UKH

I'm planning a Nuttall bagging trip with a couple of nights in the tent. I've walked the Aran ridge before but the country to the east of it all the way to Llangollen is personal terra incognita.

I definitely fancy the hills east of Aran (Esgeriau Gwynion etc) as the views must be good, the main Berwyn ridge too, and there's a whole load of high ground between - what's Cyrniau Nod like apart from having a great name? It looks like a couple of trips might be needed.

Bagging the hills is nice but I like to find other spots of interest on the way and link them with nice routes. I'm always on the lookout for things archaeological, geological, botanical, morphological, cultural and obscurological. Any suggestions?

You could do worse than check out Geograph? As well as photos in grid squares contributors often add lots of details about all sorts of things including their own excursions.

In the challenge of walking all the 2000ft  hills in Wales I have done all the hills of that height and a few lower in that area.

Working East from the Aran ridge, the Lake that is the source of the Dyfi is well worth visiting, and accessible from the Dinas Mawddwy - Llanuwchllyn road, from the hairpin before it gets steep. You can walk over a few minor hills back to the bwlch and back down the road. Next East and easily accessible from the Bwlch are a few hills - highest is Y Groes Fagl. First on from the road is easy, the rest are a pathless trek through heather and bog.

South of the main Aran ridge is Glasgwm, a lovely hill with a lake on top. Nice to walk up it from the hidden and very rocky Cwm Cywarch

Working East again is a big group of not very prominent hills on a high plateau - The Hirnants. These can be accessed from the top of the road from Lake Vyrnwy. There is a good forestry track that you can follow to pick them off from. The three most eastern tops Cyrniau Nod, Foel Cwm Sian Lewis and Stac Rhos are trackless but can be ascended from the next road over Milltir Gerrig (SP).

The main Berwyn ridge is great and can be done from a few places. Pystl Rheader is great with a waterfall going through a rock window set in a nice valley. Some of the Berwyn outliers are a bit specialist - very boggy and no paths, they can be walked in circuits starting from the South West side. Moel Fferna is good, easiest access from the A5, the slate quarry is worth exploring.

There is an excellent piece by Jim Perrin about walking across this area. It's in 'The Big Walks' coffee table book.

Cyrniau Nod has been out topped by a bump to the north, near the bulldozed road.  

The North Berwyn Way is a cracking walk, logistically easy as well with one vehicle as there is a regular bus service between  Llan and  Corwen, 

Esgeriau Gwynion and its "low Aran" friends (Llechwedd Du and Foel Hafod-fynydd) are well worth doing on a good day. A bit of a trudge in mist. There are some good waterfalls and impressive gorges in the area, and even a scrappy scramble:
https://www.geograph.org.uk/photo/687465

My memory of Cyrniau Nod is a trudge through heather from the main Hirnant track and nothing special (not so long ago there was a turnip field near this track!). But an approach from Cwm Pennant via Pistyll Blaen y Cwm to the SE would be no doubt be memorable (and possibly purgotorial - the heather in these parts can be deep).
https://www.geograph.org.uk/photo/536965
The Hirnant hills to the west of Cwm Hirnant I find better value - the Foel Goch to Foel y Geifr ridge is nice:
https://www.geograph.org.uk/photo/647069

I must also put in a defence for the summit of Post Gwyn. Many baggers loathe it, because they approach it from the top of the Llangynog-Bala road (where man-eating heather abounds again). But an approach from Llangynog itself is a lovely half day with great views of the high Berwyn hills. Head off east below Craig Rhiwarth, and up to Y Clogwydd, then strike back north-west to the summit. There's some bog hopping but nothing awful.
https://www.flickr.com/photos/mikepeacock/8176023835/

In March 2022 an emu was spotted near Cyrniau Nôd. I kid you not. (sorry, not tech savvy enough to post the video.)

Post Gwyn treated me well, but again I did not go up from the Milltir Gerrig pass. The one man-eating heather hill that I can remember was Cyrniau Nod which I considered to be the sentence for repeating the offence of bagging.

https://www.geograph.org.uk/photo/687465

One of the Atherton's mountain biked down this! It may be the one he ended up with an extended visit to orthopedic hospital, after suffering an horrific fall. There is a video of it for ghouls.

Aye, that's the one.

The red bull team he was with did quite a lot of damage to the ridge with mattocks etc before he rode it. Not that its a particularly great scramble anyway, although it looks mighty impressive from below.

youtube.com/watch?v=4QcmBZfonoQ&

Not at all awful - there's a lovely track up the side of the valley up past the falls. Then about 1.5km off path to the summit, I don't remember any real issues. The valleys (Cwm Pennant, Rhiweirth and Blowty with Pistyll Rheadhr in it) are definitely the main reason to visit the area.

The hills give some very nice views to go with the heather in good weather.

Walking from Bala to Llangynog is a very nice way to do it. Went onto Foel Y Geifr to surprise someone and stare at the Aran ridge then down the road the first time. Very nice. This year we did that round underneath Foel Cwm-Sian Llwyd on the marked paths. Those existed for a lot of, but not all of the way.

Actually the walk out from Llangynog up into Cwm Glan-Hafon and then over the top to go and visit Pistyll Rheadhr is very nice in its own right.

The books you want are Cicerones Hillwalking in Wales volume 1 and 2. Really comprehensive and excellent.

The views from Esgeriau Gwynion must be excellent indeed (and those guidebooks rave about it.). We did the pass up Bwlch Sirddyn and down into Cwm Du over the old pass last year. The views of the main Aran ridge from the top of the Bwlch were tremendous. An old mining track or something for half the route, then sketchier.

N of the Berwyns, still waiting to have nice weather on Moel Fferna. The heather on that one when we got off path coming out of Cwm Canal was really fun.....
(But there are good paths.).