16.11.25 Foel Lus (SH 732 761)
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| Foel Lus (SH 732 761) |
In October 2018 I visited
the lower hills of the north-eastern Carneddau during a 7 hour walk, taking in
six hills, all of which were surveyed. From
the most westerly of these; Allt Wen (SH 745 772) I looked out across the
intervening plain toward Foel Lus. On
that day the sky merged with the sea, all a glorious blue and Foel Lus peered
back at me as a great inviting rounded lump of a hill. I promised myself that one day I would
visit. Seven years later and that
promise has finally been fulfilled.
I’d spent the previous
evening in the company of the Steads, with Darrin celebrating his 60th
birthday with wife Lisa, sons Tom and Will, and Tom’s girlfriend Lizzie. It’s always good to see Lisa and Darrin, with
past travels around Peru and Bolivia and lots of hill walks a reminder of our
friendship. The evening was great fun with
lots of chat and silly games, all of which brought many laughs.
Just before breakfast I
sorted my gear and checked the route to the hill, which was easy from where we
were staying as it was only a matter of following the road around and then
down, turning right and continuing up the ever increasingly steep Mountain Lane
to its end where a rough track continues up toward Ty’n-y-ffrith farm. I left the Steads having thanked them for a
lovely evening as they were heading off for a walk to Aber waterfall before
Will caught the afternoon train back to Leeds.
There were already two
cars parked at the end of the lane when I arrived. Beside one was a customised E-bike with some
of the widest tyres imaginable, its owner was sitting on a near bench enjoying
the view whilst having a bite to eat. I
sauntered over and chatted with him for a few minutes before gathering my rucksack
and heading on the circuitous route around the hill.
According to the
contours on my OS map, where I parked was around 250m high and with the hill
being 360.0m in height, the walk wasn’t going to be too taxing. That suited me as I was in a relaxed mode of
travel with few worries fluttering around inside my head, and except for
beating darkness on the drive home I wasn’t in a rush, which even on the
slowest of slow walks I could easily accomplish. Therefore, I happily headed off following a
broad path heading initially north-westward around the hill.
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| On the initial section of path |
The weather forecast was
good for the day, although high cloud only thinned later on and therefore there
were few flashes of direct sunlight on the autumnal colours that still lingered
amongst the land.
Away out to sea the
elongated profile of Ynys Seiriol floated on the near horizon with the flatness
of water seemingly enfolding Foel Lus.
There’s a special quality to walking beside the coast, this is prevalent
whether beside the sea or elevated above it.
Its flat realms seem to add unexpected perspective to any view, and
today my increasingly elevated position above the north Wales coast was one to
be savoured.
The path continued
contouring around the hill to its north, with the view now opening up to the north-east
toward Allt Wen and its adjacent hills bringing memories of the walk I did in
2018. On my way I passed a number of
memorial plaques adorning the near rock, beside one was a small cave, and
another a bench where no doubt people come, sit, remember and out across the
expanse of sea disappearing in to the beyond.
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| The memorials beside the path |
As I crested the
furthest north-easterly point of the path and just as I headed southward on it,
a young guy appeared walking toward me from a slightly lower path, I said hello
and tried to engage him without much luck as only a monosyllabic reply came my
way. Later as I plodded up the path
leading to the summit he was already heading down, again little came my way
except for a grunt of a ‘yes’ when I smiled and asked if he’d already been to
the top. I suppose it takes all sorts
and perhaps he just wanted the solitude without a customary hello from a
passing stranger.
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| Gogarth is the distance with Allt Wen on the right |
I took my time on the
uphill and savoured the environment and rather ironically; the solitude! Just before the high point I diverted to a
prominent cairn giving views forever downward and across the sea. The top of the hill was not far away and when
I arrived it was for all too brief a moment bathed in direct sunlight emanating
from a dappled and milky sky that clung above Tal y Fan to my south, with the
ridges of the higher Carneddau peaks still cloud enshrouded beyond.
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| The Gwynt y Môr wind farm |
I stayed on top for a
few minutes, having previously LIDARed the hill I did not bring the
Trimble. I’ve found the need to survey hills
dimming in my old age, and have started to experience and enjoy the freedom
that not always carrying the Trimble can give.
However, I found myself assessing the lay of land close to the summit
windshelter for where I considered the high point of the hill was
situated. This made me smile as even without
the Trimble it seems some habits are hard to break.
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| The summit of Foel Lus |
On my way down I said hi
to a cyclist who was making good progress heading up. He’d just overcome one of the steepest parts of
the path and all without getting off his bike.
Two others had already passed me on my way up; I had then turned and watched
them rhythmically curving their way down.
They seemed at one with the path as they swung left and then right,
forming a pattern as the one behind quickly repeated what the other in front
had just done. I admired their skill, as
I did with the cyclist now heading up the hill.
I remember my mountain bike days when downhill brought excitement and
trepidation; this always seemed to be over too quickly before the next tiring
uphill was tackled. This gave little
time for photography, which was one of the main reasons for concentrating more
on hill walks. Still, the outdoors is enjoyed
by people doing many different activities and cycling off road brings its own exciting
form of pleasure.
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| Foel Lus from the south |
I all too quickly left
the rock strewn path and found my way on to a greened canvass which continued
southward, here I veered right and followed a steepening rough track down to
where my car was parked.
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| Ynys Seiriol with the last remnants of autumnal colour in the foreground |
Foel Lus certainly didn’t
disappoint and proved an ideal way to end an excellent weekend.
Survey Result:
Foel Lus
Summit Height: 360.0m (LIDAR) (significant height revision)
Summit Grid Reference: SH 73238 76184 (LIDAR)
Bwlch Height: 299.9m (LIDAR)
Bwlch Grid Reference: SH 73386 75791 (LIDAR)
Drop: 60.1m (LIDAR)
Dominance: 16.69% (LIDAR)
For further details please consult the Trimble Survey Spreadsheet
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