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Paddy Buckley Round

Coordinates: 53°07′10″N 4°07′52″W / 53.11931°N 4.13112°W / 53.11931; -4.13112
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53°07′10″N 4°07′52″W / 53.11931°N 4.13112°W / 53.11931; -4.13112

Capel Curig to Moel Siabod

The Paddy Buckley Round, also known as "Welsh Classical Round",[1] is a long distance fell running challenge in Snowdonia, Wales. The route is a circuit of just over 100 km long taking in some 47 summits. The Round has the reputation of being somewhat tougher to complete than its English Lake District equivalent, the Bob Graham Round.

Although no official time limit is set, an arbitrary 24 hours is applied, although the first completer exceeded the original aim of 24 hours.

Runners may start at any point on the circular route (finishing at the same place) and may run the course in either a clockwise or anticlockwise direction. The route takes in the well known high mountain ranges of Snowdon, the Glyderau and the Carneddau as well as the slightly less visited ranges of Moel Siabod, the Moelwynion, Moel Hebog and the Nantlle Ridge. The route was devised by the eponymous Paddy Buckley and first completed in 1982 by Wendy Dodds.[2] The selection of summits that must be visited is somewhat arbitrary and no rules appear to have been applied in selecting them [according to whom?]. Generally, it takes in the major peaks of the ranges that are being crossed, then any minor tops that are passed along the way are also included. Some of these tops really are just bumps on the ridge and not really summits in their own right at all.

The fastest known completion of the round was, for many years, by Mark Hartell in 18 hours 10 minutes. On 4 May 2008, this time was matched by Chris Near of Eryri Harriers.[3] Finally, this old record was broken by Tim Higginbottom in July 2009 to set a new record at 17 hours and 42 minutes.[4] The women's record is held by Jasmin Paris with a time of 18 hours and 33 minutes, set in 2016.[5]

The book, "The Welsh Three Thousand Foot Challenges: A Guide for Walkers and Hill Runners" [6] describes a version of the route which avoids the slate quarries, which the fastest line utilises, and also suggest attempting it as a four-day backpacking (lightweight camping) excursion rather than a one-day run.

Route

Below is a list of the summits to be visited, in a clockwise direction, if starting from Llanberis.

Summit Grid reference Altitude/m Approximate cumulative distance/km
Llanberis SH582598 105 0
1 Elidir Fach SH603613 795 3
2 Elidir Fawr SH612613 924 4
3 Mynydd Perfedd SH623619 812 6
4 Foel Goch SH628611 831 7
5 Y Garn SH630595 947 8
6 Glyder Fawr SH642579 999 11
7 Glyder Fach SH656582 994 12
8 Tryfan SH664593 917 14
Ogwen Cottage SH649603 300 16
9 Pen yr Ole Wen SH655619 978 18
10 Carnedd Dafydd SH663630 1044 18
11 Carnedd Llewelyn SH683643 1064 23
12 Pen yr Helgi Du SH698630 833 25
13 Pen Llithrig y Wrach SH716623 799 27
Capel Curig SH721582 200 32
14 Carnedd Moel Siabod SH705546 872 36
15 Clogwyn Bwlch-y-maen SH679542 548 39
16 Carnedd y Cribau SH676536 591 40
17 Cerrig Cochion SH662510 550 43
18 Moel Meirch SH661502 607 44
19 Ysgafell Wen SH664487 650 46
20 Mynydd Llynnau'r Cwn SH663485 669 46
21 Three Tops SH667481 672 47
22 Moel Druman SH671476 676 47
23 Allt-fawr SH681474 698 48
Bwlch Cwmorthin SH665462 470 51
24 Foel Ddu SH669459 458 52
25 Moel-yr-hydd SH672454 648 52
26 Moelwyn Bach SH660437 710 55
27 Craigysgafn SH659444 689 55
28 Moelwyn Mawr SH658448 770 56
29 Cnicht SH645466 689 60
Aberglaslyn SH594462 5 67
30 Bryn Banog SH576457 529 70
31 Moel Hebog SH564469 782 72
32 Moel yr Ogof SH556478 655 73
33 Moel Lefn SH553485 638 74
34 Y Gyrn SH552500 452 76
35 Mynydd-y-Ddwy-elor SH549504 466 76
36 Trum y Ddysgl SH544516 709 78
37 Mynydd Drws-y-coed SH548518 695 78
38 Y Garn SH551526 633 79
Rhyd-Ddu SH570525 190 82
39 Craig Wen SH597508 608 86
40 Yr Aran SH604515 747 87
41 Cribau Tregalan SH605536 931 90
42 Snowdon SH609543 1085 91
43 Garnedd Ugain SH610551 1065 92
44 Moel Cynghorion SH586563 674 95
45 Foel Goch SH570563 605 97
46 Foel Gron SH563565 629 98
47 Moel Eilio SH556577 726 99
Llanberis SH582598 105 104

Route profile

Below is a profile of the route, again starting and finishing at Llanberis, running in a clockwise direction.

Paddy Buckley Round profile

References

  1. ^ http://www.gofar.org.uk
  2. ^ http://www.gofar.org.uk
  3. ^ The Fellrunner Magazine, Summer 2008, pages 108-110 - Record matched 2008
  4. ^ Tim Higginbottom blog
  5. ^ Inov-8: Jasmin Paris Rewrites the Mountain Running Record Books.
  6. ^ "The Welsh Three Thousand Foot Challenges: A Guide for Walkers and Hill Runners", by Ronald Turnbull and Roy Clayton. ISBN 0-9515996-6-6