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Glyder Fach from Glyder Fawr

The path ventures over the lip of the cwm before abandoning you to the sheep. Only the tinkling of a tiny stream breaks an all-pervading silence. Seniors is the squat, rock-studded ridge forming the W arm of the cwm and is best tackled from its N tip at 645590. It soars aloft in a series of rocky bluffs and heathery shelves, not unlike the N ridge of Tryfan, but without the comfort of fellow walkers or polished rocks to highlight the way. There is no unavoidable exposure and, as the stiffest bits come first, there is no risk of being stranded through being unable to go on and reluctant to turn back. The views are superb, the purity of untrodden ground refreshing, and it is a disappointment when the stony plateau of Glyder Fawr signals the end of one of Snowdonia’s forgotten treasures.

Note Not recommended for descent.

Devil’s Kitchen (GL8)

Leave Ogwen along the boulder-paved track beside the refreshment hut. It begins as if aiming for Llyn Bochlwyd but soon swings SW (the Bochlwyd track carries straight on) to an iron gate on the shores of Llyn Idwal. What a transformation! After only 20min noise and bustle have given way to a scene that is the very quintessence of wild Wales; the jagged crests of Seniors Ridge and Y Gribin arcing the sky L; Y Garn; the shattered slopes of Pen yr Ole Wen behind you; the cliffs of Clogwyn y geifr (Goat’s precipice) and the dark sinister cleft of the Devil’s Kitchen directly ahead. At your feet is idyllic Llyn Idwal, sparkling and serene, yet rarely more than 10ft deep.