Moel Siabod Circular

A 6.5 mile / 10.5 km circular loop from Bryn Glo, returning to the same car park, with roughly 740 to 820 m of climbing to the 872 m summit of Moel Siabod. Budget 5 to 6 hours with stops, and more if you linger at the lake or pick your way slowly up the ridge.

From the car park you cross toward the bridge and the Cyfyng Falls area, then follow lanes and forest tracks that ease you into the day. The gradient bites once you join the steep track past the old slate quarry workings, all spoil heaps, cuttings and abandoned stonework. Above that the ground opens out to Llyn y Foel, a dark lake sitting in a hollow directly under the mountain's east face, which is where the route stops feeling like a forest walk and starts feeling like a mountain.

From the lake the Daear Ddu ridge rises on your left. It is a sustained Grade 1 scramble on good rock with occasional exposure and plenty of hands-on moves, and it delivers you almost straight onto the summit. On a clear day you get the surrounding Eryri ranges laid out and the Snowdon massif across the valley. The loop is then completed by the descent off the north-east side back toward the forestry roads.

This is a proper steep mountain day rather than a stroll, and the ridge is the crux. Nothing on it is technical, but you will be using your hands, and a slip in the wrong place matters. A lower, easier line skirts around the ridge if you would rather not commit, and taking it costs you very little in terms of views.

Terrain to expect:

• Rocky, uneven paths and loose quarry ground
• Wet and boggy patches around Llyn y Foel
• Rough boulder and grass slopes on the descent

The approach is straightforward. The north-east descent is the part that catches people out: the line off the summit plateau is vague, the ground is boulder-strewn and boggy, and the correct exit toward the forestry roads is genuinely hard to find in cloud or fading light. Carry a map and compass or a GPS track and know how to use them, and think twice about the loop in poor visibility.

Clear, dry conditions are preferable for this loop. Wet rock on the ridge is slick, and low cloud strips out both the views and the landmarks you need on the descent. Longer daylight gives you more margin for a slow ascent of the ridge. In winter the ridge can hold snow and ice, which changes the character of the day considerably and makes it a mountaineering objective rather than a walk.

Start from the Bryn Glo car park off the A5 near Pont Cyfyng, just outside Capel Curig. It is small and fills early on fine weekends, so arriving before mid-morning is the sensible plan. The whole route uses public footpaths, forest roads and open access land.

Dogs are legally fine here on footpaths and open access land, under control. On open access land use a lead from 1 March to 31 July, and any time you are near livestock or ground-nesting birds. Be honest about the ridge before you set off: the scramble involves steep rock steps that plenty of dogs cannot manage safely, and the easier flanking line is the better call if yours is not a confident scrambler.