and the round of Hengwm. Stay with the fence that straddles the ridge, climbs a small rise and then heads across moorland flats until it makes a sharp L turn at 837188. Here strike out almost due N for the top, aided by a flinty track and the occasional stunted stake.
Foel Benddin across Cwm Cerist
For a less strenuous approach:
The first variant (AN21,1) starts from the junction as before, but work your way across a field to pick up a path that enters a coppice at 842167. After twisting round the head of a stream this meets a new forestry road which zigzags easily (but at some length!) up the hillside to join AN21 at the neck NW of Y Gribin.
The other option (AN21,2) is to join the forest track at its source, picking it up from the lane that leads to Pentrewern Farm at 825164.
Cwm Cywarch route (AN22)
Stay with AN5 until you meet the fence crossing the fells above Creigiau Camddwr. Follow this L up a slope of rocky debris direct to the cairn.
Gesail Farm route (AN23)
The coarse bulldozed track that zigzags so brazenly between the crags backing Gesail Farm (852184) is no substitute for the wisp of a trail that once followed much the same course – at least not in aesthetic terms, however helpful it may be in simplifying route-finding. To be fair it still retains a sense of occasion. How could it be otherwise in the august surroundings of Craig Cywarch? On top you join AN21 at 842179.
Pen y Bryn-Fforchog
It may seem a bit ‘cart-before-horse’ to give only one route for a hill and then suggest it is best used for descent, but no one is likely to climb Pen y Bryn-fforchog (Top of the Forked Hill) for its own sake with so much else around. After all it is merely the top of a grassy shelf that bounds, yet barely surmounts, the SW periphery of the Glasgwm plateau. However if you tackle Pen y Bryn-fforchog from Glasgwm, having spent the morning tramping AN21, and then use the Bwlch Oerddrws route to get down again, you are assured of an enjoyable day in peace and solitude, seeing old friends from new angles and discovering untrodden ground.
Bwlch Oerddrws route (AN24)
A fence makes a right-angled bend where it straddles the top at 818179. Follow it SW down a fresh grassy slope that is a joy on a sunny afternoon with Cribin staring you full in the face from across the valley. As you approach a hillock at 810174 you must decide whether to bear L or R. Pleasant ridges continue either way; it all depends on where you want to join the road.
High-level Walks
Cwm Croes horseshoe (AN H1)
If I had to recommend just one walk in the Arans it would have to be this, despite the omission of Cwm Cywarch.
Start from Llanuwchllyn and climb Aran Benllyn's N ridge (AN1). Carry on over the central spine to Aran Fawddwy. Backtrack to Erw y Ddafad-ddu, scamper down the grassy nose to Creiglyn Dyfi and then tackle the gentle rise up to Foel Hafod-fynydd. Descend S of E along the fence until you meet another fence dropping away more steeply N. Use this (AN17,1) as your guide to cross Bwlch Sirddyn and for the pull up to Esgeiriau Gwynion (AN19). Next follow the N ridge (AN18) back to the road at 895270, leaving a 2.5-mile slog along the road to regain your car. You could shorten the day by returning down Cwm Croes (AN3), but the views from Esgeiriau Gwynion are so dramatic that it would be a shame to miss them.
Cwm Cywarch/Hengwm circular (AN H2)
This runs the Cwm Croes horseshoe a close second.
The kernel of the walk is scaling Aran Fawddwy via Cwm Cywarch on AN5 and then returning down Hengwm on AN6. However this is easier than it looks, and three additions should be considered:
The first is to branch out to Pen yr Allt-uchaf, maybe using Cwm Terwyn rather than Hengwm for the way home.
The second is to include Gwaun y Llwyni en route to Aran Fawddwy in the morning. Gwaun does not look exciting, but as a vantage point over Hengwm it is second to none.
Thirdly you could start on AN23, climbing Glasgwm first before following the fence down its NE slopes to join AN5 on the moors above Cwm Cywarch. The trouble with this is that you miss the best part of the cwm.
Llanymawddwy horseshoe (AN H3)
A walk for the connoisseur!
Put simply this combines two routes on Aran Fawddwy (AN7 and AN9), and it is a toss-up which is the better way round. What you can be sure of are charming valleys at either end of the day, the grandeur of the high Arans in the middle, solitude and the excitement of treading self-effacing little tracks that normally only see sheep and the odd shepherd.
Dolobran circular (AN H4)
Another walk for Aran devotees seeking new pastures.
Climb Glasgwm from Dolobran (AN21), follow the edge of the woods round to Pen y Bryn-fforchog and then descend on AN24. These are the bare bones of a walk that offers more than you might think from the map. It is more like a day in the Dovey hills or the Tarrens than the Arans, with wide grassy ridges predominating and only sheep for company. Having said that you pass close by the massive crags of Craig Cywarch and the views, both of the distant Arans and of the Dovey hills across Bwlch Oerddrws, are magnificent.
N–S traverse (AN H5)
This is an obvious walk and a grand one, taking in the core of the Aran massif in its entirety; provided your logistics can cope. Simply combine AN1 and AN5.
Lower-level Walks/Easier Days
Bwlch Sirddyn (AN L1)
See AN19. A good walk for clearing the cobwebs away on a wet or blustery day when you hanker after a sniff of the fells but the tops look just too uninviting!
Cwm Croes (AN L2)
This is essentially a valley walk with a road (or near road) most of the way. It should not raise too much of a sweat to get as far as Creiglyn Dyfi. See AN3.
THE ARENIGS
THE ARENIGS
Untrodden heather-clad tops,