Foel Fras and Drum via Aber Falls

Paul Shorrock

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A walk in the Carneddau is always going to feel like a big day out. The Carneddau is the largest land mass in Wales or England with a height of over 2,500 feet (760 metres) and you could justifiably compare them with the Cairngorms, if on a smaller scale. These are big, rolling hills where navigational competence becomes vital in bad weather conditions.

This walk is a great introduction to the northern end of the Carneddau Range. It includes a visit to one of the most dramatic attractions in North Wales, the impressive Aber Falls. After that spectacle the walk settles down to some serious height gain up Llwytmor (849m) on the way to our highest point of the day, the summit of Foel Fras at 942m. As the start point for the walk is at a height of 70m, there is clearly some work to be done, but a steady approach does the trick.

After Foel Fras it is mostly downhill, visiting the lower summit of Drum at 770m along the way. The return from Drum follows a Land-Rover track dating back to the 1950s, when it was constructed to give vehicle access to an experimental radar station on the summit of Drum. The track descends to join an old Roman road, now the North Wales Path, but an option is included in the description to enable the inclusion of some more minor summits.

On a good weather day, the views are fabulous, a mixture of mountain and sea. On a bad weather day you may well have a challenging experience. Whatever the weather, you are guaranteed a big day out.

Wales - North Wales - Gwynedd - Snowdonia