Carreg yr Aderyn or locally known as heartbreak hill is located in the Bala to Dolgellau valley about 6 miles north east of Dolgellau. This valley sees large volumes of traffic travelling to and from the loop, first impressions might leave you lacking enthusiasm as it appears to overlook flatland and is fairly wide this is a false impression as the small pass narrows enough for a 300mm to fill the frame a Harrier size aircraft. Aircraft as already mentioned travel both ways in this valley.
The Valley as seen from Cad pass, click image for the larger picture.
From the south west click Looking towards Cad and the loop
Directions: From Dolgellau after about 6 miles you will come across a red phone box on the right-hand side of the road, outside an engineering workshop and car breakers yard with a large forecourt. Park up in the pull in to the south or to the north and walk to the phone box which is about a 4 minute walk, if you face away from the phone box and look up you will see the summit poking out from the cover of evergreens high up. You will see a gate and track with a public footpath sign, do not take this track as it will leave you on the wrong side of the stream. Instead walk fifty yards up the road towards Bala and hop over the sty and follow the track up the side of the field which skirts the woods and starts a gentle climb up. An experienced map reader and walker will note the path goes right around the woods and leads you to the summit from behind, this is true. However this route is extremely tough going with waist length grass and heather and blackberry bushes. After this there is a small wood which has grown together forming a very difficult barrier and there is a very steep drop in contour and a climb back up. So the recommended route is to follow the path along side of the woods and stream until you reach a small weir. hop over the fence to your right and travel up through the woods heading slightly back the way you have come. Carry on until you reach daylight then make your way across the thick ground cover until you reach the cliff edge where you can see down the valley. The only drawback with this location is the suns position in the front of you most of the morning.
A strong word of caution regarding this location. This location although very close to a road is extremely dangerous and it is recommended that you do not go to this location on your own. Navigation is difficult and the wood is very thick with small branches trying to poke your eyes out and then when you reach the summit you have to walk through the long grass that wraps itself around you and trips you over, during the summer this can be waist high. Another hazard is that there are snakes here during the warmer months, and if you were alone and you had an accident of any kind it is very unlikely that you would be found as maybe a few dozen people a year go to this location.
Below is the locations for the locations for the opposite side
A Harrier gr 9 taken with a 300mm lens , the aircraft is around 100 ft below the photographic position.
The view for the second half of the climb
The view north towards Bala
