Hope Mountain (330m), Penycloddiau (440m), Moel Arthur (456m), and Moel y Gaer (303m) 20th February 2010

Moel Arthur and Moel Plas-yw from Moel y Gaer

 

Hope Mountain

It was a cold, frosty and sunny morning as I started walking at 10.15 am from Caergwrle. There was plenty of snow about as I took the lane that led to Horeb and views quickly opened up over Cheshire. I took a short cut on a right of way across a field, then met the road higher up the hillside. The trig on the top of Hope Mountain was visible not far above and was reached by taking the track the led to the communications towers and then taking to the open hillside. The view was amazing in the crystal clear air, over Cheshire, the Clwydian Range and the Denbigh Moors. The descent route was identical to the route of ascent and the car was reached at 11.30 am, a round trip of 1 hour 15 minutes.

 

The trig on Hope Mountain

 

Penycloddiau and Moel Arthur 

My intention had been to park at the top of the road between these two hills but the road was snowy and icy and when the road steepened the car wouldn’t go any further. I had no choice but to turn round and head back down the road and I parked at a little picnic area about a mile from Nannerch. I started walking at 12.25 pm and it took me 45 minutes to walk up the road to the car park where I had intending starting from. The views to the snow covered Clwydians was wonderful and the views got better as I climbed the path up Penycloddiau. This path offered outstanding views across the Vale of Clwyd to the Denbigh Moors and the mountains of Snowdonia, whilst behind me rose Moel Arthur and Moel Famau. I got to the top of Penycloddiau after an hour and a half and stood there eating lunch and enjoying the fantastic view. This toom in all that I had seen earlier, plus the Wirral peninsula, Liverpool, the Sefton Coast, the Fylde Coast, the Forest of Bowland, and the Cheshire Plain. After finishing lunch I retraced my steps along the path to the car park and then proceeded along the path that climbed Moel Arthur. It was a delight to be in these hills in the snow and the sunshine and I felt lucky to have such clear views. I reached the top of Moel Arthur at 3.20 pm, the view from which was dominated by Moel Famau. After a 10 minute stay I walked back down to the car park and then along the road to the car. This I reached at 4.35 pm, a total of 4 hours and 10 minutes.

 

Moel Arthur and Moel Famau from Penycloddiau

 

Moel Famau from Moel Arthur

Moel y Gaer 

I just had time to climb Moel y Gaer before the sun went down so I drove to the village to Rhosesmor and parked on the main street. A side round wound around the hill and led to the open hillside, which was covered in gorse. A gap appeared in the gorse and it was an easy and short ascent. There were quite a few people around walking their dogs as I trudged around looking for the summit with the GPS. The actual summit is unmarked and I found that the best views were to be had from the top of the covered reservoir. The views were beautiful, over the Wirral to Liverpool and Cheshire, to Hope Mountain and Cyrn-y-Brain and most of all to the snow covered Clwydians with the sun setting behind them in a blaze of red. It was a magical view and I couldn’t take my eyes off it until the sun had set. Moel y Gar is a little hill and it was a short walk back to the car but the memory of the view from the top will stay with me for a long time.

 

Moel Arthur and Moel Plas-yw

 

Moel Llys-y-coed, Moel Arthur and Moel Plas-yw

 

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