3 Days on Cadair Berywn Video
A 3 day wild camping photography trip video on Cadair Berwyn in North Wales.
I started out on this one by parking my car at the end of the lane at Pistyll Rhaeadr. There’s a cafe and visitor area at the nearby waterfall, but I always park on the nearby road. There’s some space at the end on very rocky ground. Be warned though, the area recently became an urban clearway or something like that, I’m unsure how legal it is to park here, but I took my chances, again, and it turned out ok on this occasion.
Pistyll Rhaeadr waterfall is worth a visit in itself. It’s the tallest waterfall in Wales and it’s also Britain’s tallest single-drop waterfall. It’s pretty spectacular. On this occasion though, I gave it a miss, although I highly recommend taking a closer look if you have time. You’re also able to hike up and take a look down, if you have it in you.
From the waterfall car park, it’s a short well signposted walk to the route I was taking up to the summit of Cadair Berwyn. I was heading straight up the valley towards Llyn Lluncaws. Here’s an OS map of the route I was taking….
The path winding up through the valley towards Llyn Lluncaws is fairly straightforward and easygoing. It’s a little boggy in a couple of places, but nothing too serious.
It took me just an hour or two to make my way up to the llyn and I saw absolutely no one, just a few sheep. I often find the whole Berwyn mountain range to be lovely and quiet.
My kind of place!
I noticed a few signs pointing out that some of the footpaths were privately owned, and that the owner had, currently, allowed them to be used for access. I’m unsure where the Berwyn Nature Reserve and the farmer’s land starts and finishes, it didn’t seem to agree with the OS map, but the signs were clear enough to follow, and quite cheerfully done….
I soon arrived at Llyn Lluncaws, the “cheese lake”. I took a breather to eat some beef jerky. Obviously.
That’s Cadair Berwyn to the top left above the llyn, and my camping and photography spot.
From Llyn Lluncaws it’s a short but fairly steep climb up towards Moel Sych, the dry hill. This was a killer with my ridiculous load of almost 30kg. I’d decided to take 8 litres of water with me, as I know Moel Sych is quite dry, hence the name…. and I wasn’t sure if I was stopping for 1 night or 2, so better safe than sorry I guess, but the weight was kicking my backside.
After a fair bit of mud, sweat and tears I arrived at the top and started the walk along the ridge from Moel Sych to Cadair Berwyn. It’s a lovely ridge-edge path with views out to Shropshire over Llyn Lluncaws.
It’s just a short walk from here to the camping spot I had chosen. It’s a spot I’ve used before, and one chosen specifically for the photography. I had a shot in mind looking back at Moel Sych, above Llyn Lluncaws, as the sun sets and a night sky develops. Well, that was the goal anyway.
First thing I did at the wild camping spot…. set the camera up!
I set up my tent in what is probably one of the best wild camping spots in the UK… what do you reckon?
What an absolute treat I was in for. With almost 360-degree views from the ridge, the sky soon lit up into a fiery masterpiece.
Fantastic. It was great to take it all in, follow it up with a few steaks and settle down for the night in my MSR Elixir 3 tent.
The air temperature dropped to about -4c and the wind picked up to give a -10c chill. Added to this, the humidity rose and it started to feel very cold. It fogged in my timelapse position just after dusk, so I brought the camera in and tried to keep it warm, and myself.
After a few zero-dark thirty phone alarms and weather checks throughout the night, I finally got up around sunrise to find a very icy tent and some wonderful foggy views.
The cold humid air of the night had clung to the side of my tent, but it made for some lovely winter camping video as I tried to remove some of it.
It was now decision time. The sunset timelapse had failed after getting fogged in, and the sunrise timelapse had unfortunately gone the same way. So although I’d witnessed some great views and a pleasant night of camping, I needed to capture some magic.
I decided to leave my tent pitched in this location, and enjoy a day of relaxing on the summit. I’d then make a late afternoon decision on what to do about the evening’s work. I could stay here if the mountain weather forecast looked favourable, or move to a new location to capture a different foggy scene…
The summit views were incredible, with warm pink haze on the horizon, and a shallow whispy fog clearing from the West of the summit of Cadair Berwyn, revealing many of Snowdonia’s peaks. Magic. I even had the opportunity to sit in the oldest chair in Wales….
A chair on the chair. How fitting, but slightly uncomfortable. Fair play to whoever carried it up there!
I mucked around near the summit for an hour or so and returned to base camp. What a spectacular view.
Throughout the day, day 2, I sat around soaking up the views with my eyes and my cameras. The wind eased off completely, and I was able to drink my own body weight in black coffee. Eager to reduce the weight from that 8 litres of water in time for the next move.
In the afternoon, the clouds once again started to form, and it got a little disappointing, to be honest. The flat calm winds made for a flat dull sky. I got the steaks out and tried to decide what to do next.
After a check of the weather and a big protein kick, the decision was obvious. I needed to stay where I was. The thick cirrus cloud was due to continue accumulating until after dusk, but then we were due a nice window of clear sky as we headed into sunrise on day 3.
The wind would pick up, quite a lot, and be roaring in at over 30 knots by midday, I’d need to bug out fairly quickly in the morning.
So I waited….
… and was blessed with a late red sky as the sun came down over Snowdonia. Deep rich pink-red clouds illuminated the scene, and I settled down for another night’s sleep in the MSR.
The clouds were gathering as per the forecast, but I left the camera rolling, putting faith in the forecasted clear period overnight.
I set a 2 AM alarm…
… and awoke to this incredible scene, from my billion-star hotel on Cadair Berwyn. You won’t find this on AIR B&B.
A bit of low mist had sunk into the valleys, and a near-full winter moon had risen in the North, illuminating the composition I had been trying to capture. Llyn Lluncaws below Moel Sych, underneath a full night sky.
The rocks and ridge of Cadair Berwyn on the right of the frame, leading the eye into all of it. A wonderful scene.
I then sat there for far too long watching satellites shoot by!!!
The moon continued to rise from behind the camera position and so I finally killed it a few hours before dawn, secure in the knowledge that I’d captured some magic.
I repositioned the camera for sunrise, with Cadair Berwyn on the left, and a view out over Wales and into Shropshire and England beyond, and got some sleep….
… and woke up to this magical scene! Finally!!! Rewarded for my efforts!
3 days of effort to capture a handful of timelapse sequences of Wales. But I love it.
The more I do this the more I become fond of the process, the hiking, the camping, and the cold fingers. All of it.
Wild camping isn’t for everyone, that’s for sure, but for timelapse photographers…. it should be. This was spectacular.
Please check out the full YouTube video. It’s made in my usual no-talking relaxing style, with some behind-the-scenes information at the end. I talk in a bit more depth about the views, the route, the camping pitch, the camera settings and compositions etc.
It’s on the YouTube channel where you can also leave a comment or ask questions about the route, gear or anything else. Please do.
The timelapse footage is available here, in the CADAIR BERYWYN TIMELAPSE COLLECTION.
Here’s my favourite, the night-to-day sunrise timelapse from day 3, with Cadair Berwyn on the left and the sun rising over Shropshire. You can secure a 20% new customer discount by using THIS LINK.
And I was able to capture some of those incredible morning views with my second camera body in super high resolution. I’ve made one of these shots available as a wall art print and thin wall canvas.
It’s called “A 10 layer view from Cadair Berwyn”, I’m very pleased with this, and happy to have it as part of the wall art store, lovingly known as, THE ART LOCKER.
Thanks
Chris
A 10-layer morning view of the British countryside from the summit of Cadair Berwyn, on a thin wall canvas.
Cadair Berwyn is a mountain located in North Wales and is part of the Berwyn range. It is the highest point in the range, standing at 830 meters (2,723 feet) above sea level. This mountain is a popular destination for hikers and outdoor enthusiasts due to its stunning panoramic views and challenging terrain. It was from the summit of Cadair Berwyn, early on a February morning in 2022, that this image was captured.
The name Cadair Berwyn comes from the Welsh language, where "Cadair" means chair and "Berwyn" means "place of the white head". The Berwyn range is located between Llangollen in Denbighshire and Bala in Gwynedd, and is known for its rugged, wild landscape.
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• 0.75″ (19.05 mm) thick canvas
• Canvas fabric weight: 10.15 +/- 0.74 oz/yd² (344 g/m² +/- 25g/m²)
• Wall mounts attached
• Rubber pads on the back to avoid damage
• Slimmer than regular canvases
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The summit of Cadair Berwyn is one of the most breathtaking locations in the Welsh countryside. At dawn, the mountain offers an otherworldly and mystical view of the landscape below. From this vantage point, you can see multiple layers of rural land, all enveloped in a thick mist, bathed in the soft pink and orange light of the sunrise.
As you stand atop the mountain, the world seems to be at your feet. The mist is so thick that it obscures everything below, creating a dreamlike world that is both eerie and enchanting. The pink and orange light of the sunrise is just starting to break through the clouds, casting a warm glow over the entire landscape.
As the mist begins to lift, you can see the multiple layers of the Welsh countryside spread out below you. The hills and valleys are a patchwork of green and brown, each one more defined than the last. The villages and hamlets are barely visible, but you can make out the occasional rooftop or chimney poking through the thick fog.
The sun begins to rise higher in the sky, casting an ever-widening circle of light across the countryside. The pink and orange hues of the sunrise give way to a soft golden light that illuminates the landscape below. The layers of rural land come into sharp relief, each one more stunning than the last.
The mist begins to evaporate, revealing even more of the countryside below. The colors shift and change as the light changes, from soft pink to warm orange to a deep, rich red. The landscape seems to come alive with the sound of birds and the distant bleating of sheep.
From the summit of Cadair Berwyn, you can see the Welsh countryside in all its natural beauty. The layers of rural land, the mist, and the sunrise create an atmosphere that is both mystical and peaceful. This is a view that will stay with you forever, a memory of the serene beauty of the Welsh countryside on a misty morning.