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In contrast to this, the outlook E is a case of ‘all passion spent’. No pinnacles, no crags, just the rounded slopes of the Hirnant hills with the Berwyns arcing the sky beyond, dreary when the sky is overcast but strangely enticing when speckled by shafts of sunlight or powdered with snow.

To the S a spacious stony ridge leads on to Aran Fawddwy giving glimpses of Cader Idris, the Tarren and Dovey hills, and Plynlimon. The ridge is a grand walk, nowhere difficult and de rigueur if you have got this far. Never dropping below 2700ft and graced with tiny tarns, it conveys an infectious ‘top-of-the-world’ feeling similar to the Glyders, despite the difference in scale.

Warning Beware the E face of Aran Benllyn. Stick to the ridge in mist. There are spectacular lunch spots in the rocks above the cliffs, but seeking these in thick weather would be unwise.

N ridge (AN1)

Pont y Pandy (880298) is the jumping-off point. A footpath sign indicates the way down a farm lane. After 0.5 mile a bridleway sign directs you up rich green slopes to the ridge. Should you miss this, wait until you pass a cottage, Garth Uchaf, when you can clamber up to the ridge beside a dilapidated wall just beyond. Once atop the ridge a well-trodden path follows a fence in a series of giant steps. Stiles and arrows on rocks are there in abundance to discourage any straying. The views mature with every step. Benllyn's rocky pyramid looms impressively ahead, while if you divert L you will have a rare chance to observe Llyn Lliwbran slumbering in its cold, silent hollow far below.