Moel y Cerrig Duon

About Moel y Cerrig Duon

A conical peak rising abruptly from a vast peat-bog plateau, Moel y Cerrig Duon is the kind of summit that makes you work for your views. Located north of Lake Vyrnwy, it offers a dramatic change of pace from the surrounding sodden moorland, topped with a lonely, minimalist stake.

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Did You Know?

• •Its subsidiary top, Foel y Groes, serves as a critical triple watershed where rainfall decides whether to flow into the Dee, the Severn, or the Dyfi. It is effectively the geographic 'choose your own adventure' point for every passing cloud.
• •Despite being a subsidiary of Esgeiriau Gwynion, its distinctive conical summit is sharp enough to be picked out from across the Berwyn range. It provides a rare moment of vertical interest in a landscape otherwise dominated by rolling, horizontal peat.
• •The summit is marked by a modest cairn and a wooden stake, which feels less like a grand monument and more like a 'congratulations, you survived the bog' participation trophy. It is a very understated aesthetic for a 600-meter peak.
• •To the west lies the mighty Aran Fawddwy, which gazes down upon this peak with the quiet superiority of a mountain that actually possesses a proper ridge. It is a fine spot to sit and contemplate your life choices while looking at the higher ground.
• •Navigating the surrounding plateau is essentially a high-stakes game of 'The Floor is Lava,' except the lava is cold, black Gwynedd muck. If you reach the summit without at least one boot-full of peat, you have either cheated or found a way to defy gravity.