Pum(p) means 'five' in Welsh, and as it happens there are five different routes you can take to reach the top of Pumlumon Fawr, the highest of the five summits of the Cambrian Mountains massif.
The George Borrow Trail recalls the intrepid 18th century writer and traveller, author of 'Wild Wales‘ who 'could never remember to have felt more happy and cheerful’ than the day he arrived at source of the three rivers that rise on the mountain's slopes. The route starts from the A44 near Ponterwyd.
The Pig Trail follows Nant y Moch (the stream of the pigs). The Mabinogion tell how the magician Gwydion stole otherwordly pigs from Pryderi, a prince of Dyfed, and escaped north, stopping overnight at a site known as Mochdre in north Ceredigion. Today the stream feeds into the Nant y Moch reservoir which forms part of the Rheidol Hydroelectric scheme, which was completed in 1964. The scheme, now operated by Statkraft, is the largest in Wales.
The Caradog Jones Trail celebrates the achievement of the first Welsh man to reach the summit of Mount Everest. Caradog Jones was raised only a few miles away at Pontrhydfendigaid. This route is the shortest route to the summit and starts from Maesnant on the shore of Nant y Moch reservoir. It then climbs up past the the corrie lake of Llyn Llygad Rheidol, source of the river Rheidol, and scrambles up a steep slope to reach the pass below the summit of Pumlumon Fach to reach the higher summit of Pumlumon Fawr.
The Sabrina Trail is on the eastern side of Pumlumon, and bears the ancient name for the river Severn, Britain's longest river, which rises on Pumlumon. The picturesque river Wye also rises on these eastern slopes of Pumlumon.
The Sir Chris Bonington Trail starts at Eisteddfa Gurig, close to the watershed of Pumlumon and the county boundary between Ceredigion and Powys. Apparently the renowned mountaineer spent the first night of his honeymoon on Pumlumon in 1963! The route follows the afon Tarennig and points of interest include several former silver-lead mine workings and the crash site of a WW2 American aircraft.
