The Easiest Route Up Pen yr Ole Wen

Published By: Daniel Woodley. Date: 18th October 2023. Filed at: Carneddau Scrambles. Disclosure: I may earn a commission from purchases made via links. Disclaimer: Scrambling is a dangerous sport, this route description does not provide step-by-step instructions. Read Disclaimer.

Pen yr Ole Wen is the seventh highest mountain in Wales and stands at 978m above sea level, the same height as England’s highest peak, Scafell Pike.

Located just north of the A5 road in the Ogwen Valley, Pen yr Ole Wen is often tackled as part of a longer day out on the Carneddau.

I’ve been to the summit around half a dozen times in the last few years and below is the easiest route from the A5 in Ogwen, this is the East Ridge:

Watch My Video

In my video below, I tackle the easiest route up Pen yr Ole Wen and also continue onto Carnedd Dafydd and Carnedd Llewelyn before looping back to the A5, this is a delightfully long route with two notable sections of grade 1 scrambling:

Parking For Pen yr Ole Wen

There is a long (free as of 2023) layby opposite the starting point which holds 70-80 cars.

Further car parking spaces can be found in the laybys and car parks next to the A5. 

See my parking map here; it shows all the spaces.

Starting Point

The starting point is the private road off the A5 leading to Glan Dena (see map location), here there is a public right way (well marked) that initially follows the wall north of the farmhouse:

The path at the eastern end of Llyn Ogwen.

The path gradually rises above the farmhouse and lake, but initially parallel to the stone wall:

Rising above the lake and the farmhouse, with the Glyderau in the background.

The Boggy Section

The path soon passes over the stone wall via a set of steps and here the ground can become very boggy in the winter and after heavy rain.

There is a stream which one must step over and the area is often muddy, I’ve even seen it boggy in the summer.

I always wear boots on this route in the winter and I suggest you do too.

The stream and boggy ground, with Tryfan in the background.

Follow The Path Next to The Stream

The path near the boggy area is faint in places but heading up the valley, roughly following the stream (Afon Lloer) past the second set of steps:

The second set of steps.

The path now rise above and to the left of the stream, the short section of scrambling now comes into view:

The scrambling section now awaits.

The scrambling section which is a gully.

The photo above shows the scrambling section, which is a short gully with a series of steps on mostly solid rock.

I can best describe the scrambling as a grade 1 gully that has a series of steps in it. I’ve always found the holds solid with little loose stuff to be worried about.

The entire scramble is short and over in less than 10 minutes but anyone coming up here will need to use their hands to help pull themselves over the rocks; this is a scrambling route and there is the potential for a dangerous fall.

How Difficult is the Scrambling Section?

Not everyone enjoys scrambling but the short section of scrambling on this route can’t be avoided.

I have taken a small dog up here before but she had a harness on and I had to lift up over the rocks in a few places.

I’ve also seen a couple with a larger dog turn back as their pet struggled in the gully.

I suggest watching my video at the top of this page as it clearly shows me scrambling in the gully.

Continuation

From the summit of Pen yr Ole Wen, you have a few options. I have tried all of these:

1. Go back the way you came as the descent is feasible.
2. Go down the south ridge to Ogwen Cottage, this is much steeper than the east ridge and slippery underfoot ith plenty of loose scree in places.
3. Continue into the Carneddau for a longer day out that includes Carnedd Dafydd and Carnedd Llewelyn