Conwy Mountain ….

…. otherwise known as Mynydd y Dref (‘The Town Mountain’)

(Left click images to zoom in, use browser return arrow to go back)

You’re never far from a mountain in Wales.   The main interest is in the old favourites such as the Snowdon group, the Glyderau, the Carneddau and others, but any reasonably large lump of ground is likely to be called ‘Mountain’ by the locals.   So, near where I live, we have Graig Fawr at a magnificent 153 metres altitude, but it’s known to the locals as ‘Meliden Mountain’ – and why not!

The route

Half an hour away, down the A55, sits the attractive walled town of Conwy, with its magnificent 730-year-old medieval castle.    Above the town sits ‘Conwy Mountain’ at 244 metres height.   The Welsh name for the hill is Mynydd y Dref which means ‘The Town Mountain’ and the summit is topped by the remains of a much older fortification, about 2500 years old.    It’s also a great dog walk!

Setting out

Gaining some height

The view back to Conwy ….

…. and the view towards the summit

Small climbing crag – for small climbers?

You won’t find solitude here, because the ‘mountain’ is popular with hikers, mountain bikers and horse riders as well as us dog walkers – there’s even a small crag where you often see youth and school groups doing some easy rock climbing, as we did on our visit.  For Border Collie ‘Mist,’ it must be heaven with new, unfamiliar ‘doggie’ smells all over the place.

The summit in the distance ….

…. with views out to Conwy Bay and Great Orme (centre)

Looking down to the A55 Expressway

The approach to Castell Caer Seion

The remains of the ramparts on the south side of the hillfort

As height is gained (bearing in mind there isn’t a lot of height!) the summit comes into view with the remains of the 2500 years old Iron Age fort of Castell Caer Seion – the name should correctly be Caer Seion which translates as ‘Fort Zion’, but a mistranslation into English around the end of the 17^th Century added the Castell bit.   There’s not a huge amount to see, which is hardly surprising after 2500 years, but the line of the ramparts can be traced quite easily.

Heading on towards Sychnant

Bwlch Sychnant (Sychnant Pass)

The view down the pass towards the village of Capelulo

On the other side of the pass, with Conwy mountain behind on the right

The hill path above Capelulo ….

…. a bit narrow in places

The multitude of paths over the mountain converge at Bwlch Sychnant (‘Dry Stream Pass’).    Most dog walkers stop here and go back to Conwy, but we usually carry along the hillside path above the village of Capelulo (‘Ulo’s Chapel’).    There’s a lovely section where the path clings on to the hillside, though I wouldn’t say that Chris was all that keen on it!

Off the narrow bit at last ….

…. crossing the open moor of Waen Gyrach

Wild Carneddau mountain ponies

Ancient stone circle at Cefn Llechen

The narrow hill path soon arrives on open moorland at Waen Gyrach which is on the very edge of the Carneddau and was on the home stretch of my Carneddau traverse in 2014 (see post #160).   It’s quite common to see the local wild mountain ponies down at this level, and there are also frequent reminders of ancient human habitation and remains, one of the most notable being an ancient stone circle at Cefn Llechen (‘Slate Back’), probably 4000-5000 years old.

Passing Llyn y Wrach ….

…. which looks like a good place for a paddle!

Heading back towards Conwy Mountain

On the return, we passed the charming small lake of Llyn y Wrach, which translates as ‘The Witch Lake’.   The likelihood of witches in the neighbourhood didn’t seem to put ‘Mist’ off a paddle, but it was now time to cross back over Sychnant to head back to Conwy.   Perhaps not the greatest trek in North Wales, but did I mention? – It does make a great dog walk!

On the old bridleway

Time to head for home

Text and images © Paul Shorrock