporting some significant crags on its northern side. Extensive outcrops of rock are unusual on these high grassy moors, and so much more notable when they do occur. I had difficulty parking by a telephone box where others had parked before, as the area had been cordoned off with boulders and ‘no parking’ signs. I turned south, where I found a large lay-by some 500 metres away, close to a foot- and road-bridge over the Afon Camddwr.

Returning, now on foot, to the telephone box, I continued north in the direction of Nantymaen farm. As I reached a track junction, a curious mixture of barking dogs and peacock cries greeted me. I was glad I was taking the right-hand fork away from the farm, at least for now. For such a lonely place, the track I was taking was quite busy with traffic. For this section of my walk I was passed by a number of off-road vehicles. It was only later I discovered this route from Strata Florida through the Twi Forest is a popular one with off-roaders.

I left the track where it bent north-east to climb easily up the south-west flank of Cefn y Cnwc, my first objective of the day. A few loose stones marked the highest point. It was a good vantage point, with a wide view over the Southern Elenydd to the mountains of South Wales.

I returned to the track and continued to head north. The next two hills were likely to be more challenging, as their summits were in forest. Passing a mast with diesel generator breaking the silence, I entered the Tywi Forest. I reached a string of pools in a clearing. Following directions from others who had successfully reached the summit, I headed west on a narrower trail up to where it petered out in new planting. A fire-break headed north from there, between the mature trees and the new ones, and I was soon at the trig point on the summit. The view was restricted to that west over the new planting, but it was still a good spot to lounge in the sunshine for a while and eat and drink.

I retraced my route to the pools, continuing east to the more challenging forested eastern summit. A screen of undergrowth hid access to another firebreak north, this time between stands of mature trees. Mossy ruts and tree-fall hindered progress, but I worked my way around the obstacles to the point my GPS informed me constituted the highest point. There was no view at all. It is hills like these that emphasise the delightful madness of hill-bagging.

I reversed my route out back to the pools, and all the way down to the track junction near Nantymaen farm. It was decision time. The second walk would be longer and more challenging. The sun was shining, so I decided to go for it, aware that I was unlikely to reach home before the early hours of Monday.

As I deliberated, a hiker carrying a large green rucksack passed by some hundred metres away from me, without an acknowledgement. He was to be the only person I saw on foot throughout my long hike. I caught him up at a stile near the farm, where the bridleway bypassed the building and the cacophonous dogs and peacock. He didn’t seem that pleased on the company, despite telling me he had met nobody all day. He did inform me that he was hiking the Cambrian Way, a 468km route from Cardiff all the way to Conwy, taking in the principal ranges of the principality (see at http://cambrianway.org.uk/).

We walked some way together north-west up the boggy bridleway. Since our pace was different and it was clear he preferred to walk alone, I left him on the pretext of seeking higher drier ground to the north. This proved to be a poor decision on my part, as I had conveniently forgotten how rough the walking was off-path on these hills. I struggled to make progress through tussock grass and reedy bogs, before eventually abandoning my plan and heading down to rejoin the trail in the cwm. I could now see the Cambrian Way walker some distance ahead of me, so at least that part of my plan had delivered.

I made my marshy way along the trail for about a kilometre before I encountered him again, resting by a large cairn where the path divided. I greeted him again without stopping, taking the right-hand route towards Garn Gron, my next objective. This was a stomp of some two kilometres to its summit, which was adorned with two very large cairns, with another on a minor top to the west. There was also a trig point against which to rest my back.

As I sat there taking in the view, my erstwhile companion arrived. I remarked to him that this summit seemed to be the subject of significant activity in the Bronze Age. He thought that highly unlikely, but asserted strongly that it was the recent work of local shepherds. On returning home, I was pleased to learn that Garn Gron is one of the most significant Bronze Age sites in all the Elenydd (see at https://ancientmonuments.uk/129710-garn-gron-round-cairn-cemetery-tregaron#.Wyp_5FVKjIU). Mercifully, he soon departed, intent on descending to his overnight accommodation in Strata Florida.

I now had two options – either to make my way back by my outward route, or turn off it to head south-west to the next hill within my sights, at the cairn where the trails divided. I chose the latter. After a descending traverse down the south ridge of the hill, I picked up a good path that brought me down past some ruins to the valley of the Afon Groes Fawr (‘Big Cross River’). I forded the stream, heading up steeply by the forest edge and then west onto the bilberry-covered summit of Gopa Uchaf. I lounged there a while, enjoying the shades of evening - but not too long, as I had a long way to go back to my car.

The next challenge was to find my way over a barbed wire fence and through the thick forest to a track marked on my map which I could see winding through the trees below me. I found a rickety gate to climb over, following the forest edge, this time on the other side of the fence. I reached a gap in the trees, and a fire-break that took me on a circuitous route to the track. From there the going was easy. After a few minutes, on rounding a bend on the track, I was greeted by a friendly white cat. This was a rather incongruous meeting in the middle of a commercial forest, but the reason soon became clear. A camper van was parked on the track, and dinner was cooking. There was, however, no sign of the owner. All rather strange!

I was of two minds whether to climb Esgair Fawr, as it was two hours from sunset and I still had a good way to go. I was persuaded to do so by the proximity of the summit to the forest track, as indicated by my GPS. I recalled the routes taken by others before me and found the fire-break I was seeking. However, since those previous ascents, the forest had been subjected to storm-force winds, as the whole area was covered in fresh tree-falls. I retreated from my first route and tried another, to be confronted with a similar problem. Despite the late hour, I was not to be beaten and determined on a third attempt from a different direction. This time I had success, finding a track that took me up into the trees a little way. Where it petered out, I dodged and ducked my way up to the summit. My elation was out of all proportion to the distance I had travelled from the track – less than 300 metres.

On my ascent, I had the prescience to mark a number of waypoints on my GPS, so as not to get lost on my descent and spend the night wandering around in the dark forest. All worked out as planned and I was soon back on the forest track. I hiked south and was soon on the mountain road. I headed east.

There was just time for one final hill before sunset – Esgair Ffrwd. This lay just off the road, and outside the forest. It was an easy ascent and made a fitting end to my long hike, as from its summit I could view the whole round I had done, now glowing in the apricot glow of pre-sunset.

I descended back to the road for a final kilometre of walking back to my car, which I reached at the very moment of sunset. I made it home at 1 a.m. on Monday.