Moel Eilio Circular from Llanberis

A complete circular horseshoe around Cwm Dwythwch, 12.0 km (7.45 miles) total with about 715 m of ascent and 717 m of descent. Most walkers take 4 to 5 hours. It is usually done anti-clockwise, starting and finishing at the same point on Ceunant Street below the YHA in Llanberis.

From the street you walk uphill past a farm, pick up the access road and the Snowdonia Slate Trail heading toward Bwlch-y-groes, and cross the Afon Goch on a metal bridge. Then comes the work: a steep pull beside a fence line up to Moel Eilio at 726 m, where there is a stone summit shelter. After that the day changes character. The ridge rolls on over Foel Gron and Foel Goch with several gentle ups and downs before dropping back onto the Slate Trail and the gravel track home. Get the first climb done and the rest of the horseshoe is the reward.

Call it 7 out of 10. There is no scrambling and nothing technical, but the ascent is sustained, the ground is open upland grass and rough rocky path, and it adds up to a long mountain day. Expect fences, stiles, and sections where the path is faint enough that you are reading the ground rather than following an obvious line. Carry a map and know how to use it.

After the summit shelter on Moel Eilio, keep to the correct side of the fence rather than drifting onto the edge-side line above the cwm. It is an easy mistake to make in poor visibility and the fenced side is the safer, saner walking.

Llyn Padarn and the Dinorwig quarry workings sit below you early on. From the ridge you get the Glyderau, the bulk of Yr Wyddfa and its neighbouring peaks, the Nantlle Ridge, and on clear days the Lleyn Peninsula and the Menai Strait. The three-summit line means the view keeps rotating rather than repeating.

The start is reached from roadside parking on Ceunant Street below the YHA. Park legally, do not block gates or the farm access, and leave room for residents and vehicles. Dogs are welcome, but keep them on a lead or under close control: there is livestock and open moorland ground for most of the walk.

The first climb is steep and relentless, and it comes before you have earned any views. The other catch is the finish: the descent uses a gravel track that off-road mountain bikers also use, and in summer it can be busy, so the last stretch feels less like a mountain and more like a shared right of way.