Cnicht from Croesor

Cnicht rises above the hamlet of Croesor in the Moelwynion, the range of slate-grey hills south of Yr Wyddfa, and its sharp, pyramidal profile from the south-west has earned it the nickname the Welsh Matterhorn, a comparison Wikipedia notes owes more to the angle of view than to the mountain’s true shape, which is a narrower ridge rather than a symmetrical cone. Ordnance Survey data puts the summit at 691m, well short of the giants to its north.

Croesor is around 12km by road from Beddgelert, a drive rather than a walk from the village. The hamlet itself grew up on slate: the Croesor Tramway, built in 1863 and 1864 to link the quarries above the valley to the Cambrian coast, carried slate from Croesor Quarry and Rhosydd Quarry until 1944, and the lower section was rebuilt decades later as part of the restored Welsh Highland Railway, reopening between Croesor Junction and Porthmadog in 2010 and 2011. From the car park the route climbs a lane and then field paths onto Cnicht’s south-west ridge, the gradient easing at first before steepening toward the top, where a couple of short scrambles over rock lead to the summit. The descent drops onto wilder, less distinct ground through Cwm Corsiog, where the path becomes sketchy in places before rejoining the outward route.

Walking Britain gives the circuit as 10.2km and 515m of ascent, around four and a half hours, and grades it moderate. It suits a walker who wants a proper mountain shape and a summit scramble without a full day’s commitment, and who is comfortable finding a way across pathless ground on the descent. It does not suit anyone wanting a flat, waymarked outing, or a first hillwalk without scrambling experience; for level, riverside walking from Beddgelert itself, the Aberglaslyn Pass is a 2km riverside walk with no summit to climb.