Aran Fawddwy 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 ...

in southern

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 ...

, Wales, United Kingdom. It is the highest point (

county top The mountains and hills of the British Isles are categorised into various lists based on different combinations of elevation, prominence, and other criteria such as isolation. These lists are used for peak bagging, whereby hillwalkers attempt ...

) of the historic county of

Merionethshire , HQ= Dolgellau , Government= Merionethshire County Council (1889-1974) , Origin= , Status= , Start= 1284 , End= , Code= MER , CodeName= ...

(for local government purposes, it lies within the current council area of Gwynedd). It is the only peak in Wales outside North Snowdonia above 900m, and higher than anywhere in Great Britain outside Northern Snowdonia, the Scottish Highlands (and islands) and the Lake District. The nearest urban centres to the mountain are

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 ...

to the south, Llanymawddwy to the southeast, Llanuwchllyn on the shores of

Bala Lake Bala Lake ( cy, Llyn Tegid ) is a large freshwater glacial lake in Gwynedd, Wales. The River Dee, which has its source on the slopes of Dduallt in the mountains of Snowdonia, feeds the long by wide lake. It was the largest natural body of ...

to the north, and Rhydymain to the west. The nearest settlements with around 2,000 people are Bala and Dolgellau. On the eastern slopes of Aran Fawddwy is the small lake named Creiglyn Dyfi, the source of the

River Dyfi The River Dyfi ( cy, Afon Dyfi; ), also known as the River Dovey (; ), is an approximately long river in Wales. Its large estuary forms the boundary between the counties of Gwynedd and Ceredigion, and its lower reaches have historically been c ...

. Its sister peak is Aran Benllyn at . There is also a middle peak-

Erw y Ddafad-ddu Erw y Ddafad-ddu is a subsidiary summit of Aran Fawddwy in southern Snowdonia, North Wales, Wales, United Kingdom. It is the third highest peak in the Aran mountain range. It is lies at the centre of the main Aran ridge, situated between Aran Fa ...

. A cairn is placed on the eastern ridge as a memorial to RAF Mountain Rescue team member Michael Robert Aspain who was struck and killed by lightning in 1960.

Ascent

Aran Fawddwy is best ascended from

Cywarch Cywarch is a location at the head of Cwm Cywarch in the Snowdonia National Park, in Gwynedd, Wales. Several streams flow through the area, uniting to form Afon Cywarch, a tributary of the River Dyfi. The area is entirely agricultural, based on sh ...

in the south, although a longer ridge climb is possible from the Bala side. The mountain forms a long rocky ridge with Aran Fawddwy as the highest point, but Aran Benllyn as another notable summit. The eastern side is extremely steep, falling spectacularly in crags to a series of glacial cwms or corries which also enclose two small lakes ( Creiglyn Dyfi and Llyn Lliwbran). The western slopes are also rocky, but less steep and more uniform. The view from the summit is extensive covering most of the mountain ranges of North Wales and as far south as the Brecon Beacons and Pembrokeshire peninsula. On an exceptionally clear day, the Lake District in

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 ...

and

Wicklow Mountains The Wicklow Mountains (, archaic: ''Cualu'') form the largest continuous upland area in the Republic of Ireland. They occupy the whole centre of County Wicklow and stretch outside its borders into the counties of Dublin, Wexford and Carlow. ...

Ireland Ireland ( ; ga, Éire ; Ulster Scots dialect, Ulster-Scots: ) is an island in the Atlantic Ocean, North Atlantic Ocean, in Northwestern Europe, north-western Europe. It is separated from Great Britain to its east by the North Channel (Grea ...

are visible.

Geography

Aran Fawddwy, which is only short of being a member 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 ...

, is the highest peak in the Aran mountain range and the 16th highest summit in Wales. The other two Marilyns in this range are

Glasgwm Glasgwm is a mountain in Gwynedd, Wales forming part of the Aran range in southern Snowdonia. It is one of the three Marilyns that make up the range, the others being Aran Fawddwy and Esgeiriau Gwynion. To the west is Maesglase and the Dyfi ...

and Esgeiriau Gwynion.Nuttall, John & Anne (1999). The Mountains of England & Wales - Volume 1: Wales (2nd edition ed.). Milnthorpe, Cumbria: Cicerone. . It is the highest

British British may refer to: Peoples, culture, and language * British people, nationals or natives of the United Kingdom, British Overseas Territories, and Crown Dependencies. ** Britishness, the British identity and common culture * British English, ...

mountain south of Snowdon and is the principal summit of the predominant southwest–northeast ridge between Dolgellau and Bala, southern Snowdonia, a ridge that continues westwards as

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 h ...

References

External links

* * Computer-generated summit panorama
Aran Fawddwywww.geograph.co.uk : photos of Aran Fawddwy and surrounding area
{{Authority control Marilyns of Wales Hewitts of Wales Nuttalls Mountains and hills of Snowdonia Landmarks in Wales Highest points of Welsh counties Mountains and hills of Gwynedd Brithdir and Llanfachreth Llanuwchllyn Mawddwy