B-17 Memorial - South Snowdonia
“On June 8th 1945 44-6005 left Polebrook, with Lt Johnson as pilot, with 19 on board, on the first leg of the journey that was to take them back to theUSA. On approaching Valley in Anglesey, their first stop, the pilot asked for a course to steer as thick cloud covered the ground and made a visual approach impossible. For some unknown reason he did not take this course, but, crossing the coast south of Barmouth in low mist and cloud, struck Craig-cwm-Llwyd with the loss of all on board. Farmers and shepherds were reported in the Western Mail as having heard the aircraft above the clouds. The wreckage and trail it made as it slid down the mountain could be seen from Barmouth.”
"Down in Wales: Visits to Some Wartime Air Crash Sites" by Terence R. Hill
Please note that the cache is not located in the memorial.
This cache is located below Craig Cwm Llwyd, the western extremity of the Cader Idris massif. The memorial lies just below the Ffordd Ddu, an ancient trackway, where a public footpath comes up from the road at Cyfannedd. The cache is located nearby, just above the track. The Ffordd Ddu is a public road and can be traversed by ordinary cars but be warned that a 4x4 with some ground clearance is best. If you meet a convoy from an "off-road" club, you might need to reverse several hundred metres to a passing place.
I've included a waypoint for parking near Cyfannedd and from here it's a nice walk through forestry and then across open moorland with superb views out to sea, along the coast and inland to the mountains. The road from Dolgellau to Llwyngwril is tarmac all the way (despite what it might look like on an OS map!) but does have around 15 gates on it.
Nearby caches include Climber1958's "Cwm Llwyd - Wild Wales" (GCPJMJ) and "Tyrau Mawr (Great Towers)" (GCQFE6) and "Marvellous Mawddach" (GCPM7Q). To the east lie a host of caches by Dysynni Squeezeboxers, including "Hafotty fach SPLASH DASH" (GC12EEC ) and "Spirit Hounds - Llyn Cyri - Cadair Idris" (GCVNFZ). The latter cache page also has a photo of the memorial, with a wreath placed when local people and relatives of the crew visited the site on the 60th anniversary of the crash.
Please do not leave Travel Bugs or Geocoins in this cache. There is a local problem of caches being stolen and this cache has already been a victim.