Moelwyn Mawr 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 ...

and forms part of the

Moelwynion 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 ...

. Its summit overlooks the

Vale of Ffestiniog The Vale of Ffestiniog is a valley in the Snowdonia National Park in Gwynedd, North Wales. It stretches from Ffestiniog in the east and runs in a westerly direction towards Tremadog Bay, terminating near Porthmadog. The Afon Dwyryd runs throug ...

and has views in all directions.

Site of Special Scientific Interest

In 1990, Moelwyn Mawr was designated a Site of Special Scientific Interest of national scientific importance. The glaciated landscape of the mountain provides fine examples of two specific

Pleistocene The Pleistocene ( , often referred to as the ''Ice age'') is the geological epoch that lasted from about 2,580,000 to 11,700 years ago, spanning the Earth's most recent period of repeated glaciations. Before a change was finally confirmed in ...

features. On the north-east flank of the mountain is a terrain of patterned ground, consisting of small-scale vegetated stripes. On the west side, a debris tongue formed by a rock glacier extends into Cwm Croesor.

Quarrying

Slate quarrying was a major industry for many years in the Moelwynion. Moelwyn Mawr's flanks have several major quarries on them. To the west is Croesor Quarry perched high above Cwm Croesor. To the north west is Rhosydd Quarry on the col between Cwm Croesor and Cwm Orthin. Within Cwm Orthin, Conglog and Wrysgan quarries are located on the north slope of the mountain. Within Cwm Ystradau to the east lies Moelwyn Slate Quarry.

Walking

A common hike combines both Moelwyn Mawr and Moelwyn Bach via the Craigysgafn ridge. A steep climb to the summit (which has a

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 ...

) allows views of areas that cannot be seen without climbing. Moelwyn Mawr has a high

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 ...

, Llyn Stwlan, which is part of the

Ffestiniog Power Station The Ffestiniog Power Station () is a 360 megawatts pumped-storage hydroelectricity scheme near Ffestiniog, in Gwynedd, north-west Wales. The power station at the lower reservoir has four water turbines, which can generate 360 MW of electricity wi ...

pumped-storage hydroelectric Pumped-storage hydroelectricity (PSH), or pumped hydroelectric energy storage (PHES), is a type of hydroelectric energy storage used by electric power systems for load balancing. The method stores energy in the form of gravitational potential ...

power plant in

Tanygrisiau Tanygrisiau is a village and area within Blaenau Ffestiniog in the upper end of the Vale of Ffestiniog in the county of Gwynedd, north-west Wales (). It can be found along the southern side of the Moelwyn mountain range and dates to around 1 ...

. The walk over the main peaks in the Moelwyns, those being Moelwyn Mawr and Moelwyn Bach involves a walk up a disused incline, before gaining the grassy slopes of Moelwyn Mawr and onto the rockier Moelwyn Bach, before walking back down the road from the Stwlan Dam. Both the

and

Harlech Harlech () is a seaside resort and community in Gwynedd, north Wales and formerly in the historic county of Merionethshire. It lies on Tremadog Bay in the Snowdonia National Park. Before 1966, it belonged to the Meirionydd District of the 19 ...

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 ...

maps are needed to cover the walk. Transport to the beginning may be done by car to Tanygrisiau or Ffestiniog, or by train from Llandudno Junction.Nuttall, John & Anne (1999). The Mountains of England & Wales - Volume 1: Wales (2nd edition ed.). Milnthorpe, Cumbria: Cicerone. .

References

External links

www.geograph.co.uk : photos of Moelwyn Mawr and surrounding area

MidWalesClimbing.com

BBC News
Ffestiniog Llanfrothen Mountains and hills of Gwynedd Mountains and hills of Snowdonia Sites of Special Scientific Interest in East Gwynedd Hewitts of Wales Marilyns of Wales Nuttalls {{UK-SSSI-stub