Moel Siabod Scramble, Daear Ddu Ridge Route: Mountain Hike, North Wales

In this one we take the Daear Ddu ridge scramble route up the magnificent Moel Siabod in the Snowdonia National Park, North Wales. We started from a free carpark at Pont Cyfyng on the A5 (LL24 0DT) and crossed over the utterly beautiful Afon Llugwy. Walking on the road to begin with but very quickly we entered farm land and the usual easy to follow tracks used by farm vehicles. Crossing over a stile we followed a miners track towards a lake once used by the now disused slate quarry that we were soon passing through, not before tea and sandwiches of course.
The Moelwynion mountain range, of which Moel Siabod is the highest, is renown for being very wet and marshy. The next part of the walk illustrated that perfectly. The next Llyn requires some careful path picking, we tried to stay on the highest ground possible but even then, during a dry week, we found some very boggy patches. From here we could see the whole of the ridge we were heading for, it did look a little daunting but we were really excited to get started!
The grade 1 scramble was fantastic, lots of pulling ourselves over rocks using both hands and feet, but do not fret, this is not as exposed as it feels, the sensation is one of exhilaration not danger. You can pick a few different scramble points as you move along but there is some more obvious signs of the prefer path via scratches and worn rocks, almost shiny now due to so much human contact.
This is a kilometer of scrambling ridge it isn't a route to be sniffed at but also not one to be feared, the vertigo sufferer amongst us gave it a 7/10 on the scary scale.
We eventually popped out close to the summit of Moel Siabod (872m), and the breathtaking views of the national park. We could see the entire Snowdon horseshoe, the Glyders, Tryfan and the whole Carneddau range.....without doubt it has earned its' name for having the best views in Snowdonia. We drank tea, in our very own Valhalla.
We walked North East from the peak over the moonscape-like environment and towards a very obvious, sometimes rather steep, winding path leading towards a wooded area seen at the bottom of the valley close to Capel Curig. Be warned, it can get very boggy towards the last kilometer or so of the path. Once we reached the village we spent some time poking about, as is tradition, and visited the smallest old church in Snowdonia, St Juliatta. Sadly it was all locked up but it was had a lot of soul.
We made our way back along the A5 until we landed back at the carpark. What a cracking day, we couldn't of loved it more❤
Thank you for being here, all the best, Ceri & Kat!
/ teainvalhalla
/ teainvalhalla