Winter Walking - February 2026
Written by Brad Gizzi
CMC Winter Walking Write Up
The first trip in the CMC calendar is always billed as ‘Winter Walking’, and as with recent years this saw a return to North Wales and the Eryri National Park. What was different this year was a stay at the Gwydyr hut, courtesy of Simon - a joint member of both CMC and the Gwydyr Mountain Club.
Nestled on a hill north west of Betws-y-Coed, this old Methodist Church offers alpine style bunk accommodation and all the usual hut facilities. If you're feeling plush, they also have an Airbnb style cottage next door you can rent. Both are situated at the heart of the park and position you to take advantage of everything the area has to offer.
With all the crew arriving in drabs on Friday, in weather we've all now come to accept as standard for this year, we obviously set our sights on stiff rock routes and sunny summits. As you can imagine this wasn’t to be the case and there was not a chalk bag or rock shoe in sight. Still, undeterred by the thought of climbing waterfalls, myself, Hannah, Challum and Chris headed off to Ogwen Saturday morning.
While the rest of the group made for Moel Siabod. Despite the usual forecast we clearly all fancied a bit of a wet scramble. Our team headed for Bastow Buttress Variant on the east face of Tryfan, with a North Face descent, while the others went off to tackle the Daear Ddu ridge via Llyn Foel, completing a loop from the hut.
By all means, both are great outings on a fine day - the former a three star, grade 3 and the latter a two star grade 1. However, the thought of trying to cook up fondu (thanks Chris) in sideways rain or hanging about on a soggy summit, meant we’d all dispatched our routes by early afternoon and were beer in hand to watch England thoroughly thrash Wales in the Six Nations. What a day to be Welsh.
After knocking back lunch and far too many pints, it was off to Plas y Brenin. For the keen alpinists among us, we were off to see a talk by John Porter about the late, great Alex MacIntyre. For those that don't know, these two men were part of a cohort that are credited with the birth of 'fast and light' alpinism. They were also responsible for first ascents on many of the world's highest mountains, by routes, some of which, have yet to see a repeat. Whether or not alpinism is your thing I would highly recommend seeking out an interview with John, for this will give you a glimpse into what true adventure was like before the world was gripped by modern technology. That and a golden age of climbing, and good, honest, dirtbag pioneering.
Sunday saw us all head down to Capel and set off on a walk. It’s not often we all engage in the same activity together, so it was a lovely way to cap off what’s always a good weekend. We walked and talked our way to the top of Crimpiau (group summit photo attached) before heading back to the car to head south again. The Eryri National Park covers an area of around eight hundred square miles and it's oh so easy to get sucked into the Ogwen valley and adjacent ranges, but the park has so much offer. Next time you're in North Wales, pick a spot you've never been to, I guarantee you won't be disappointed.
An Extended 'Winter Walking' Trip & A Visit to the Dulyn Bothy
I'm confident when I say I'm sure I'm not the only one that's got in their car, turned to leave Snowdonia, and thought 'hang on a minute?' Queue another night and a wild camp. If you follow co-ordinates 53°10'43.203"N, 3°53'57.525"W, you will come to the end of a track and a small gravel carpark. Having long left the ‘road’, you will now be at the edge of the Carneddau. Pick up the path, meander gradually up and around and within a few kilometres you will be at the bottom of the eastern, harder to access side of Carnedd Llywelyn and Foel Grach. Quiet and remote, it feels rather like the back door into the range and a long way from Ogwen.
The idea was to pitch up for the evening, arrive just before dark, and in the area of Melynllyn. Scoping out Llyn Dulyn, and the bothy it lends its name to, would be the objective for the following day. This, being the only bothy in the northern end of the national park, and one of very few in Wales, seems like a good reason to visit. That, and you’ll enjoy a quieter, wilder side of the valleys we so often frequent.
After following a well-travelled drovers track from the carpark you’ll reach Llyn Melynllyn. It's a steady incline but once over the hill you'll be high up on the valley side overlooking the Afon Dulyn and the bothy in the distance. Selecting a suitable site will be obvious as there aren't many on waterlogged Welsh hills, but just below the reservoir offers the perfect spot. As you can imagine, there’s not much to do on a cold, damp February evening past six o’clock, so either choose a warmer month and a clear night, or take plenty of gas for brews.
After failing to rise time and again thanks to the patter of rain on ripstop, the desire to pee will become all too strong. Breakfast and a decamp will be in order. If you follow the obvious path from Llyn Melynllyn it is just a short walk down to Llyn Dulyn and then onto the bothy. If you're feeling brave and partial to a cold plunge, pack your trunks. The bothy itself is surprisingly tidy and offers ample facilities. There are two rooms; a dorm room offering around five sleeping platforms and kitchen-come-dining area, with chairs, a countertop and multi fuel stove. If the bothy is full there is another prominent platform overlooking the lake.
As you leave the bothy you follow an extremely vague and boggy path parallel to the river, the valley is home to an isolated Pine grove, Welsh ponies and plenty of birdlife. Spring I’m sure will see it teeming with colour and life. As the range flattens out ahead to the meet the River Conwy, with Colwyn Bay somewhere in the distance, it’s also a great spot for another brew.
Once again a long weekend had revealed another area of Eryri that I now feel more acquainted with, spend enough time in a place and you can keep a map in your head as well as your pocket. While not as pointy and rocky as its neighbours, the Carneddau does offer a more rugged, isolated feeling, far away from Scouse lads clad in North Face gear, toting speakers. And sometimes it's good to get back to the roots of what we do; walking in the hills with nothing more than our boots and the lunch in our bag.
