Tal y Fan girdle

Another variant on my long-standing practice of running up Tal y Fan from Conwy. This time, after jogging along the Henryd road all the way to Llangelynin old church, always a long and steepening haul, I joined the Pen fell race route along the delightful ancient trackways to Cae Coch (red kite and a rare Snowdonian fox). This meant I could girdle Tal y Fan by taking the standard path up to the bwlch between it and Foel Lwyd. It was a beautiful day, with heat and humidity building, which meant for a hot climb. Instead of the rocky trudge to the summit, I just went straight down the slightly tenuous track to the north, which allows for the easterly path below Tal y Fan to be picked up. I've always enjoyed this, with its great views over the Menai Strait and Anglesey. It leads fairly painlessly to cross the shoulder and then regain the main Sychnant track at the stone circle. A familiar, but hot, descent to Sychnant and then back to Conwy: 21k/650m.