Geo-Trips :: Climbing Cistfaen, a small hill in the Elenydd
Elan moors
A walk from the head of Cwm Ystwyth, Thu, 19 Mar 2009 by Nigel Brown
Cistfaen lies to the north of the Cwm Ystwyth to Rhayader mountain road, on the watershed between the Ystwyth and Elan valleys, and also between them and the Wye valley to the north. It is easily accessed from the car park at the head of Cwm Ystwyth, and affords a good introduction to the open landscape of the Elenydd.
Leave the car park and aim towards Glan Fedwen to locate the bridleway which heads north. Follow the bridleway, marked by quad-bike tracks in its early stages. The ruts of the track form pools in places which can easily be avoided; when I was there they were full of frog spawn. After crossing the ford on the Nant Rhydyfelin the bridleway climbs steadily towards Cistfaen, passing through a gate in a forestry fence. At this point leave the bridleway and climb north to the summit area, which is home to a couple of ancient cairns.
Look south for an excellent view over the vast moorland of the Elenydd. If one wishes the bridleway can be followed further into forestry. An alternative route back is to take in the minor summit of Glan Fedwen.
Click the blue circles to see a photograph taken from that spot and read further information about the location. The blue lines indicate the direction of view. There is also a slideshow of this trip. ( )
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Bridleway heading over Cistfaen
Linking Blaen y Cwm with Llangurig. Use by the farmer's quad-bike has helped to... more
Frog breeding ground
Water gathering in the quad-bike tracks on the bridleway has created pools which... more
Bridleway crossing the Nant Rhydyfelin
There is a surprising amount of water flowing in the stream, testimony to the... more
Northern slopes of Glan Fedwen
Mainly fairly dense tussocks with some boggy bits.
Bridleway heading over Cistfaen
Bypassing the summit which is off the picture to the left. This part of the... more
Gate on bridleway by Cistfaen
The forestry land also includes the hillside on the other side of the gate. The... more
Cistfaen's summit plateau
Mainly dense tussocks alongside the trees. The concrete post which can be seen is... more
Cistfaen's summit plateau
The highest point is up a slight slope to the left of the picture; there is more... more
The summit of Cistfaen
The two cairns, of which the second on the right can just be seen, seem to be on... more
View south southeast from Cistfaen
Looking down on nearby moorland and forestry, across the eastern flanks of Glan... more
All images © Nigel Brown and available under a
Creative Commons licence 
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