Foel-fras (944 m) 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 (topography), summit area, and ...

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, about 10 km east of Bethesda in

Wales Wales ( cy, Cymru ) is a Countries of the United Kingdom, country that is part of the United Kingdom. It is bordered by England to the Wales–England border, east, the Irish Sea to the north and west, the Celtic Sea to the south west and the ...

. It lies on the border between the counties of

Gwynedd Gwynedd (; ) is a county and preserved county (latter with differing boundaries; includes the Isle of Anglesey) in the north-west of Wales. It shares borders with Powys, Conwy County Borough, Denbighshire, Anglesey over the Menai Strait, and C ...

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 ...

. With a summit elevation of 944 m it is officially the eleventh-highest summit in

. Foel-fras is located at the northern end of the main ridge of the Carneddau, between

Drum The drum is a member of the percussion group of musical instruments. In the Hornbostel-Sachs classification system, it is a membranophone. Drums consist of at least one membrane, called a drumhead or drum skin, that is stretched over a she ...

to the north 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 Gwenlli ...

to the south, with the subsidiary summit of

Garnedd Uchaf , List of Furths, Furth Carnedd Gwenllian (named Y Garnedd Uchaf before 2009) is a minor summit of the Carneddau range in Snowdonia, Wales, and included in the Welsh 3000s. From the summit, distant views to the north can extend as far as Irel ...

(925 m) between it and Foel Grach. Due south and 400 m below lies the reservoir of

Llyn Dulyn Llyn Dulyn ( cy, black lake) is a lake on the edge of the Carneddau range of mountains in Snowdonia, North Wales. The lake is in extent and 189 feet (58 metres) deep. Less than a kilometre to its south lies the smaller Llyn Melynllyn. Cliffs ris ...

, while the smaller

reservoir A reservoir (; from French ''réservoir'' ) is an enlarged lake behind a dam. Such a dam may be either artificial, built to store fresh water or it may be a natural formation. Reservoirs can be created in a number of ways, including contro ...

of Llyn Anafon lies to the north. Because of its position, it is the first of the

Welsh 3000s Welsh 3000s are the 15 Welsh Furths (or Welsh Munros). These are mountains in Wales that are over , and which are on the Scottish Mountaineering Club's (SMC) official list of Furths . Geographically they fall within three ranges, but close en ...

reached when doing this walk from the northern end. It can be climbed by driving up the small road signposted "

Aber Falls Aber Falls ( cy, Rhaeadr Fawr) is a waterfall located about two miles (3 km) south of the village of Abergwyngregyn, Gwynedd, Wales. The waterfall is formed as the plunges about over a sill of igneous rock in the foothills of the range. ...

" in the village of

Abergwyngregyn Abergwyngregyn () is a village and community of historical note in Gwynedd, a county and principal area in Wales. Under its historic name of Aber Garth Celyn it was the seat of Llywelyn ap Gruffudd. It lies in the historic county of Caernarfo ...

, passing the

car park A parking lot (American English) or car park (British English), also known as a car lot, is a cleared area intended for parking vehicles. The term usually refers to an area dedicated only for parking, with a durable or semi-durable surfac ...

for the falls and continuing to a small car park at the end of the road. From there it is possible to take the track bearing left, later turning right to the summit of

and continuing along the ridge, or to take the track leading straight on to Llyn Anafon and then climbing up to the ridge between Drum and Foel Fras. An alternate route up the mountain is to start at the Western end of the

Bwlch-y-Ddeufaen Bwlch-y-Ddeufaen ( Welsh: ''Gap/Pass of the Two Stones'') is a mountain pass in Conwy county borough, north Wales, traversable only on foot or horseback, following the former Roman road from Caerhun (Canovium) to Caernarfon (Segontium). The r ...

pass and take the steep track up the side of Drosgyl, following the fence line all the way to where the ground levels off. Here the views open up and the fence changes direction, running off at almost a right angle to the Southeast (left). From here, follow a small track Southwest until it intersects the larger track previously mentioned - marked by a small quartz-peppered cairn - which will lead you to Drum. From Drum the walk to the summit of Foel Fras is simply parallel to the fence line, which changes into a dry stone wall as you are nearing the summit. Car parking is available at the Eastern end of the pass. The summit plateau has some

ornithological Ornithology is a branch of zoology that concerns the "methodological study and consequent knowledge of birds with all that relates to them." Several aspects of ornithology differ from related disciplines, due partly to the high visibility and th ...

interest in that it is one of the best places in Wales to observe

dotterel The Eurasian dotterel (''Charadrius morinellus''), also known in Europe as just dotterel, is a small wader in the plover family of birds. The dotterel is a brown and black streaked bird with a broad white eye-stripe and an orange-red chest ban ...

on their spring and less frequent autumn

migration Migration, migratory, or migrate may refer to: Human migration * Human migration, physical movement by humans from one region to another ** International migration, when peoples cross state boundaries and stay in the host state for some minimum le ...

. Foel Fras can also be reached from Llanfairfechan, an equally as beautiful route as that from Aber Falls. Follow the road up through the village of Llanfairfechan until Terrace Walk, take the path from Terrace Walk that takes you past Hengae Farm, then follow the path that can take you to the summit of Garreg Fawr, Drum, Foel Fras and more.

Similarly-named hills

There exist also Foel Fras () in central Wales, south of

Machynlleth Machynlleth () is a market town, community and electoral ward in Powys, Wales and within the historic boundaries of Montgomeryshire. It is in the Dyfi Valley at the intersection of the A487 and the A489 roads. At the 2001 Census it had a popul ...

, and Foel-fras () in

The Moelwyns The Moelwynion (a Welsh plural, sometimes anglicised to Moelwyns) are a group of mountains in central Snowdonia. They extend from the north-east of Porthmadog to Moel Siabod, the highest of the group. The name derives from the names of two of th ...

, north east of

Blaenau Ffestiniog Blaenau Ffestiniog is a town in Gwynedd, Wales. Once a slate mining centre in historic Merionethshire, it now relies much on tourists, drawn for instance to the Ffestiniog Railway and Llechwedd Slate Caverns. It reached a population of 12,00 ...

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Foel-Fras Mountains and hills of Snowdonia Hewitts of Wales Nuttalls Mountains and hills of Conwy County Borough Furths Abergwyngregyn Caerhun Mountains and hills of Gwynedd