Aran 
The Holy
Mountain.
Aran Fawddwy
2969ft (905m) 125-863224 SH
Aran Benllyn
2940ft (885m) 125-867243 SH Optional
Erw y Ddafad-ddu
2861ft (872m) 125-865234 SH Optional
Waun Camddwr
2037ft (621m) 125-848206 SH
Parking
There is space for several cars at the end of the lane. Park
by the Port a loo and notice board. Please do not block the access routes.
Maps
Ordnance Survey Explorer 23 (Outdoor Leisure)
Ordnance Survey Landranger 125
The Aran range runs from Bala to the village of Dinas Mawddwy.
Through this village the main holiday traffic along the A470 
flows on its
relentless journey to the Cambrian coast. During most of the summer bank
holidays enjoyed in the UK,
you will see a steady stream of traffic snaking its way up and over the pass of
Dinas Mawddwy unaware of the wonderful mountains either side of the pass.
In Dinas Mawddwy at the entrance to Merion Mill you will
find one of the few examples of a pack horse bridge still standing next to the
modern bridge carrying the A470 across the Afon Dyfi (River Dovy)
The principle summit of the Arans is Aran Fawddwy, standing
at 2969ft (905m) it is only 31ft short of munro status of 3000ft and almost
40ft higher then its lofty neighbour Cadair Idris. Yet this mountain receives
only a fraction of the visitors that Cadair Idris receives, despite being the
higher of the two.
One of the problems of Aran is that of access. In effect
there are three main access routes, one from the end of Bala lake at the village of Llanuwchllyn,
another off the A494 and the third from the little hidden valley of Cwm Cywarch.
It is the latter route of Cwm Cywarch that this route begins.
Route
Take the the turning on your right off the A470 into the village of Dinas 
Mawddwy. At the end of the main
street you will come to a junction, turn right along the road sign posted for
Lake Vyrnwy and the Bwlch y Groes pass, the highest in Wales. Then take your
second turning on the left signposted for Cywarch. Be careful this turning is
easily missed, it is only about one mile outside the village of Dinas Mawddwy.
Follow the lane until you reach a stretch of open land, at
the end of this open area you can park your car near to the port-a-loo by the
notice board.
This is the starting point of the walk.
From your car walk past the little footbridge that has the
sign for Aran Fawddwy pointing across it. (You will return across this at the
end of the walk) Walk on up to the farm and follow the path markers which take
you past the farm on the right. The track is marked quite clearly and there are
a number of wooden ladder styles to cross before you cross the last one on to
open ground. In front of you is the bulk of Glasgwm. The track follows the
small stream tumbling down the cwm on the right.
Continue up until you get to the top of the cwm, the track
will cross the stream at least a couple of times and can be a little hard to
follow as it fades in places.
On reaching the top of the cwm continue west using the fence
on your left as a hand rail until you come to a fence that crosses your path.
Here you will see posts pointing north, sign posted for Aran Fawddwy. The area
here is relatively flat and boggy with small tarns dotted around.
At this point turn right and follow the track running along
the left hand side of the fence. All the time heading north. At various intervals there have been planks of
wood laid down to cut down the soil erosion caused by walkers, these are very
useful for keeping your feet dry.
Continue along the track for about a mile and on your right
the small high point
with a small cairn on is Waun Camddwr. If peak bagging is your thing hop across
and claim it as another peak on your list. Once done return to the track and
continue north for another mile.
You will now notice a significant steepness of the gradient as
you start climbing towards the high
point of the ridge.
The fence goes west of the summit so you will need to head
east once you’re opposite the trig point of Aran Fawddwy. A clue to the
approach is a wooden style ladder that you have to cross prior to the approach
to the summit. The trig point made of rock stands on a huge cairn. On its
eastern side are the cliffs that run along the eastern flank for much of the
ridge down to Bala.
Below is the small blue lake of Creiglyn Dyfi,
the source of the river Dovey. These cliffs are
dangerous as the rock can be
unstable. They have also claimed the lives of world war two pilots who have
slammed their aircraft into the rock in low cloud. The wreckage can still be
found at the bottom of the cliffs.
If you have the energy and will power you can continue along
the ridge to claim two more peaks, Aran Benllyn and Erw y Ddafad. This will
however add a further two or three miles onto your walk. Once done you will
have to retrace your steps back to the summit of Aran Fawddwy.
Here on a clear day you can follow the tops of the cliffs
south or on a day of poor visibility go back to the wooden style ladder you
crossed on your approach. Here turn left and follow the fence down to Drws
Bach.
Here a narrow ridge supports a cairn dedicated to an RAF St
Athan mountain rescue team member, Mike Aspin who died in June 1960 aged just
18, after being struck by lightning. A small metal box and a pad and paper are
left by the memorial to leave a note and drop a few coins in to assist the
funding of mountain rescue teams.
Once you have crossed this small narrow ridge follow the
track downwards until you reach the top of the Hengwm valley, here turn right
and follow the path along the side of the valley down to its base.
Just before the path continues left around the base of the
hill, turn right down a track along a hedge of Hawthorne trees. This will take you back to
the footbridge you past earlier. Be careful on the track, as stretches of it are
on worn rock that can be slipey in the wet.
Once you return to the bridge turn left for the short walk
back to where you parked your car. 
For more information on Mountain equipment and safety advice, click:- MOUNTAIN SAFETY 