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Carnedd Llewelyn, also spelled Carnedd Llywelyn, is a
mountain A mountain is an elevated portion of the Earth's crust, generally with steep sides that show significant exposed bedrock. Although definitions vary, a mountain may differ from a plateau in having a limited summit area, and is usually highe ...
massif in the
Carneddau The (lit. 'the cairns'; is a Welsh plural form, and is sometimes anglicised to ''Carnedds'') are a group of mountains in Snowdonia, Wales. They include the largest contiguous areas of high ground (over or high) in Wales and England (although l ...
range in
Snowdonia Snowdonia or Eryri (), is a mountainous region in northwestern Wales and a national park of in area. It was the first to be designated of the three national parks in Wales, in 1951. Name and extent It was a commonly held belief that the na ...
, north-west
Wales Wales ( cy, Cymru ) is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. It is bordered by England to the east, the Irish Sea to the north and west, the Celtic Sea to the south west and the Bristol Channel to the south. It had a population in ...
. It is the highest point of the Carneddau and the second highest peak by
relative height In topography, prominence (also referred to as autonomous height, relative height, and shoulder drop in US English, and drop or relative height in British English) measures the height of a mountain or hill's summit relative to the lowest contou ...
in Wales, 49th in the British Isles and lies on the border between Gwynedd and
Conwy Conwy (, ), previously known in English as Conway, is a walled market town, community and the administrative centre of Conwy County Borough in North Wales. The walled town and castle stand on the west bank of the River Conwy, facing Deganwy on ...
.


Topography and ascent routes

Carnedd Llewelyn lies in the middle of the main north-east to south-west ridge of the Carneddau, between
Carnedd Dafydd Carnedd Dafydd is a mountain peak in the Carneddau range in Snowdonia, Wales, and is the third highest peak in Wales, or the fourth if Crib y Ddysgl on the Snowdon ridge is counted. Situated south-west of Carnedd Llewelyn and north of Pen ...
to the south-west and
Foel Grach Foel Grach is a mountain in the Carneddau range. It is the eighth-highest summit in Snowdonia as well as Wales, and is included in the Welsh 3000s. It is located on a broad ridge extending northwards from Carnedd Llewelyn to Carnedd Gwenll ...
to the north. A short subsidiary ridge links it to
Yr Elen Yr Elen is a mountain in the Carneddau range in Snowdonia, Wales. It is the ninth highest mountain in Snowdonia. The average annual temperature of the peak is around . It lies on a short ridge running north-northwest off the main northeast-to-s ...
to the north-west. It can be climbed from Gerlan, above Bethesda, taking the path following
Afon Llafar : ''For the river which flows into Bala Lake see Afon Llafar (Dee)'' Afon Llafar is a river in the Carneddau, Snowdonia. It rises where many streams flow down the slopes of Yr Elen, Carnedd Llewelyn and Carnedd Dafydd to join together in the ...
then continuing to the summit of Yr Elen before following the short ridge to Carnedd Llewelyn. Another path starts from Helyg on the A5, taking the track to the reservoir then following the slopes above Craig yr Ysfa to the summit. An alternative is to reach it by following the main ridge, either from Pen yr Ole Wen or from
Foel-fras Foel-fras (944 m) is a mountain in the Carneddau range, about 10 km east of Bethesda in Wales. It lies on the border between the counties of Gwynedd and Conwy. With a summit elevation of 944 m it is officially the eleventh-hig ...
. The summit is a flat, boulder-strewn plateau, similar to several of the other mountains that lie in the southern Carneddau. The cliffs below the ridges are well-known rock climbs, notably Ysgolion Duon (meaning "black ladders") and Craig yr Ysfa. The flat plateau means that during winter and spring, significant accumulations of snow and blizzards occur on frequent occasions. The mountain has also been noted for its long-lying snow patches in recent years, with old snow patches known to survive on its southern gullies well into July. The highest lake in Wales, Llyn Llyffant lies to the lee of the summit of Carnedd Llywelyn.


Name

''Carnedd Llywelyn'' means "Llywelyn's cairn" in
Welsh Welsh may refer to: Related to Wales * Welsh, referring or related to Wales * Welsh language, a Brittonic Celtic language spoken in Wales * Welsh people People * Welsh (surname) * Sometimes used as a synonym for the ancient Britons (Celtic peop ...
. It is widely believed that Carnedd Llewelyn and the neighbouring Carnedd Dafydd are named after
Llywelyn ap Gruffudd Llywelyn ap Gruffudd (c. 1223 – 11 December 1282), sometimes written as Llywelyn ap Gruffydd, also known as Llywelyn the Last ( cy, Llywelyn Ein Llyw Olaf, lit=Llywelyn, Our Last Leader), was the native Prince of Wales ( la, Princeps Wall ...
and his brother
Dafydd ap Gruffudd Dafydd ap Gruffydd (11 July 1238 – 3 October 1283) was Prince of Wales from 11 December 1282 until his execution on 3 October 1283 on the orders of King Edward I of England. He was the last native Prince of Wales before the conquest of Wa ...
, the last independent prince of Wales, respectively. An alternative theory is that the twin peaks are named after Llywelyn the Great, an earlier prince of Gwynedd, and his son and successor,
Dafydd ap Llywelyn Dafydd ap Llywelyn (''c.'' March 1212 – 25 February 1246) was Prince of Gwynedd from 1240 to 1246. He was the first ruler in Wales to claim the title Prince of Wales. Birth and descent Though birth years of 1208, 1206, and 1215 have ...
. Other sources cite a combination of the above, i.e. Llywelyn the Great and Dafydd ap Gruffudd. The spelling of the name is also controversial. ''Carnedd Llewelyn'' is the form used by the
Ordnance Survey Ordnance Survey (OS) is the national mapping agency for Great Britain. The agency's name indicates its original military purpose (see ordnance and surveying), which was to map Scotland in the wake of the Jacobite rising of 1745. There was a ...
, the mapping agency for
Great Britain Great Britain is an island in the North Atlantic Ocean off the northwest coast of continental Europe. With an area of , it is the largest of the British Isles, the largest European island and the ninth-largest island in the world. It i ...
, and other sources. In Wales the spelling ''Carnedd Llywelyn'' predominates (it is used on the website of the Snowdonia National Park Authority, for example); this is also the form preferred by most Welsh writers, among others. Many authoritative works, from other study groups, also use the Welsh form. The Welsh personal name '' Llywelyn'', from which the mountain's name is derived, is always spelt thus in the
Welsh language Welsh ( or ) is a Celtic language of the Brittonic subgroup that is native to the Welsh people. Welsh is spoken natively in Wales, by some in England, and in Y Wladfa (the Welsh colony in Chubut Province, Argentina). Historically, it has ...
, although the forms ''Llewelyn'' and ''Llewellyn'' are found in older English-language sources.


Plane crash

On 14 March 1950 a number of
Royal Air Force The Royal Air Force (RAF) is the United Kingdom's air and space force. It was formed towards the end of the First World War on 1 April 1918, becoming the first independent air force in the world, by regrouping the Royal Flying Corps (RFC) an ...
, Avro Lincoln's from No. 230 Operational Conversion Unit RAF took off from
RAF Scampton Royal Air Force Scampton or RAF Scampton is a Royal Air Force station located adjacent to the A15 road near to the village of Scampton, Lincolnshire, and north-west of the city of Lincoln, England. RAF Scampton stands on the site of a Firs ...
bound for
RAF Hemswell Royal Air Force Hemswell or more simply RAF Hemswell is a former Royal Air Force (RAF) station located east of Gainsborough, Lincolnshire, England. Located close to the village of Hemswell in Lincolnshire, England the disestablished airfield ...
,
England England is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. It shares land borders with Wales to its west and Scotland to its north. The Irish Sea lies northwest and the Celtic Sea to the southwest. It is separated from continental Europe b ...
on a night-time cross-country exercise. In the early hours of 15 March a controller at RAF Barton Hall instructed three of the Lincolns to divert to
RAF Valley Royal Air Force Valley or more simply RAF Valley ( cy, Llu Awyr Brenhinol Y Fali) is a Royal Air Force station on the island of Anglesey, Wales, and which is also used as Anglesey Airport. It provides both basic and advanced fast-jet training ...
,
Anglesey Anglesey (; cy, (Ynys) Môn ) is an island off the north-west coast of Wales. It forms a principal area known as the Isle of Anglesey, that includes Holy Island across the narrow Cymyran Strait and some islets and skerries. Anglesey island ...
, Wales due to bad weather at RAF Scampton. It was at 2:55am GMT that one of the Avro Lincoln's (RF511) had gone missing and the other two aircraft landed safely five minutes later. The wreckage of RF511 was found at 5:20 GMT on Carnedd Llewelyn and it was confirmed that all six crew had died. The subsequent Court of Inquiry determined that the likely cause of the crash was pilot error; the crew had turned onto a southeasterly course over Anglesey instead of the reciprocal out to sea. The pilot misheard the instruction to "turn 180 degrees" as "turn 80 degrees", resulting in a
controlled flight into terrain In aviation, a controlled flight into terrain (CFIT; usually ) is an accident in which an airworthy aircraft, under pilot control, is unintentionally flown into the ground, a mountain, a body of water or an obstacle. In a typical CFIT scenario, ...
. The wreckage of RF511 remains on the mountain, and in 2002 a memorial plaque was placed at the crash site.


Cultural references

The mountain features in Welsh poetry and literature; the earliest known work is a poem by Rhys Goch Eryri, ''Carnedd Llywelyn'', composed ''c.'' 1400.


Notes


Further reading

* * * * * *


External links

* Carnedd Llewelyn is at coordinates **Walking Routes, photos and GPS files for Carnedd Llewely
Walk Eryriwww.geograph.co.uk : photos of Carnedd Llewelyn
{{British hills Hewitts of Wales Marilyns of Wales Mountains and hills of Snowdonia Nuttalls Mountains and hills of Conwy County Borough Mountains and hills of Gwynedd Climbing areas of Wales Landmarks in Wales Furths Llanllechid Caerhun Capel Curig One-thousanders of the British Isles Aviation accidents and incidents locations in Wales