[21st May 2026]
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For this one I decided to head back to an area that I love, Snowdonia. The drive there could've been more direct but I chose to continue on the A55 until Bangor and drive to Capel Curig using the A5. This stretch of road is truly stunning as it takes you past Llyn Ogwen and through the foothills of the Glyders and Tryfan. Definitely up there as one of my favourite roads to drive on in the UK. I ditch the car in a hotel car park and begin the route up towards Moel Siabod, a mountain that stands on it's own at 872 meters and offers perhaps the best view of the Snowdon range. The route heads along Afon Llugwy, a stunning fast flowing river that on a hot day, you'd love to do nothing more than sit in one of the mini pools as the water flows over you... but not today!
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The weather was cool, wet and very foggy so maybe another time. Straight off the bat you're hiking up a steep incline and even though i'm climbing with lighter gear than usual it still was taxing. Soon enough it eased off slightly and opened up. It's here you get a great view of the valley below but more importantly you'll get your first, most obvious view of where you're headed. Again, not on this day due to how dense the fog was. Continuing on you'll soon arrive at the first of 3 tarns and it was here I got a shock. PENGUINS!!! Well, I say PENGUINS but all I saw was a sign asking ramblers not to feed them. There wasn't any about today but then again, the wind was reaching 30mph and just wasn't pleasant so I presume they'd found a nice little nook to shelter themselves... shame and Wales, i'm not happy about this. Annoyance aside I continued up through a tight steep valley and with the slate mounds either side I knew what was coming... the abandoned Foel Quarry.
It's amazing how much is left behind and the vast area it covered. There's the remnants of many buildings, miners barracks, a water wheel and the now flooded entrance to the mine itself. My favourite part had to be the lower house as it still has it's main fireplace standing... granted it's on a bit of an angle now and will most likely fall in the not too distant future. Still, I managed to enjoy my dinner while wondering what life was like for the miners and what they typically spoke about around the fire. I spent a little over an hour exploring the whole thing and having realised just how long i'd been I decided to continue with the ascent. After a short while I started to doubt my navigation. Everything was telling me I was heading in the right direction BUT the fog was now so dense i'd lost every handrail point. Tempted to grab the GPS I decided to continue on just 5 more minutes and it was then, out of the fog it appeared. Llyn Y Foel. I purified some water here and it tasted absolutely amazing. This could either be because it really was amazing OR I was just a little dehydrated and i'd be saying the same drinking pee. I head around the northern side of the tarn, jumped over some bogs and was on the hunt for the beginning of the Daear Ddu Ridge. It's not obvious where it begins but you'll notice a faint track heading into the boulderfield. This is where things got fun!
It's amazing how much is left behind and the vast area it covered. There's the remnants of many buildings, miners barracks, a water wheel and the now flooded entrance to the mine itself. My favourite part had to be the lower house as it still has it's main fireplace standing... granted it's on a bit of an angle now and will most likely fall in the not too distant future. Still, I managed to enjoy my dinner while wondering what life was like for the miners and what they typically spoke about around the fire. I spent a little over an hour exploring the whole thing and having realised just how long i'd been I decided to continue with the ascent. After a short while I started to doubt my navigation. Everything was telling me I was heading in the right direction BUT the fog was now so dense i'd lost every handrail point. Tempted to grab the GPS I decided to continue on just 5 more minutes and it was then, out of the fog it appeared. Llyn Y Foel. I purified some water here and it tasted absolutely amazing. This could either be because it really was amazing OR I was just a little dehydrated and i'd be saying the same drinking pee. I head around the northern side of the tarn, jumped over some bogs and was on the hunt for the beginning of the Daear Ddu Ridge. It's not obvious where it begins but you'll notice a faint track heading into the boulderfield. This is where things got fun!
Daear Ddu ridge offers 320 meters of a near vertical scramble through boulders and crags and it can be a challenge, especially when you look back and see the drop. While 320 meters sounds daunting it unfortunately goes very quickly. I was soon near the top but stopped as the mountain gods treated me to a tangerine... aka a hiker lost it on their way up, waste not want not ey. Tangerine down I tackled the final bit of the scramble and reached the fence line and stile that takes you up to the summit. Again, the fog wasn't my friend here and it kept the trig hidden until the very last moment. Suddenly, just 10 meters away from me there it was, the trig of Moel Siabod.
There wasn't much to see up here but a forecast update had promised me things would clear. Right now I was hungry and so I head approx 30 meters off the summit to a sheltered spot from the wind. It was here I cooked up a feast! Homemade chilli and chicken and chorizo pasta for the second course. It didn't last long and put the charge back in the batteries. While eating, the fog dissipated and one by one the mountains came into view. I head back up to the summit for the sunset and here, I could see why this mountain was so important to the range. It was just breathtaking, the shadows the mountains cast on the haze in the valley was just perfect, the golden glow of the valley, just everything. It was still incredibly windy but I had to chance getting the drone up and capturing this. It complained the entire time it was in the air but it managed to get the job done. I would've loved to get it higher and with more distance but I couldn't risk it losing control and tumbling down Daear Ddu ridge. Still, i'm so pleased with what I got. For the last of the light I returned 30 meters down and found the best spot to set up the bivi for the night. It was like having the front row in the cinema but I didn't have to pay to get in. I opened the Rucker Bar with Mythos, a delicious Greek beer with it's deep green branding that fit in nicely with my olive green bivi and bergan... this wasn't planned I swear. 23:00 soon rolled around and the daylight still wasn't gone. It look some time but I managed to capture some stars in the early hours during, what my wife has oh so affectionately titled, my "old man wee" at 03:00 and soon it was daylight once again.
There wasn't much to see up here but a forecast update had promised me things would clear. Right now I was hungry and so I head approx 30 meters off the summit to a sheltered spot from the wind. It was here I cooked up a feast! Homemade chilli and chicken and chorizo pasta for the second course. It didn't last long and put the charge back in the batteries. While eating, the fog dissipated and one by one the mountains came into view. I head back up to the summit for the sunset and here, I could see why this mountain was so important to the range. It was just breathtaking, the shadows the mountains cast on the haze in the valley was just perfect, the golden glow of the valley, just everything. It was still incredibly windy but I had to chance getting the drone up and capturing this. It complained the entire time it was in the air but it managed to get the job done. I would've loved to get it higher and with more distance but I couldn't risk it losing control and tumbling down Daear Ddu ridge. Still, i'm so pleased with what I got. For the last of the light I returned 30 meters down and found the best spot to set up the bivi for the night. It was like having the front row in the cinema but I didn't have to pay to get in. I opened the Rucker Bar with Mythos, a delicious Greek beer with it's deep green branding that fit in nicely with my olive green bivi and bergan... this wasn't planned I swear. 23:00 soon rolled around and the daylight still wasn't gone. It look some time but I managed to capture some stars in the early hours during, what my wife has oh so affectionately titled, my "old man wee" at 03:00 and soon it was daylight once again.
Morning, 05:30 and instantly I was greeted with not only the unexpected summits once again (the fog was due at this time) but what appeared to be a 2 headed sheep that I called Shaun Shaun. I got a brew on, ate my 24 hour stale chocolate croissants and began to tear down camp. With a bivi bag this takes no more than 5 minutes to do compared to a tent so i'm loving the speedy setups at the moment. With all the gear in the bag the fog was back and engulfed camp and the summit. Still, I thanked my pitch for keeping me safe, head back to the summit for one last look and began the descent. I was soon below the cloud base and back to the views which was great. The path I took wasn't on the OS maps and it perhaps the easy way up. It's on the north east side of the mountain and there's obvious trails leading you up there. After a good hike through the woods I was soon back to the A5 and following the river back to the car park. I can report that Rico (the car) was good and hadn't gone for a wonder during the night.
Here's to the next Ruck!
Here's to the next Ruck!
