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10 things my son learnt at Cadair Idris

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Walking down Cadair Idris. Copyright Gretta Schifano

Walking down Cadair Idris. Copyright Gretta Schifano

Cadair Idris is one of the highest mountains in Wales. It’s 893 metres high and is a ruggedly beautiful place in Southern Snowdonia. It has far fewer visitors than celebrated Mount Snowdon and this makes it generally a more peaceful place to visit. I walked part of the way up Cadair Idris on the steep Minffordd path recently with my husband and 11-year old son. It was a tough walk but the scenery was so gorgeous and varied that even my son forgot about his aching legs. Here are some of the things which he learnt that day.

  • The Welsh word for ‘slow’ is ‘araf’. We saw this written on the road on the spectacular drive through Snowdonia National Park from our B&B near Dolgellau and my son still remembers the word. Welsh is one of the oldest languages in Europe and is spoken by the majority of people who live in this part of Wales.
  • You need to check the weather forecast and make sure you know where you’re going before setting off into the mountains. We met a park ranger in the car park before we started our walk and he told us that the forecast was good that day.
  • Idris was a giant in Welsh mythology and Cadair Idris is said to be his chair. There’s a legend that anyone who spends the night at the top of this mountain will awake either mad or a poet.
  • It’s possible to walk up a mountain in trainers if you really, really don’t want to put on the hiking boots which your parents have brought for you to wear.
  • Playing football regularly makes your leg muscles much stronger than your Mum’s and is excellent preparation for walking up steep mountain paths.
  • Even very young children can climb mountains. We passed a chirpy two-year old walking up the path as we went down: her Dad told us he’d carried her quite a bit of the way.
Cadair Idris Tea Room. Copyright Gretta Schifano

Cadair Idris Tea Room. Copyright Gretta Schifano

  • Cadair Idris was made by fire and ice. After our walk we went to the excellent Cadair Tea Room for lunch and then to the Visitor Centre next door. My son was intrigued to learn that the Cadair rocks were created by volcanic activity hundreds of millions of years ago and that the Cwm Cau hollow high up in the mountain was carved out by glaciers during the last Ice Age.
  • There is such a thing as a Creme Egg cake and it’s just what you need after a long mountain walk. Lee at the Cadair Tea Room makes the best home-made cakes and his Easter special was delicious.
Lambs in Dôl Idris parkland. Copyright Gretta Schifano

Lambs in Dôl Idris parkland. Copyright Gretta Schifano

  • Alder, birch and hazel leaves look quite similar to each other. There’s a children’s nature trail and treasure hunt starting from the Cadair Tea Room and those three leaves were the trickiest to find.
  • Ginger beer was produced here at one time. The Dôl Idris parkland at the foot of Cadair Idris was once owned by the Idris family, manufacturers of Idris ginger beer. Mr Ivor Idris donated the land to the Snowdonia National Park Authority in the 1980s.

Family travel lowdown: Cadair Idris and its Visitor Centre are open to the public and free to visit. The Dôl Idris car park charges are £2.50 for up to four hours, £5.50 all day until midnight. The Cadair Tea Room and Visitor Centre are part funded by the European Regional Development Fund’s Communities and Nature Project through the Welsh Government. Thanks to Visit Wales and CAN for arranging our trip to Snowdonia.

Cadair Idris is one of the highest mountains in Snowdonia in Wales. It's a beautiful area to explore and great for walking. Here are 10 things which my son learnt when we hiked on this mountain.

About Gretta Schifano

I'm a freelance journalist and blogger specialising in family travel with teenagers, trips when parents manage to travel without their kids, and 50+ travel. I also write about vegetarian travel, parenting teenagers, adoption, SEN, ADHD and anxiety. My work's been published by the Financial Times, Guardian, Independent, National Geographic Traveller, Lonely Planet and others. I've lived and worked in Italy and Spain and am now based in rural south-east England with my husband, adoptive and birth kids and our dog. I previously worked as a social action radio producer for the BBC.

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Comments

  1. Hefin says

    Nice write-up Gretta.
    I’ve lived in the local foothills all my life and never heard of the “fort of Idris” before, strange comment!
    Please drop the “mount” when writing (or talking) about out Welsh mountains, we’re not in Scotland or America now 🙂

    Reply

    • Hefin says

      Oh and very importantly please dont encourage people to attempt the climb without adequate footwear as the Mountain Rescue guys ( and girls) wont thank you 🙁

      Reply

  2. M E Besent says

    I’m saddened by the incorrect use of place names /feature, but it really isn’t your fault – it is an increasingly evident mistake -It is actually Cader Idris nod Cadair Idris. Because of our local welsh accent some people think Cader should read Cadair but it actually means the Fort of Idris(caer/cader) not his chair (cadair) Thanks

    Reply

    • Gretta Schifano says

      Thank you for pointing this out. I knew that there were two spellings but I opted for the spelling which I saw when I was at the mountain. Perhaps I should have included both options.

      Reply

  17. Michelle says

    Oh my gosh – what a stunning view!! I would love to climb up a mountain again someday to see things like that in person.

    I went on a geography field trip when I was going my GCSEs and we had to walk up some mountains – I say under duress and by force hahaha – didn’t appreciate it back when I was 14/15!!
    Michelle recently posted…A BBQ Shopping Trip at Morrisons #MorrisonsMumMy Profile

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  27. Keri-Anne says

    I climbed a mountain in Wales when i was younger with the school. It was a wonderful experience and i wish i could remember which one i climbed as i would love to go again!! x
    Keri-Anne recently posted…In the orchardMy Profile

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  33. Sonya. Cisco says

    Ooh I did that walk/climb when I was considerably younger and fitter, in fact I did all the welsh peaks over a series of holidays in my late teens and early twenties – absolutely gorgeous place to walk! I think I would want to wake up a mad poet – the best kind of poets are always bonkers!
    Sonya. Cisco recently posted…Snooker Loopy And Other Dull Telly.My Profile

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This is a personal blog written and edited by me, Gretta Schifano. Sometimes I’m given products or sent on trips to review, but I always make this clear and give my honest opinion. See my About page for full details.