Glyders
Distance: 6 miles
Time: 4 hours
Difficulty: Strenuous
Parking: If you can, get a free space in a layby alongside Llyn Ogwen the A5 LL57 3LZ or there is a paid car park at Ogwen Cottage (it gets very busy so get there early!)
Refreshments: Takeaway coffee shop at Ogwen Cottage
Other info: Sheep throughout
Glyder Fawr is the highest peak in the Glyderau range and the third-highest mountain in Wales. This walk takes in both Glyder Fawr and Glyder Fach from the Ogwen cottage side. However there are several walking and scrambling routes – we have also done this walk from Pen y Gwryd and up the old miners path from that side.
This is a pretty strenuous walk, but the views from the top paired with the otherworldly terrain on top of the Glyders is really worth the effort in our opinion!
This route starts at the Ogwen car park across the road from the Llyn Ogwen. You’ll begin nice and easy, with a gentle ascent to Llyn Idwal. Here, you’ll continue on a path alongside Llyn Idwal taking in the glorious views across the lake. The face ahead of you looks seemingly impassable, but you’ll soon be heading up it!
Reaching the southern end of Llyn Idwal, the path steepens, heading up towards the Devil’s Kitchen, a dark crack in the cliff between Y Garn and Glyder Fawr. This section is steep and challenging, but take your time and you shouldn’t have any major issues if you and your dog are comfortable with rocky and steep terrain.
You’ll then continue up to the summit of Glyder Fawr. There’s a horrendous scree slope to get up which you’ll be glad to see the back of, but the views at the top are breathtaking and you’ll have a nice easy ridge to follow to Castell-Y-Gwunt and Glyder Fach.
I’d recommend heading down the Miners’ Track to Bwlch Tryfan, rather than attempting the challenging scramble route. You’ll pass Llyn Bochlwyd on the way back down before returning to the A5 and your car.
Llyn Ogwen is worth a stop off, and there are some lovely little waterfalls near the head of the lake at Ogwen Cottage which makes for some lovely photos.
This is definitely a walk for better weather, as poor visibility or snow on the ground could make this a really precarious walk with difficult route finding.
We hope you’ll be able to give this a go on your next Snowdonia visit!
Thanks for reading,
Cara, Andy, Poppy & Maple x
