Take a Scramble on Cadair Idris – The Minffordd Path.
By: Laura Rebecca
Tags: Wales, Scrambling, Hiking Trails, Hiking, Hiking Store

Take a Scramble on Cadair Idris – The Minffordd Path.

My first ever real hike/scramble and my first Welsh mountain.

On Sat 12th June 21, I decided it was time to tackle my first big Scramble/mountain hike.

I’ve climbed many hills and hiked many, many miles but I haven’t done a climb like this before and I was super excited.

Cadair Idris has to rank amongst the most iconic mountains of Wales, after Snowdon of course. Although only 2,930 ft (893m) high, it is very much a “mountain” and the hike to Panygader involves scrambling over rocks and boulders.

Setting off at 6 am, it was already clear to see it would be a beautiful day. The skies were clear and the sun was shining. Reaching the car park at the base of the Minffordd Path at around 9 am (Dol Idris Car Park) I was surprised to see just how busy it was already, a lot of tourist and a group of volunteers in orange vests, who came to litter pick help keep wales clean 😍 . The parking was relatively cheap, at £2.50 for 4 hours and an all-day fee of £5.00. Worth getting the full day ticket as I couldn’t imagine completing this route in 4 hours in weather like this. 🥵🙈

I grabbed my bag and off I went. Just up the path from the car park is a lovely little cafe/visitor centre. Later on that day on the way back to the car I noticed a sign that says they sell books and maps about the mountain and local areas. If my feet weren’t so wet and sloppy, I would have gone in for a nosey and an ice cream. (you’ll find out why my feet were wet later on 🙈)

The start of the trail was through a gate just up from the cafe and behind it was a beautiful waterfall with the path up the first section of the mountain following alongside.

The path up through the woods is by far easygoing. It is mainly steps and boulders that on occasion my tiny little 5ft 4in body had to climb up rather than a step but the view you get through the trees now and again, not only adds a great excuse to rest for a water break but also shows a glimpse down to the valley below you came from. As the climb levels out you start to get an idea of the peaks and the views yet to come, finally the lake comes into view.

This is where the path splits in two, to the right the path leads straight to the lake and to the left your faced with a steep climb to the first peak.

I continued to climb higher and higher and will admit it became much more of a scramble over rocks and boulders than a hike. It was a struggle but at each little water break, all the motivation I needed to carry on was around me. The views were incredible in every direction.

The next peak quickly loomed and I realised that the view at the top may not be as spectacular due to the cloud coverage that day but surprisingly that just excited me even more. I’ve never been in the clouds before.

Reaching the ladder at the top just as the clouds started to dissipate a little and that’s when I saw the final peak the in front of me. Wow, I was blown away.

It was high!!! But I couldn’t stop now, I was starting to get hungry but I knew if I’d stop I’d probably struggle to make it up to the final part. So, I carried on going. It wasn’t easy to see where I was going in the clouds but I soon learnt about “Cairns” (something I probably should have know before hiking a mountain) cairns are rocks piles made to help guided hikers along the right path. This was a godsend especially on the last scrambled up to the top of Pontygader, with no visible route or path at all.

And I made it….. I would share a wonderful photo of the breathtaking views from the top with the Trig point but the clouds made that pretty impossible 🙈

It took exactly 2hours and 30 minutes for me to reach the top and I’m not sure if that’s a time to proud of or not but I made it. Next time I will definitely push myself more to beat my time (less breaks 🙈).

Being all hot and sweaty made the lake at the bottom look so appealing, after a quick lunch break at the top I headed back along the Minffordd path for a short while to the top of a path down the mountain face.

When I say “path” it was clear to see that this was more of a slate bed, water run-off area for the winter. It was sooo steep and crazy dangerous 🙈 would have been 100 times easier to climb than descend but I’d committed and wasn’t going back. The highlight of the trip down was the beautiful Quartz rocks that appeared on the side of the mountain. They are the most beautiful brilliant white colour and I managed to find a few small rocks to take home as souvenirs for myself and my kids.

Now a bit of advice for anyone wanting to take to this path up or down, stick to the left or right-hand side at the bottom. The middle of the path at the bottom of the hill is a pure bog with the water coming up to my calves, once I realised I was on the wrong side of where I wanted to be I had to go through because I sure as heck wasn’t climbing back up the mountain 🙈. Luckily I was going to go for a swim, before heading back to the car so didn’t mind the cold wet shoes.

It was such a lovely feeling to be in the water but it really was so cold, my feet and legs started to quickly hurt from the cold water and rocky bottom (water shoes are a must for next time). After a quick swim to cool myself down I headed around the side of the lake and rejoined the minffordd path back down towards the car park. Honestly, I think the hardest part of the whole day was the descent. My knees soon started hurting making me want to move faster and get back to the car ASAP.

All in all, I can honestly say this was such an amazing day and I’m o glad I chose this as my first ever Welsh mountain climb! The views were spectacular and the climb was tough but absolutely perfect for a newbie in the hiking and scrambling world. I really can’t wait for the next adventure now guys. Stay tuned ✌️😁