Tarren y Gesail 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 ...

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 nam ...

north Wales , area_land_km2 = 6,172 , postal_code_type = Postcode , postal_code = LL, CH, SY , image_map1 = Wales North Wales locator map.svg , map_caption1 = Six principal areas of Wales common ...

. It is one of the Marilyns of the

Cadair Idris Cadair Idris or Cader Idris is a mountain in the Meirionnydd area of Gwynedd, Wales. It lies at the southern end of the Snowdonia National Park near the town of Dolgellau. The peak, which is one of the most popular in Wales for walkers and hiker ...

group. Lying to the south of Cadair Idris, it and its neighbour Tarrenhendre form the bulk of the Tarren subgroup. The Tarrens rise from the south shore of the Llyn Mwyngil (

Tal-y-llyn Lake Tal-y-llyn Lake, ( cy, Llyn Mwyngil), also known as Talyllyn Lake and Llyn Myngul, is a large glacial ribbon lake in Gwynedd, North Wales. It is formed by a post-glacial massive landslip damming up the lake within the glaciated valley. The hamle ...

) and end at the Dyfi estuary. The summit is a grassy ridge, which has a

cairn A cairn is a man-made pile (or stack) of stones raised for a purpose, usually as a marker or as a burial mound. The word ''cairn'' comes from the gd, càrn (plural ). Cairns have been and are used for a broad variety of purposes. In prehis ...

and

trig point A triangulation station, also known as a trigonometrical point, and sometimes informally as a trig, is a fixed surveying station, used in geodetic surveying and other surveying projects in its vicinity. The nomenclature varies regionally: they a ...

. The views are extensive to the south and east, with

Plynlimon Pumlumon (historically anglicised in various ways including ''Plynlimon,'' Plinlimon and Plinlimmon) is the highest point of the Cambrian Mountains in Wales (taking a restricted definition of the Cambrian Mountains, excluding Snowdonia, ...

and

Cardigan Bay Cardigan Bay ( cy, Bae Ceredigion) is a large inlet of the Irish Sea, indenting the west coast of Wales between Bardsey Island, Gwynedd in the north, and Strumble Head, Pembrokeshire at its southern end. It is the largest bay in Wales. Geograp ...

ahead, while the north views are dominated by Cadair Idris and

Maesglase Maesglase is a mountain in Snowdonia, North Wales, 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 Mawd ...

to the west. Between Tarren y Gesail and Tarren Hendre lies the

Bryn Eglwys quarry Bryn Eglwys quarry was a slate quarry and mine near Abergynolwyn, in Merionethshire (now part of Gwynedd), Wales. More than 300 men worked at the site, making it the principal employer in the area. Two veins of slate, known as the Broad Vein a ...

, and

Nant Gwernol railway station Nant Gwernol railway station is the eastern terminus of the Talyllyn Railway near Abergynolwyn, Gwynedd in mid-Wales. It is 7 miles, 28 chains (11.83 km) from . Nant Gwernol station was opened in 1976; before 1976 this upper part ...

on the

Talyllyn Railway The Talyllyn Railway ( cy, Rheilffordd Talyllyn) is a narrow gauge preserved railway in Wales running for from Tywyn on the Mid-Wales coast to Nant Gwernol near the village of Abergynolwyn. The line was opened in 1865Drummond 2015, page 17 ...

, in the ravine of the Nant Gwernol stream. The Tarrerns can be thought of as forgotten mountains of Snowdonia, overshadowed by the popularity of Cadair Idris, occupying the sleepy south-western frontier of the national park.Nuttall, John & Anne (1999). The Mountains of England & Wales - Volume 1: Wales (2nd edition ed.). Milnthorpe, Cumbria: Cicerone. .

References

Corris Llanfihangel-y-Pennant Abergynolwyn Pennal Mountains and hills of Gwynedd Mountains and hills of Snowdonia Hewitts of Wales Marilyns of Wales Nuttalls {{Gwynedd-geo-stub