26, 27 & 28 January 2007

The hut, owned by the Solihul Mountaineering Club is situated on a hillside above Dinas Mawddwy in an area of outstanding natural beauty overlooking the Dovey Valley (Dyffryn Dyfi). This is at the southern end of the national park, an area which remains less crowded than the northern areas. Many may have been to this hut before, but for those that haven’t, its not the easiest to find! With this in mind, we will be in the Red Lion Pub in Dinas Mawddwy (A470) from pretty early on Friday night, so meet us here. Please contact me (07929 272 059) if your coming so we know how many to wait for, or if you want further info / directions.

The hut sleeps 17, divided into two rooms with a mix of bunk beds, double beds, and an 'alpine' sleeping platform. Mattresses, pillows, and limited blankets are provided. Bring your own pillow cases and sleeping bags. The washroom has a hot shower and two wash basins.

Downstairs there is a living/dining room with two large tables with benches and several comfy chairs to relax in. Heat comes from a wood-burning stove which adds great character to the place. The stove also provides the heat for the small drying room.

The kitchen is fully equipped with gas hobs and grills, pots, pans, crockery, and cutlery. No fridge, but the stream does an effective job of cooling the beer!

The hut has no mains electricity or gas so the cooking, and hot water all rely on bottled gas. There are some gas mantle lights around the place, but I would recommend bringing your head torch and a good set of spare batteries as probably much more reliable!

There is only one toilet so no bog trolls please.

Please also bear in mind that the hut is a short walk up a hill from the road, so limiting your kit to take up to the hut to one bag + case of beer + bottle of whisky will help you!

We will be in an excellent location for walking / scrambling in the Arrans, the Rhinogs and Cadair Idris.

If weather permits, climbing is good at Cwm Cywarch, local to the hut— a large but ill defined group of crags with many excellent routes. Particularly recommended are Will O'the Wisp (VDiff**), Acheron (HVS***), Doom (VS***) and several ** and *** routes at higher grades.

Steve Ratcliffe