Читать книгу Hillwalking in Wales - Vol 1 - Peter Hermon - Страница 25

THE ARENIGS

Untrodden heather-clad tops, wild moors, scattered hills, uncluttered views, the marshy Migneint, generous variety and vast solitudes: these are the lures of the Arenigs, some of the least-known hills in Wales. When I last visited them only one of the nine cairns, Arenig Fawr's, carried the tell-tale signs of human desecration. That surely says it all!

Are there really nine tops? Surely the map shows only two Arenigs? That is so, but like others before me I am taking the liberty of using ‘Arenigs’ to describe a diffuse group of hills that owes no allegiance to a recognised range and which, without a name, would remain unsung and unknown. Arbitrary this may be, presumptuous perhaps, but tidy and defensible certainly, as all eight of the other tops rise in the shadow of Arenig Fawr.

The Arenigs' domain is a vast quadrilateral of some 200 square miles, bounded by the Afon Eden and the A470 W, the Bala gap and the A494 E, and the B4407 and the A5 N. Open windswept fells predominate in the N, bleak in winter but a dazzling aromatic array of pinks and purples in summer. Further S the terrain becomes more broken with scattered outcrops and extensive afforestation. Rarely, however, does the walker tread rock, and nowhere is the use of hands even remotely in question. Tracks, faint but reliable, ease the way most of the time. Stay with these and the Arenigs can be kind; stray and you may find bog and jolty tussocks lying in wait (although even then, to be fair, their impact is muted and nowhere does the errant walker suffer as he may in the Rhinogs!).

The Arenigs are simple hills, hiding little. It could scarcely be otherwise with nine peaks scattered so widely, yet there are a few secrets left to uncover. Who, from the road, would suspect the sparkling lakes that snuggle beneath the E ramparts of Arenig Fawr and Arenig Fach? Who would anticipate Arenig Fach's craggy E face? Then there is the sprinkle of little tarns adorning Craig y Bychau, the austere but wistfully beautiful Hesgyn Valley, and the pristine joys of Dduallt and Rhobell Fawr.

Arenig Fawr is the unquestioned doyen of the range, a large elephantine peak of 2800ft with a regal bearing. Unsightly quarries offend its N face but these are of small moment. Its rambling fells offer excellent sport, especially if you walk the full length of the ridge from Craig y Bychau to Pen Tyrau. Across the road Arenig Fach is a much underrated hill; looking deceptively dull, its soft heathery top is ideal for munching bilberries on a sunny afternoon, and for views of the Migneint it is second to none.

Moel Llyfnant is, in many respects, the more logical ‘Fach’, being linked to Arenig Fawr by a grassy col. Like the official Arenig Fach it is a languid grassy mound from most viewpoints, but still worth the occasional away-day. Some 2 miles W again lies the last top in this cluster, Foel Boeth. King of a dull shallow ridge it is all but forgotten, and understandably so.

Three more hills rise to the NE. Carnedd y Filiast and its satellite Llechwedd Llyfn are gently curved hillocks of rampant heather. Foel Goch is a loner, surrounded by roads, barely lifting its head above the prestigious 2000ft barrier. Study the map, though, and you will find it is a big mountain, fully endowed with ridges and cwms and well worth the occasional day.

The two remaining tops, Dduallt and Rhobell Fawr, lie well S. Set apart from their peers and the world both revel in a happy harmony of fells, woodlands, rock and marsh. Like good wine, these are peaks to relish on a special day.

The Arenigs glory in vast open views. Rising apart, unclustered, there is little to deflect the eye. Take the view from Arenig Fawr (and let this speak for the other peaks too). Arenig Fach and the Migneint lie to the N. The NE skyline is filled by the rounded swell of those two lonely outliers, Carnedd y Filiast and Foel Goch. Rising beyond Lake Bala are the Hirnant hills and the distant Berwyns. The urgent thrust of Aran Benllyn kindles the spark SE, while SW the sharpness of Dduallt complements the soft curve of Rhobell Fawr with the Dovey hills and Cader Idris arcing the horizon. The scene is stolen W by the Rhinogs, with Moel Llyfnant providing a massive foreground. The circle is completed NW by the ranges of Snowdonia, with Snowdon itself, Tryfan, the Glyders, Moel Siabod, the Moelwyns, Cnicht and the Ffestiniog hills all competing for pride of place. Set this in your mind's eye within a mosaic of moors, forests and glittering lakes (for you should count yourself unlucky if you cannot see at least Llynnau Conwy, Tryweryn and Y Garn) and you have a picture to treasure.

Looking north-west up the Lliw Valley (AG23)