Moel-y-Gest is a small but nice little mountain to climb, at 862ft (263m) above sea level. The round trip can be done in an hour if a brisk pace is kept up, making it a perfect after-Sunday-lunch walk!
There are a couple of different routes, and the one described here is the quickest. To reach the starting point, leave Porthmadog on the Cricieth road. There are two very long lay-bys. Park in the second of these, and proceed in the same direction on foot. Be careful and walk on the grass verge, as this is a fast and busy road. Shortly, you will see a gate and a rough track on your left. Go through the gate, and follow the track between fields of sheep until you see another large gate on your left, going back on your direction. Climb over this gate and continue up the incline, then when possible turn a sharp right direction and ascent the long grassy slope up and around the mountain in an anti-clockwise direction.
Continue in this direction, and eventually you will reach a dry stone wall blocking your way. Follow this wall up the side of the mountain, and at the end of the wall, you'll see a broken wooden style to help you over. Cross this, and continue following the contours of the path. From here, you can continue circling until you reach the summit, or the the more adventurous, you can scale the rocks straight up at the top. Beware, they can be tricky for the inexperienced. Either way, there are no clear marked paths.
When you reach the summit, be sure to admire the views, from the estuary at Borth-y-Gest, round past Black Rock Sands and on to Cricieth and the castle, then Pwllheli in the distance. You can see the little village of Pentrefelin, then round towares Tremadog and the start of the road which heads up to Beddgelert and towards Snowdon.
Descend by retracing your steps.