Stone Circles & Tal y Fan

An early start to this walk because it is the school Easter holidays, and Sunday parking is in short supply. I will be arranging lift sharing to minimise cars and ideally please try to be at the parking area by 08.30 am.

From the second car park on the Sychnant Pass, we traverse across the mountainside to join the North Wales Path passing numerous stone circles, cambered cairns and a ruined hillfort to reach the Druids’ Circle. There are 10 standing stones four of which are > 6 ft tall. On a clear day, there are fantastic views across the Conwy Bay to Puffin Island and Anglesey.

It is a short climb over the top of Moelfre picking a path across open ground following pony tracks until we reach the base of Tal y Fan. This stretch can be boggy, and care is needed because there are few obvious paths. Numerous small streams also need to be crossed.

We ascend Tal f Fan from the west with some steep sections requiring hands and feet on rocky sections although there is only minimum exposure. This is the highest point of the day at 610 metres and provides great views across Snowdonia, Anglesey and the North Wales coastline.

The descent is initially steep and craggy to the quarry with care needed underfoot. Once down to 500 metres, the path becomes a gradual descent over open moorland with views across the Conwy River. We join the Cambrian Way back to the car park which is a lovely easy stretch for tired legs.