With a week off work today I find myself back in Wales collecting another 3,000'er in Elidir Fawr which I shall be walking today as part of the Marchlyn Mawr Round, and, to mix things up a little I'm also including Foel-goch as an out and back. The Snowdonian Mountains have never been out of the outdoor news recently with unprecedented figures visiting the National Park most of whom choke the lanes in and out of Lamberis from where climbing Snowdon is a popular hot spot so with this in mind I started looking at different locations from where I could start my ascent from.

My research took me here on 'A Marchlyn Fawr Round' which is a high level circular walk which circumnavigates Marchlyn Mawr Reservoir, the same reservoir which powers six turbines inside Elidir Fawr known locally as 'Electric Mountain' Built in 1974, deep with Elidir Fawr is a Hydroelectric Power Station set within 9 miles of caverns, each wide enough to allow two lorries to pass and a cavern so big 590ft x 167ft it's adopted the name 'The Concert Hall' all of which lies below the summit of Elidir Fawr which for me was a no brainer.

Despite this being the least popular route up Elidir Fawr I didn't want to take any chances not being able to park so I left home at 05:30am and arrived on the outskirts of Deiniolen, North Wales at about 07:10am. I needn't have panicked finding plenty of spaces to park, in fact it was that quiet when I arrived I managed to park at the top of the lane next to this gate at the start of the walk. There's a cool wind which was keeping the heat down which was already climbing towards the late teens and with this in mind I stuffed a light windproof into my pack which felt heavy due to the 3ltrs of hydration I was carrying.

Two more cars arrive who appear to be friends who speak in native Welsh which always fascinates me. I don't rush checking my kit and perform one final sweep of my boot then a pat down before l lock my car and head through the gate seen over on the left.

The access road gains 900ft over 1.8 miles meaning in places it's a bit of a lung buster. The first of two Reservoirs is sighted after passing through a construction site where I was scared out of my wits by an automated warning system which through a speaker in a thick Irish accent warned me that "the authorities had been notified and were on their way" it took a few seconds for me to realise that the voice was recorded so I dismissed it while smirking to myself.

Above Marchlyn Bach Reservoir is Elidir Fach north ridge which is the gentler ascent to gain Elidir Fawr by if approaching from Deiniolen.

Feeling strong I pushed on while taking in the view over the impressive cliffs of Craig Cwrwgl including one impressive rock stack that would have looked more at home on the Isle of Hoy. The path diverts right where a large boulder field requires negotiating at approximately 2,800ft, it is here I stop to plan my way through. The ground is dry and a wind has whipped up but I see it as no concern in fact, it's actually refreshing under the hot sun.

No more than six feet into the boulder field a mishap occurs where after I placed my right foot on what appeared to a stable rock - the rock see-saws and I am jolted backwards which I counteract by placing my left foot on a rock which also shifts, in my ensuing panic I try to use my left walking pole to arrest my fall but it jammed and my stomach drops, I jolt backwards again but somehow I manage to keep upright landing at the edge of the boulder field feeling like I've just won a break dancing competition.

It lasted seconds and after counting myself extremely lucky I collect myself and start again. One day later the result of my mishap is a slightly swollen right knee which I'm treating with ice and Arnica gel.

The march up Foel-goch north spur was exactly that, a march which I didn't stop on until Foel-goch summit was reached. The ascent kinda reminded me me of the steep ascent on Castle Crag via the quarries only longer. Three 'shirtless' young fell runners were on my tail and I was determined to reach the summit first, I did while wearing my baselayer I might add! The heat by now was stiffling or at least it felt that way but I controlled this with steady breathing and soon the aches subsided and my lungs returned to their normal size.

Y Garn looked so inviting to the point where I was questioning should I just go, my heart would have let me had I not already summited in January this year but I told myself she was a mountain too far today. With just over 500ft of ascent over grassy ground Y Garn is easily achievable from Foel-goch but sadly, not today.

I took in the views over Y Llymllwd ridge (foreground) completely mesmerised by the ruggedness of my surroundings while feeling quite content that I was lucky enough to have summited most of the peaks I was looking at but not all I might add.

Mynydd Peredd was calling but first I have to descend Foel-goch via the same steep path I have just ascended by.

I decided to stop taking photographs on Carnedd y Filiast summit feeling that I didn't think I could better what I'd already seen, I wanted to end the images here rather than back on the access road below if that makes sense. Despite Carnedd y Filiast being the lowest summit today its descent was one of the rockiest but under a scorching midday sun I reached the col which I had viewed from Elidir Fawr's north ridge some four hours earlier. A couple were resting and smiles are exchanged as I pass but all I can think of right now was a re-fuel stop. I pick up the track below and begin my descent towards the access road all the while on the look out for a lunch spot which I found in the form of a solitary boulder just a couple of feet away from the path, with no one heading towards me I'll have the time to eat my early lunch undisturbed.

It's so hot I take out my anemometer which gives a reading of 26.3°C and while sat sheltered on my boulder I experience a zero reading of wind, a quick grope of my hydration bladder reports I have at least a litre and a half left which I gush down to my hearts content. Lunch over I descend back to the road and while doing so pass two women and more 'hi's' are exchanged. I collapse my walking poles and feed them into the side pockets of my pack, take out my sunglasses and base ball cap and begin the mile walk back to my car while passing the odd walker. The sound of rock fall disturbs the silence and I instantly look towards Elidir Fawr's north ridge which had blessed me with a crocked knee but spot nothing, perhaps I thought, it was just the hum of the electric mountain.