{"id":45606,"date":"2025-05-05T17:16:26","date_gmt":"2025-05-05T16:16:26","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.alananna.co.uk\/blog\/?p=45606"},"modified":"2025-05-05T17:20:34","modified_gmt":"2025-05-05T16:20:34","slug":"nuttalls-and-a-wild-camp-in-the-berwyns","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.alananna.co.uk\/blog\/2025\/05\/nuttalls-and-a-wild-camp-in-the-berwyns\/","title":{"rendered":"Nuttalls and a Wild Camp in the Berwyns"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

With another bank holiday weekend on offer and the weather looking good, it was time to head to the hills again to bag some more Nuttalls. I wasn\u2019t working on Friday, so it was a long weekend for me and there was no rush to get started. I headed out for a little mountain bike ride first, then did some shed painting with Morgan and some gardening before packing my bag. It felt as though I\u2019d already done a full day\u2019s worth of activities and chores \u2014 but the fun was just about to start.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

I\u2019d never really been to the Berwyns before, so I didn\u2019t know what to expect, but I anticipated steep climbs, lots of bog and heather, and very few people. It was about a 90-minute drive with a stop at Spar to grab some lunch. I found a little parking spot not far from my starting point, hefted my rucksack onto my back and set off in the sunshine.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The weather had been warm and sunny for a couple of weeks, and the hills were bathed in green and brown. The hedgerows brimmed with wildflowers and the hawthorn trees were heavy with blossom. A few clouds drifted across an otherwise blue sky. The surroundings looked more like large hills than mountains, but the ridge ahead was clearly where I was heading \u2014 Nuttalls<\/a> are mountains over 2,000 ft, so higher ground was inevitable.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The walk began with a steady climb along a quiet rural road through farmland, past some holiday cabins, before turning right onto a steep track through a couple of farmyards. It was tough going in the heat, but a stiff, cool northerly wind kept things comfortable. I followed the road through a gate and onto an old forestry track, then slogged up a very steep incline that zig-zagged up the hillside. It looked to be heading towards an almost sheer wall at times. Thankfully, I was able to leave this track on the flank of a hill and continue the slog alongside a fence, through heather and bilberry bushes laden with unripe fruit. I was now in the lee of the hill, so out of the cooling wind, and it was hard work.<\/p>\n\n\n

\n
\"Steeper<\/a>
Steeper than it looks<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<\/div>\n\n\n

Eventually, I reached the top \u2014 and into a howling wind. I crouched down in the stone shelter at the summit of Mynydd Tarw (679 m)<\/strong>, the first Nuttall of the day. I had a drink, checked my route, and confirmed that the small summit of Rhos to the east wasn\u2019t a Nuttall. It wasn\u2019t, so I was soon back on my feet and heading northwest along the ridgetop.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\"Views<\/a><\/figure><\/div><\/div>
\"Suitably<\/a><\/figure><\/div><\/div><\/div><\/div><\/div>\n\n\n\n

It was a steady, easy walk along a narrow path through heather, bilberry and cottongrass blowing in the wind. I passed a rocky outcrop and hopped over some boggy patches that were actually quite dry after the dry spring we\u2019ve had. Along the way, I ticked off several more Nuttalls and gained height as I went:<\/p>\n\n\n\n