Graig y Lyn-mawr 12.2 miles

Generally I tend to think that bridleways are going to be better marked than footpaths. Well not today – completely wrong, never the less a walk that took me right into the wilderness and with a bitter east wind it really was a Siberian experience.
I was on a mission today to go up Graig y Lyn-mawr. It has a trig point of 485m and I have looked out towards it many times from Bryn Du. I parked up in Adfa and walked towards Carmel caravan park, past the fishing pool and up as far as the first cattle grid. On the way I stopped to talk to a friendly, old farmer (and his dog) who was giving some hay to his sheep, He had lived in the small farm across the fields, Ty Hir, all his life (born and bred)  and has gone to school in Adfa. He said so much had changed but he seemed happy. We were both happy that it was dry at last even if it was freezing.
Up at the cattle grid I bumped into another friendly farmer and I decided to check with him where the bridleway went from here because it really wasn’t clear. The conversation went like this.
Is there a bridle way from here?
Yes
Ah right, does it go up to the right, alongside this fence?
Yes
Ah right, great, thank you.
Don’t open any of the gates, mind. Climb over them.
Oh I will, I always do.
And mind you climb over the hinge end.
Oh I will, I always do.
Cus it’s me that ‘as to mend them.
I’m always very careful.
I thanked him very much for his help and went on my merry way. He was a bit economic with his words but helpful all the same. I think we both found the conversation quite funny.
It was very boggy in places, as usual, but not too bad. The scenery really was getting magnificent and I wanted to take so many pictures. I had really good views across to Mynydd Cerrigllwdion. Then things got tricky… there were no waymarks, the field boundaries didn’t tie up with the map and I got cold from checking the map sooo many times. All good fun though. I needed to find the bridleway that would take me south, over  Graig y Lyn-mawr  which eventually I did but there were so many tracks up there, a shame really. It looked like it was a place to come up and have a spin in a four by four. The hill must have so much history- there are so many ancient sites marked on the map which are all bronze age burial/ritual sites. A pity the surrounding land is getting churned up. The geology of the craggy top would be very interesting too, I’ll try to find out.
I was very relieved to reach the trig point, the return journey was going to be a lot, lot easier. Views down to the lakes were spectacular. At the lane I turned left and walked up to where a track takes you to the other lake but this time I was taking a foot path to the left. I wasn’t expecting this to be even marked but here was a shiny new gate and then another, and then another, and then another all the way back across the fields.
The path went through a group of cairns and right up close to the foot of the wind turbines. First of all the path was just below the peak of Mynydd Cerrigllwydion and I felt quite sheltered but it soon opened out and I was head-on into the bitter east wind. Easy all the way back. 12.2 miles – freezing, fun and exhilarating.