Drygarn Fawr | |
---|---|
Highest point | |
Elevation | 645 m (2,116 ft) |
Prominence | 257 m (843 ft) |
Parent peak | Plynlimon |
Listing | Marilyn, Hewitt, Nuttall |
Naming | |
English translation | Three large cairns |
Language of name | Welsh |
Geography | |
Location | Powys, Wales |
Parent range | Cambrian Mountains |
OS grid | SN862584 |
Topo map | OS Landranger 147 |
Name | Grid ref | Height | Status |
---|---|---|---|
Gorllwyn | SO196643 | 613 metres (2,011 ft) | Hewitt, Nuttall |
Y Gamriw | SO213636 | 604 metres (1,982 ft) | sub Hewitt |
Darren | SN908568 | 524 metres (1,719 ft) | subdodd |
Bryn Du | SN839569 | 555 metres (1,821 ft) | subdodd |
Drygarn Fawr is a mountain in the county of Powys, Wales. It is one of the highest summits in Mid Wales at 645 metres (2,116 ft) above sea level. It lies to the south of the Elan Valley Reservoirs. Rising above the remote moorland plateau of the Cambrian Mountains, and to the west of the peaks of Radnor Forest, the summit is topped by two distinctive, large cairns. The mountain has a gentle, grassy, conical shape with a few rocks near the summit. Nearby are the summits of Gorllwyn, Y Gamriw, and Drum yr Eira all over 600m.
There are two paths to the summit. From Llannerch Yrfa, a bridleway winds up through forests in the Nant y Fedw valley before skirting the southern edge of the mountain.
An alternative route may be taken starting from Rhiwnant on the edge of the Caban Coch reservoir, one of the Elan Valley Reservoirs, and following the Nant Paradwys before turning off west towards the summit cairn. Both routes pass across wild moorland and peat bogs and the path may become difficult to follow and impassable, particularly after heavy rain.
The Elan Valley Reservoirs are a chain of man-made lakes created from damming the Elan and Claerwen rivers within the Elan Valley in Mid Wales. The reservoirs, which were built by the Birmingham Corporation Water Department, provide clean drinking water for Birmingham in the West Midlands of England. The five lakes are known as the Claerwen, Craig-goch, Pen-y-garreg, Garreg-ddu, and Caban-coch.
The Cambrian Mountains are a series of mountain ranges in Wales. The term Cambrian Mountains used to apply to most of the upland of Wales, and comes from the country's Latin name Cambria. Since the 1950s, its application has become increasingly localised to the geographically homogeneous Mid Wales uplands, known in Welsh as Elenydd, which extend from Plynlimon (Pumlumon) to Radnor Forest in the east and Mynydd Mallaen to the south. This barren and sparsely populated 'wilderness' has been referred to as the Desert of Wales. The area includes the sources of the River Severn and River Wye and was unsuccessfully proposed as a national park in the 1960s and 1970s. The highest point of the range is Plynlimon, at 2,467 feet (752 m).
The Taff Trail is a walking and cycle path that runs for 55 miles (89 km) between Cardiff Bay and Brecon in Wales. It is so named because it follows the course of the River Taff. Along much of its length, it follows the National Cycle Network Route 8 that continues to Holyhead, and is substantially off-road.
The Desert of Wales, or Green Desert of Wales, is an archaic term for an area in central Wales, so called for its lack of roads and towns, and its inaccessibility. The term was coined by English travel writers in the nineteenth century and has no equivalent in the Welsh language. The area corresponds roughly to the upland area called Elenydd in Welsh.
Afon Rheidol is a river in Ceredigion, Wales, 19 miles (31 km) in length. The source is Plynlimon. Receiving an average annual rainfall of 40 inches (1.02 m), Plynlimon is also the source of both the Wye and the Severn.
Glyder Fawr is a mountain in Snowdonia, Wales, the highest peak in the Glyderau range at just over 1,000 metres. It is the fifth-highest mountain in Wales and has several walking and scrambling routes leading to its summit. According to Sir Ifor Williams, the word "Glyder" derives from the Welsh word "Gludair", meaning a heap of stones.
Elidir Fawr is a mountain in Snowdonia, north Wales, the northernmost peak in the Glyderau. Its name means 'Big Elidir', named after a legendary warrior king of the 6th century also known as Eliffer Gosgorddfawr.
Waun Fach is, with a summit height of 811 metres (2,661 ft), the highest mountain in the Black Mountains in south-eastern Wales. It is one of the three Marilyns over 600 m that make up the range, the others being Black Mountain and Mynydd Troed. To the north Rhos Fawr and the Radnor Forest can be seen. It is the third highest mountain in Britain south of Snowdonia. It is situated at the head of the Grwyne Fechan valley, above and to the west of the Grwyne Fawr reservoir. It has an undistinguished rounded summit. The nearby tops on the ridge, Pen Trumau and Pen y Gadair Fawr, although lower, are very much more recognisable.
Fan Brycheiniog is the highest peak at a height of 802.5 metres (2,633 ft) in the Black Mountain region of the Brecon Beacons National Park in southern Wales. There is a trig point at the peak and on the edge of the escarpment, and nearby, a stone shelter with an inner seat. It lies just inside the historic county of Brecknockshire which gives the mountain its Welsh name. A subsidiary top, less than a kilometre from the summit along the ridge to the northwest, is the highest point of the neighboring county of Carmarthenshire. Fan Brycheiniog is also within the Fforest Fawr Geopark designated in 2005 in recognition of the area's geological heritage. The views of the moorland and open country to the north are spectacular when the weather is clear, and reveals the isolation of the range, especially when compared with the more popular Pen y Fan range to the east.
The Black Mountain is a mountain range in South, Mid and West Wales, straddling the administrative boundary between Carmarthenshire and Powys and forming the westernmost range of the Brecon Beacons National Park. Its highest point is Fan Brycheiniog at 802 metres or 2,631 ft. The Black Mountain also forms a part of the Fforest Fawr Geopark.
Y Garn is a subsidiary summit of Pen Pumlumon Fawr and the fourth highest peak on the Plynlimon massif, a part of the Cambrian Mountains in the county of Ceredigion, Wales.
Corn Du is a summit of the twin topped Pen y Fan and the second highest peak in South Wales at 871.5 m (2,864 ft), situated in the Brecon Beacons National Park. The summit itself is marked by a well structured Bronze Age cairn with a central burial cist like that on nearby Pen y Fan. The two summits are visible from great distances owing to their height above the surrounding moorland, and are famous landmarks. The views from the peaks are also panoramic and very extensive, the Black Mountain and Fforest Fawr being especially obvious to the west. Mynydd Epynt is visible to the north behind the county town of Brecon, and other parts of the escarpment to the east.
Gorllwyn is a subsidiary summit of Drygarn Fawr, located on a remote moorland plateau of the Cambrian Mountains. The summit is grassy and is surrounded by peat bog. There is a shelter cairn and a trig point.
The Beacons Way is a waymarked long distance footpath in the Brecon Beacons National Park, Wales. It is a linear route which runs for 99 miles (159 km) east to west through the National Park, and passes many of the most important landmarks and mountain peaks in the mountain range. It also includes a few of the towns in the park as well as popular attractions such as Carreg Cennen Castle near Llandeilo at the western end of the path.
Fforest Fawr is an extensive upland area in the county of Powys, Wales. Formerly known as the Great Forest of Brecknock in English, it was a royal hunting area for several centuries but is now used primarily for sheep grazing, forestry, water catchment and recreation. It lies within the Brecon Beacons National Park.
Mynydd Llangynidr is a mountain in the Brecon Beacons National Park largely in the county of Powys, south Wales. Its southern slopes extend into the northernmost parts of the county borough of Blaenau Gwent. It is named from the village of Llangynidr which sits in the valley of the River Usk to the north of it. It is essentially an undulating plateau rising in the west to a height of 557m at Garn Fawr at OS grid ref SO 123151. A secondary high point is achieved at a point marked by a trig point at SO 147159. To the north the hill overlooks the valleys of Dyffryn Crawnon and Cwm Claisfer, themselves tributary valleys of the Usk. The shallow upper valley of the Ebbw River reaches into the plateau in the southeast whilst the upper reaches of the Sirhowy Valley and its tributary the Nant Trefil define its western margins. A further tributary, the Nant Milgatw, reaches in from the south whilst the sharp edge of Rassau Industrial Estate also defines a part of its southern margin. Passing east across the B4560, the hill merges with Mynydd Llangatwg which has a similar character.
Picws Du is the second highest peak of the Carmarthen Fans in the Carmarthenshire section of the Black Mountain in the west of the Brecon Beacons National Park in south Wales. The highest peak is Fan Foel immediately next along the ridge and it is a subsidiary summit of Fan Brycheiniog. Picws Du falls within Fforest Fawr Geopark and its prominent summit is marked by a large Bronze Age round barrow at a height of 2457 feet above sea level. Waun Lefrith is the other, lower summit of the Bannau Sir Gâr / Carmarthen Fans situated to the west. The peak overlooks the glacial lake of Llyn y Fan Fach in the cwm below. As the peak sits on the edge of the escarpment on a ridge which juts out into the valley below, the views from the summit are panoramic and extensive. The views to the north are especially impressive when the weather is clear, looking towards the Cambrian Mountains, Mynydd Epynt and Brecon. Swansea and the Bristol Channel can just be seen on the horizon to the south, across the gently falling dip slope. Pen y Fan and Corn Du are distinctive landmarks seen directly to the east across Fforest Fawr.
The Elenydd is an upland area of Mid Wales, extending across parts of northern and eastern Ceredigion and Powys between Aberystwyth and Rhayader. Elenydd is also a name given to the medieval commote of Cwmwd Deuddwr which covered approximately the same area.
Afon Elan is a tributary of the River Wye which runs through the wide expanse of upland moors, traditionally known as Elenydd, in central Wales. Its valley is the Elan Valley. The name probably arises from elain meaning 'hind' or 'fawn' in reference perhaps to the rushing, bounding nature of its course.
Pen Ty-Nant is a hill within the Snowdonia National Park in Gwynedd, North Wales.