LANDSCAPE & COMMISSIONED PHOTOGRAPHY
LANDSCAPE PHOTOGRAPHY LOCATION GUIDES:
Cwm Ffynnon / Moel Berfedd
SUMMARY:
Best at / for: sunrise, mid-winter snow and ice.
Best avoided: public holidays, summer weekends.
Parking: expensive parking at Pen y Pass, worth getting the bus from Llanberis.
Access: a short hike, but roughish terrain and steep from Pen y Pass.
Notes: a very quiet spot with with some great wild camping.
Details:
This location is a hidden gem of Snowdonia. It is tucked away behind the Pen Y Gwryd hotel and opposite Pen y Pass. The area is easily accessed from parking at both locations with short but rough terrain hiking necessary.
The lake at Cwm Ffynnon is under the northern flank of the low peak of Moel Berfedd. The lake offers great mountain scenery for landscape photographers and scaling Berfedd offers great 360-degree vistas from the Glyders to the north, Siabod to the east, down Nant Gwynant and to the south west the star of the show: the Snowdon horseshoe. In the foreground is the epic ridge-line of Crib Goch.
The ideal light is a mid-summer sunrise so a wild-camp and an early alarm call are the best options. But at any time of year, despite the crowds in the local hot-spots, this little valley offers a great taste of the mountains if you’re looking for some solitude.