Wales · Eryri National Park

Moelwyn Bach

2 classifications here — HuMP and Simm — belong to lists OpenFell holds only part of, so they have no list page. See how far the coverage goes.

Moelwyn Bach, 712 m, Gwynedd
Moelwyn Bach, 712 m, Gwynedd. Photo by Stemonitis at English Wikipedia, CC BY-SA 2.5 · Wikimedia Commons
Height
712 m · 2,336 ft
Grid reference
SH 66058 43776
Coordinates
52.97454, -3.99622
County / area
Gwynedd
Region
Snowdonia
OS Landranger
124
OS Explorer
OL18W
Summit feature
rock
Key col
SH 6607 4410 (585.3 m)

About Moelwyn Bach

Moelwyn Bach belongs to the Moelwynion of northern Eryri, joined to its parent peak Moelwyn Mawr by the Craigysgafn ridge. It looks out over Blaenau Ffestiniog and the Vale of Ffestiniog.

Background written from facts in the Wikipedia article on Moelwyn Bach (CC BY-SA 4.0). Heights, prominence and grid references come from the Database of British & Irish Hills, not from Wikipedia.

Access rights here

Conditional Right to roam: Right to roam only on mapped CRoW open access land.

Permission needed Wild camping: Permission needed everywhere.

General position for Wales — local byelaws, seasonal restrictions and closures can override it. Full details: access rights in Wales ·check another location.

Daylight at this summit today

Sunrise
—
Sunset
—
Daylight
—
Civil twilight ends
—

Computed astronomically for 52.975, -3.996. Plan your finish with the daylight safety planner.

Summit weather live

Loading forecast for the summit (712 m)…

Forecast adjusted to summit altitude. Weather data from MET Norway (CC BY 4.0).

Finding the summit

Surveyor's note

rock rib 40m SW at SH 66031 43745 is of similar height; small pile of stones 60m NE at SH 66089 43824 is over 1m lower.

The recorded summit point is rock. That distinction matters on broad or flat tops, where the obvious cairn is not always the true high point.

Survey method
Abney level
Record revised
05-Feb-23
Drop measured from
SH 6607 4410 · 585.3 m

Survey notes are field observations recorded in the Database of British & Irish Hills (v18.3, CC BY 4.0) by the hill-surveying community.

Long-distance paths past this hill

One waymarked long-distance route runs within 2.5 km of the summit — useful if you are linking this hill into a longer walk, or want a made path for the approach.

RouteTotal lengthFrom summit
Snowdonia Slate Trail135 km1.8 km

Route lines © OpenStreetMap contributors (ODbL); distance from the summit computed by OpenFell.

Reaching Moelwyn Bach by train

3 National Rail stations sit within 8 km of the summit — close enough to make a car-free day of it. Distances are straight lines, not walking routes.

StationFrom summitSummit lies
Blaenau Ffestiniog4.5 kmSW of the station
Penrhyndeudraeth6.8 kmNE of the station
Llandecwyn7.2 kmNE of the station

Each station page lists every hill in its reach, long-distance paths from the door and a live-times link — see all stations with hills in reach. Station positions from NaPTAN (OGL v3.0).

Get food nearby

3 places to eat or drink within 10 km of the summit, rated under the Food Hygiene Rating Scheme (Scotland runs its own Food Hygiene Information Scheme, a pass/fail equivalent).

Rated places to eat within 10 km of Moelwyn Bach
PlaceTypeRatingDistance
Lakeside Cafe (Y Fuddau)Restaurant/Cafe/Canteen5 out of 52.5 km · NE
Tan Y Bwlch Tea RoomRestaurant/Cafe/Canteen5 out of 52.6 km · S
Caffi CroesorRestaurant/Cafe/Canteen5 out of 52.7 km · NW

Classifications and ratings are the local authority's own and can be coarse — this is a lead, not a guarantee of opening hours or that food is served to non-residents. Follow a name through to the official rating page to check, and confirm before you rely on it.

Food hygiene data from the Food Standards Agency and Food Standards Scotland (Open Government Licence v3.0). Distances and directions computed by OpenFell from the summit.

Which hill this one belongs to

Moelwyn Bach is not counted as an independent hill in its own right. In prominence terms it belongs to Moelwyn Mawr (770 m) — the nearest Marilyn you can reach from this summit without first dropping below its key col, 585 m.

Grouping is by prominence alone: a summit belongs to the nearest higher Marilyn it connects to without a deeper intervening col. Over a large massif that can gather hills no one would walk in a single day, and which few would describe as parts of the same mountain — it is a measure of independence, not a suggested route.

Nearest listed peaks

PeakHeightDistance
Craigysgafn689.9 m0.6 km
Moelwyn Mawr770 m1.1 km
Moel-yr-hydd648 m2 km
Cnicht690.9 m3.2 km
Cnicht North Top690.2 m3.3 km
Craig Nyth-y-Gigfran554 m3.6 km