I’m hoping that title grabbed your attention and made you curious.If it did, I’m sure you may still be wondering why I’ve decided to celebrate Glasgwm- a mountain that most people have never even heard of. After spending a night there, I certainly now believe it is one of the best camp spots in Snowdonia.

Before heading there, just typing the mountain into Google brought up a whole mixture of results. Everything from Glasgow in Scotland to The Glasgow Mountains in Canada appears. Only a few pages about the welsh mountain actually exist. I love places like this. It feels like you’re heading to a secret place few other people know about. The OS map showing a lake at the summit piqued my interest even more. It just seemed both unusual and unexpected. It turns out that the hike was worth every step. What a spot it is!

The Route To The Summit

The route to the summit can be made from various directions, but I would suggest starting from Cwm Cywarch. This is quite simply a gorgeous valley with craggy mountains found on all sides. The dead-end road along most of its length is a little hair raising in places, as you pray no vehicles are coming the other way. Thankfully I didn’t see another soul until I reached the small car park at the end of the road. It is free to use with a donation box on the gate and even offers a portable toilet.Luxury for such a remote location I would say.

A short walk past a farm takes you to a gate on your left hand side. There is a sign post pointing towards Aran Fawddry, the highest mountain in the south east of Snowdonia. At 905 metres, It is in fact the highest point anywhere south of Mount Snowdon. I do love a bit if geographical trivia!

I was running late as per usual on this trip, so wouldn’t have time to summit this mountain today. There was always tomorrow to achieve that. My route up to Glasgwm started to climb right on the other side of the gate. It was relentless, but thankfully never massively steep. The marked path had a habit of disappearing though and I soon found myself being soaked by the clouds, which had decided to open above my head. The waterproofs soon came out as did the slugs. I didn’t find it as heavenly as they did,but the views around me more than made up for it.

I did learn on this part of the ascent that my hiking boots offer great waterproofing, but not the best traction on wet rocks. I hope the local sheep weren’t staring at me because of the bad language I used on more than one occasion.

Eventually I made it to the top of the valley and found myself on a plateau of sorts. To my left was Glasgwn, while off in the distance to my right was Aran Fawddry. I’m glad I hadn’t decided to head there first, as it looked a good distance away. The slopes of Glasgwm looked steep, but gorgeous, with a mixture of grass and rocky crags paving its side. With only around two hours of daylight left by this point, I climbed the stile by a fence and started the push towards the summit.

Despite there being no clear path, navigation was easy. The OS map showed that a fence went pretty much all the way to the summit and I just had to follow this to find my way. That would certainly prove useful if the clouds came down and visibility was lost.

I was a bit of a sweaty mess as I climbed and had to take off the layers I’d added earlier when the rain bucketed down. I was thankful to have filled my bottles at the last stream I’d seen as I sure needed it now. Within around half an hour the gradient eased and the summit cairn came into view. The aches in my legs seemed to miraculously disappear and were instead replaced by a spring in my step. There’s always such a great sense of accomplishment when you summit a mountain.

Exploring The Summit

After touching the top stone on the summit cairn ( a ritual for me ), I just stood for a while and admired the view. Standing at 779 metres, they were extensive and stunning in all directions. Thankfully the weather was kinder by this point too, so I could make out Cadair Idris to the south west, The Rhinogs to the west and The Aran Ridge to the north. The video below needs no words really. I enjoyed these fine views, which made every step worth it..

The Summit Lake On Glasgwm Mountain

One of the most impressive views though was looking south. I was surprised by how expansive the summit was and it appeared to shelve away gently in this direction. Sitting around ten metres shy of the summit was the lake I had come to see. I was surprised by its size and couldn’t help but wonder why it was there. Rivers often start at or near summits of mountains, but lakes are very rare indeed. The geographer in me soon realised that it was the topography that had allowed it. There was a clear hollow just below the summit and the huge amounts of rain that fall in upland areas would soon have soon filled it with water.

At around 765 metres above sea level, the lake called Llyn y Fign must be one of the highest in all of England and Wales. A bit of research does indeed show that England’s highest is Red Tarn in The Lake District, which sits at a lower altitude of 718 metres. It appears only one lake can be found at a higher altitude in Snowdonia. This is Llyn Llyffant and it can be found in the stunning Carneddau range. It is perched at 815 metres, yet still isn’t on a summit, as Wales’ second highest peak of Carnedd Llewelyn sits behind it. I think those stats alone make Llyn y Fign both an unusual and impressive location for a lake.It’s certainly unique.

Setting Up Camp

With views like in the photo above, I was very pleased to be on Glasgwm in arguably one of the best camp spots in Snowdonia. Even better still was the fact I had the entire summit area to myself. Sometimes it can be reassuring to have the company of others, but tonight I fancied some ‘me’ time and it looked like I would have it in spades. The only issue now was finding a suitable spot to pitch the tent.

I always procrastinate when trying to find the ideal spot and up here there were many options. Plenty of flat spots would mean there would be no issue finding a suitable pitch, even if other campers were there too. In the end I decided to place my tent at the eastern end of the lake. I was well protected from the northerly wind and got some cracking views looking west towards the setting sun. It was surely one of the best locations for a wild camp I’ve had yet and I couldn’t stop grinning about it if I’m honest.

Enjoying One Of The Best Camp Spots In Snowdonia

Once I had put my tent up, I set about unpacking. I did all of the little jobs that needed doing like inflating my sleeping mat and getting the sleeping bag out. I figured that if I got it out of the way now, then I could relax properly for the remainder of the evening. A healthy amount of Irish whiskey in my bag also meant I may have been too tipsy later on. I’m not sure how well I could claim the altitude was to blame for that though should it happen!

Eating my dinner was very enjoyable, as I watched the sky change colour almost by the minute. I can certainly see why people call the time just before sunset ‘ the golden hour’. A fine ale accompanied the food very well and helped warm me from the air that was now decidedly chilly. It was late September after all and a clear sky meant the temperature would soon drop away once it was dark.

I had brought a good book with me as entertainment for the evening, but didn’t end up reading a single page. It had been a month since I’d last been out in the mountains and I just enjoyed soaking in the views and solitude. There was hardly a breath of wind and so the silence was palpable. Some might have found it spooky, but I loved it. As a teacher, I’m always surrounded by people ( albeit little ones ) and use my voice a lot. Even once home, I live in a block of flats with some four hundred other residents. Escaping all of that for a night of two and enjoying a wild camp on Glasgwm was just what I needed. Other than the odd sheep in the distance, I could hear nothing else.

Once the sun had properly set, I got to enjoy a stunning night sky. Sadly my camera isn’t good enough to do it justice, but I could clearly see The Milky Way stretching out above me. The stars were so vivid that I felt like I could almost reach up and touch them. In many ways it reminded me of the incredible conditions I got to enjoy when wild camping on Plynlimon– the highest peak in Mid Wales. I escaped to the warmth of my sleeping bag at just before eleven and slept pretty well. It seems a four drive and hike up a mountain do a good job in tiring you out!

The Next Morning

The sky had stayed clear overnight and so a decent sunrise was on. I had great views looking east and enjoyed a warming porridge and coffee, while watching a flock of sheep slowly make their way across the land in front of me. I think that’s a heck of a better show than anything on TV first thing in the morning.

At just before eight O Clock though I heard something I wasn’t expecting- voices. It turned out to be two local farmers gathering their sheep. Initially I was apprehensive, as I was wild camping and worried they would question why I was there. They turned out to be very friendly indeed, instead asking what my wild camp on Glasgwm had been like. Their accents were heavy, but we still chatted for several minutes and I asked them about how on Earth they kept track of their flock over such a large area. A very interesting conversation to start the day for sure.

It also confirmed to me why I wrote the article outlining ten good reasons to go wild camping. As long as you are respectful and leave the area as you find it, land owners or farmers are likely to be more interested in your experience rather than the fact that you’re on their land.

Soon after their departure, I packed the tent away and made sure I had left no trace of my wild camp on Glasgwm. While doing this, it seems the weather was changing by the second and a threatening grey cloud was soon engulfing the mountain. A fog and fine drizzle now ruined the view I had been enjoying only moments before. I saw that as the perfect time to leave and commence my next adventure. It was now time for me to scale Aran Fawddry and climb even higher into the sky….