there are few landmarks. No wall or fence crosses the summit, and if stranded the wisest course is to drop down to the col just E of the top where a fence quickly leads to lower ground, N or S.
S approaches (AG18)
Walk up the narrow road to Pentre-tai-yn-y-cwm Farm (957403) and follow the tree-lined lane that accompanies the chattering Nant Cwm Da until you come to a bridge after about 0.5 mile. You then have three choices:
Firstly to stay with the stream, eventually reaching the col at 959425 after some mild bog-bashing following the disappearance of the path.
Secondly (AG18,1) to strike out L for Moel Darren (952414) and the S ridge.
Thirdly (AG18,2) to bear R for Bryn Bras whence the top is reached via Orddu and the col as before. Bryn Bras offers fine views, not least of the picturesque Llyn Caer Euni.
NW approaches (AG19)
Leave the B4501 at 914429 and walk down the lane towards Ty Cerrig. Turn L just before the farm and follow a grassy track up the hillside. When this peters out pull up to the NW ridge where a wire fence accompanies you to Garnedd Fawr. The main top, hidden so far, now comes into view about 1 mile away E over undulating grassland with a scattering of boundary stones pointing the way.
Alternatively (AG19,1) start by following a footpath sign at 912426 and then bearing NE to join the ridge as before. The ridge can also be reached from Aeddren (938442) by following a new bulldozed track that curves round its N tip (AG19,2).
N approaches (AG20)
From near Llangwm a track runs S towards Cwm-llan (961430) from where the col at 959425 can be reached after a short rise.
SE approaches (AG21)
A track climbs steeply alongside the woods just to the E of Craig Wenallt at 976415. By proceeding N from there via the old homestead of Hafotty Isaf the E ridge can be gained around Pen y Cerrig-serth (971429).
Dduallt
Dduallt is a favourite of mine – one of the jewels of the Welsh hills.
My first awareness of Dduallt came while walking the Arans. I was struck, one brisk sunlit morning, by a huge triangle of naked rock across the valley which I later discovered to be the E face of Dduallt. My excitement was all the greater as this was terra incognita; who ever tramped the wilderness S of Arenig Fawr? Later I also came to recognise Dduallt's distinctive thrust from the Arenigs; a perfect foil to Rhobell Fawr's curvaceous top. When I eventually climbed Dduallt I was not disappointed. The precipitous E face (not unlike Pavey Ark in Lakeland) which truly earns Dduallt its title of Black Height when in shadow, is balanced by gentler W slopes just as the N ridge balances the equally attractive S ridge.
The summit is an airy perch of heather and bilberries, miniature rocky outcrops and playful pools (one close by the cairn, a cluster a short way down-slope SE). To gild the lily, just below the beautifully sculptured cairn, a cleft in the rocks provides the perfect shelter from the wind.
It is easy to list the peaks on display – Snowdonia, the Arenigs, Hirnants, Berwyns, Arans, Cader Idris, Rhinogs – but that is only the hors d'oeuvre. The majesty of the scene owes at least as much to the virgin wilderness, where works of man are subservient to Nature's creation; to the blend of rustic vales with rounded hills and the multi-coloured patchwork of marsh and heather, forest and rock.
Allt-lwyd route (AG22)
Cwm yr Allt-lwyd deserves to be better known; it offers both the easiest line of approach to Dduallt and a base for a superb round also taking in Rhobell Fawr.
Cwm yr Alltlwyd has a strangely forbidding air. Maybe it is the bleak treeless slopes; treeless, that is, apart from the man-made forest higher up the vale. Perhaps it is the absence of human settlement; for there are more ruins than inhabited dwellings.
Park by the bridge at 788293 and follow the stony track along the S bank of the river before crossing to the derelict homestead of Allt-lwyd. Next follow a gritty track that climbs steeply out of the valley, weaving over bleak moors to a ford at 810293 whence the foot of the N ridge is but a short step away.
Looking east from Allt-lwyd to Cerrig Chwibanog and Craig y Llestri
Despite the difference in scale, the walk assumes a character reminiscent of Tryfan. Grass yields to sprightly thickets of heather and bilberry that cloak emergent terraces of rock. Rhobell Fawr beckons temptingly W, with Rhobell y Big in the foreground hoisting a perfect cone. To the N Arenig Fach rises slowly in the arc spanning Arenig Fawr and Moel Llyfnant. When the slope eases cross the fence and walk along the cliffs, above a dizzy drop L, to gain the summit of one of the finest tops in Wales.
Buarthmeini route (AG23)
The falls upstream from the footbridge are a grand sight when in full spate.
Park W of the farm at 827325, where the road bridges a tiny stream. Cross a field to the footbridge over the Lliw at 827325. Over the bridge a faint path, little more than a sheep track, wends W or slightly S of W, with the Afon Lliw keeping you company R and the shattered crags of Clogwyn Careg-yr-hollt L. Across the valley Arenig Fawr is completely overshadowed, for once, by the brooding dome of Moel Llyfnant.
After about 1 mile a deepish gully looms ahead with a break in the crags L (813322). This is your signal to desert the valley and to scramble up to the flat marshy ‘badlands’ that guard Dduallt's N and E approaches. Once aloft, bear R for drier ground along the shallow ridge of Mynydd Brynllech that bounds the depression W.
Looking north from Dduallt's east flank to Moel y Llyfnant and Arenig Fawr
Looking west from Cerrig Chwibanog to Rhobel y Big and the distant Rhinogs
The scenery is the very archetype of wild Wales: Arenigs N, Rhinogs W, Arans E, Cader Idris S. No hint of civilisation intrudes as the gaze leaps to the far blue haze. Nothing disturbs the fantasy of hills and heath, bog and woodland that overwhelms as much by its spaciousness as its calm beauty. Keep S along the ridge. You should meet the banks of the Mawddach, near the ford at 810293, to finish on AG22.
Cerrig Chwibanog route (AG24)
A magnificent day awaits anyone coupling this descent with the previous climb up (AG23).
Navigation needs watching here and there are a few wet patches, but nothing to deter an ardent fellwalker with a keen eye. The key is to plan your descent while resting by the cairn on Dduallt. Take a bearing of 15 or 20° and try to spot the whitish rock-strewn slopes of Cerrig Chwibanog from among the shallow line of hills hiding the Lliw Valley. Just in front you will notice a slight depression. This is the next objective and on a clear day you may even glimpse the woods to which it leads. In between lies 1 mile spattered by emerald marsh and you need to plan your route using odd gates, fences and islands of dry ground as landmarks.
Dduallt and Rhobell Fawr from Cerrig Chwibanog in the east (AG24)
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