At school in Cardiff, proud of our Welsh heritage, we learnt the names of the main mountains of Wales and where they were on the map, they included Snowdon, Cadair Idris, the Brecon Beacons and Plynlimon, the English name for Pumlumon that we used in those less politically correct days. I had climbed the other mountains before but never Plynlimon. My wife and I tried once but turned back finding crossing the moorland in poor weather and lacking a clear summit to aim for a little dispiriting. However today the weather forecast was good, and my GPS and guidebook had a clear idea of where I was going.
From my hotel, after a bit of a dance around the busy A44 road, a path headed up across moorland. Having a path made the going much easier than it would be later. Reaching the top I followed the ridge passing close by a forestry plantation to reach my first milestone, Pumlumon Fawr, the highest summit of the area at 752 metres. I was not alone, another walker, looking for birds, was in the rough dry stone, roofless shelter by the "trig" point, avoiding the wind, when he left a lady replaced him, also with binoculars.
View from the top of Pumlumon.
I continued to the next summit, Pumlumon Arwystli, crossing a boggy wet patch that might have been the source of the River Wye. After some lunch in the shelter at the top with two other walkers, I walked down to the source of the River Severn, a little off the Cambrian Way and marked by a wooden post, suitably inscribed, set around with flagstone so you did not have to wade through soupy peat to get there. The Severn Way, another long distance path begins here. Despite their sources being so close to each other the Wye and Severn are both important rivers of some length, they each head east into England before curving round to eventually join in the south east corner of Wales and flow into the Severn estuary.
Source of the River Severn.
There followed another section of rough walking on grassy clumps, crossing the flat bottom of a valley, before joining a pleasant track by two lakes, Bugeilyn and Glaslyn. A bevy of cyclists were chatting at the junction where I joined the Glyndwr Way (yet another long distance walk) for the final stretch to Dylife through a picturesque valley and some fields.
Dylife seems to consist of the Star Inn, a most welcoming pub. Their accommodation was full (on ringing last night the owner said Wales was full to bursting), nevertheless I enjoyed an early dinner, listening to the various conversations in Welsh and English before starting out on the next stage in my guidebook. As it was 37 kilometres long, it was perhaps prudent to knock off a few clicks this evening, although the people playing pool in the bar seemed surprised I was planning to camp out. So I crossed a mountain admiring the warm green colours created by the setting sun on the sheep dotted fields in the valley below the high moors. Climbing up through a forestry plantation on a second mountain the only flat spot seemed to be where vehicles turned around at the end of a gravel track. A bit stony, so hard to get the pegs in the ground, but with a fine view from my tent. A wind is now blowing up so I hope I managed to hammer the pegs in far enough...
The Star Inn, a welcome sight at the end of a stage in my guidebook.
Evening light on green fields.
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