Maesglase 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 ...

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 Wales North Wales ( cy, Gogledd Cymru) is a region of Wales, encompassing its northernmost areas. It borders Mid Wales to the south, England to the east, and the Irish Sea to the north and west. The area is highly mountainous and rural, with Snowdonia N ...

, situated approximately four miles to the south-west of Aran Fawddwy. It is the highest of the Dyfi Hills. It can be reached by an easy but steep walk through the forestry from

Dinas Mawddwy Dinas Mawddwy () is a village in the community of Mawddwy in south-east Gwynedd, north Wales. It lies within the Snowdonia National Park, but just to the east of the main A470, and consequently many visitors pass the village by. Its population ...

or directly from the

bwlch Bwlch (meaning ''a pass'' in Welsh) is a small village and an electoral ward in Powys, southern Wales. The settlement is strung out along the A40 road which crosses a low col above the Usk Valley at this point on its route between Brecon and Cr ...

on the

A470 The A470 (also named the Cardiff to Glan Conwy Trunk Road) is a trunk road in Wales. It is the country's longest road at and links the capital Cardiff on the south coast to Llandudno on the north coast. While previously one had to navigat ...

. Ascending Maesglase provides an opportunity to climb several other nearby peaks including Maen-Du, Craig Rhiw-erch, Waun-oer, Craig Portas and Cribin Fawr which are linked by a series of ridges and

arête An arête ( ) is a narrow ridge of rock which separates two valleys. It is typically formed when two glaciers erode parallel U-shaped valleys. Arêtes can also form when two glacial cirques erode headwards towards one another, although frequ ...

s. The precise location of the summit is the subject of some confusion. Traditionally, the top of Maen Du ( at ) was regarded as Maesglase's summit. However, more recent surveys suggest that the top of Craig Rhiw-erch (''c'' at , some to the west) is higher. A recent survey puts it at . The geomorphology of these mountains is classical U-shaped

glacial valley U-shaped valleys, also called trough valleys or glacial troughs, are formed by the process of glaciation. They are characteristic of mountain glaciation in particular. They have a characteristic U shape in cross-section, with steep, straight s ...

s with textbook examples of

hanging valley A valley is an elongated low area often running between hills or mountains, which will typically contain a river or stream running from one end to the other. Most valleys are formed by erosion of the land surface by rivers or streams over ...

s and intersecting valleys. The eastern slopes are devoted to sheep farming whilst the western slopes are intensively forested. Above the semi-improved

grassland A grassland is an area where the vegetation is dominated by grasses ( Poaceae). However, sedge ( Cyperaceae) and rush ( Juncaceae) can also be found along with variable proportions of legumes, like clover, and other herbs. Grasslands occur na ...

is some

bracken Bracken (''Pteridium'') is a genus of large, coarse ferns in the family Dennstaedtiaceae. Ferns (Pteridophyta) are vascular plants that have alternating generations, large plants that produce spores and small plants that produce sex cells (eggs ...

but much of the higher ground is covered in typical ''

Calluna ''Calluna vulgaris'', common heather, ling, or simply heather, is the sole species in the genus ''Calluna'' in the flowering plant family Ericaceae. It is a low-growing evergreen shrub growing to tall, or rarely to and taller, and is found ...

'' / ''

Erica Erica or ERICA may refer to: * Erica (given name) * ''Erica'' (plant), a flowering plant genus * Erica (chatbot), a service of Bank of America * ''Erica'' (video game), a 2019 FMV video game * ''Erica'' (spider), a jumping spider genus * E ...

'' communities interspersed with large areas of ''

Juncus ''Juncus'' is a genus of monocotyledonous flowering plants, commonly known as rushes. It is the largest genus in the family Juncaceae, containing around 300 species. Description Rushes of the genus ''Juncus'' are herbaceous plants that superfic ...

'', ''

Carex ''Carex'' is a vast genus of more than 2,000 species of grass-like plants in the family Cyperaceae, commonly known as sedges (or seg, in older books). Other members of the family Cyperaceae are also called sedges, however those of genus ''Carex'' ...

'' and ''

Sphagnum ''Sphagnum'' is a genus of approximately 380 accepted species of mosses, commonly known as sphagnum moss, peat moss, also bog moss and quacker moss (although that term is also sometimes used for peat). Accumulations of ''Sphagnum'' can store wa ...

'' bogs. The tops of Cribin Fawr are flat expanses of peat-hags. On the eastern flanks

Bilberry Bilberries (), or sometimes European blueberries, are a primarily Eurasian species of low-growing shrubs in the genus ''Vaccinium'' (family Ericaceae), bearing edible, dark blue berries. The species most often referred to is '' Vaccinium myrtill ...

(''Vaccinium myrtillus'') grows in abundance with Cowberry (''Vaccinium vitis-idaea'') common on the highest ground. Half a mile to the west of the peak of Cribin Fawr at a high point of is a stone

boundary marker A boundary marker, border marker, boundary stone, or border stone is a robust physical marker that identifies the start of a land boundary or the change in a boundary, especially a change in direction of a boundary. There are several other ty ...

dated 1861 and inscribed CCC and bearing a

benchmark Benchmark may refer to: Business and economics * Benchmarking, evaluating performance within organizations * Benchmark price * Benchmark (crude oil), oil-specific practices Science and technology * Benchmark (surveying), a point of known elevati ...

. Maesglase waterfall has a total height of . To the south lie the parallel ridges leading to

Mynydd Dolgoed Mynydd Dolgoed or Craig Portas is a mountain in southern Snowdonia, Wales. It is a long ridge running from a low summit between the valleys of the Afon Angell and the Nant Ceiswyn, north east to the cliff of Craig Portas above Dinas Mawddwy. The ...

and Mynydd Gartheiniog. The site is the location of the Welsh-language novel ''O! Tyn y Gorchudd!'' by Angharad Price.

References

External links

www.geograph.co.uk : photos of Maesglase and surrounding area
{{clear Mawddwy Mountains and hills of Gwynedd Mountains and hills of Snowdonia Hewitts of Wales Marilyns of Wales Nuttalls Dyfi Hills