Cefn Cyfarwydd

It runs in a largely SW - NE direction, and is relatively flat-topped, resulting in some wet pools and boggy patches, even in the summer months.

Sheep tracks criss-cross in all directions, and some are used by farmers' quad bikes which makes them the best option, but they are hard to find, even in good conditions.

According to this record,[5] the earliest evidence of activity was 4 cairns, probably dating back to the Bronze Age, and there was a round hut with adjoining sub-rectangular structures suggesting late prehistoric settlement.

Many remains indicated mediaeval occupation, but these were not on the exposed top of the ridge, but generally between the 250m and 350m contours, where the soil was better and there was more shelter.

The view from Cefn Cyfarwydd has always changed, from the construction of Cowlyd Dam, to the pylons which have appeared further down the Conwy Valley, and as the town of Llanrwst has grown.

The 21st century has seen the development of 12 turbines at the Moel Maelogan wind farm on the other side of the Conwy Valley, and very visible from this ridge.

The trig point on Cefn Cyfarwydd, above Trefriw.
View WSW along the ridge from the trig point, showing Creigiau Gleision (left) and Pen Llithrig y Wrach (right).
Looking along the ridge towards Pen y Graig Gron and Creigiau Gleision. The presence of a style is not necessarily an indication of a good path!
Looking SE - Llyn Cowlyd dam, with Cefn Cyfarwydd behind.
Moorland near Pen y Graig Gron, above the tree-line of the forested slopes.
Pools on the moorland near Pen y Graig Gron.
A re-arranged cairn on Cefn Cyfarwydd.