| Carnedd Llewelyn | |
|---|---|
| Carnedd Llywelyn | |
 | |
| Highest point | |
| Elevation | 1,064 m (3,491 ft) |
| Prominence | 750 m (2,460 ft) |
| Parent peak | Snowdon |
| Isolation | 11.72 km (7.28 mi)  |
| Listing | Marilyn,Hewitt,Welsh 3000s,council top,Nuttall,Furth |
| Naming | |
| English translation | Llywelyn's/Llewelyn's cairn |
| Language of name | Welsh |
| Pronunciation | Welsh:[ˈkarnɛðɬəˈwɛlɨn] |
| Geography | |
 | |
| Location | Gwynedd /Conwy,Wales |
| Parent range | Snowdonia |
| OS grid | SH683644 |
| Topo map | OSLandranger 115,Explorer OL17 |
| Climbing | |
| Easiest route | Hike |
| Name | Grid ref | Height | Status |
|---|---|---|---|
| Carnedd Dafydd | SH663630 | 1,044 m (3,425 ft) | 3,H,N |
| Pen yr Ole Wen | SH655619 | 978 m (3,209 ft) | 3,H,N |
| Foel Grach | SH688658 | 976 m (3,202 ft) | 3,H,N |
| Yr Elen | SH673651 | 962 m (3,156 ft) | 3,H,N |
| Foel-fras | SH696681 | 942 m (3,091 ft) | 3,H,N |
| Carnedd Gwenllian | SH687669 | 926 m (3,038 ft) | 3,H,N |
| Llwytmor | SH689692 | 849 m (2,785 ft) | H,N |
| Pen yr Helgi Du | SH698630 | 833 m (2,733 ft) | H,N |
| Bera Mawr | SH674682 | 794 m (2,605 ft) | H,N |
| Drum | SH708695 | 770 m (2,530 ft) | H,N |
| Drosgl | SH664679 | 758 m (2,487 ft) | H,N |
Carnedd Llewelyn, also spelledCarnedd Llywelyn, is amountain massif in theCarneddau range inSnowdonia, north-westWales. It is the highest point of the Carneddau at 1,064 metres (3,491 ft) and the second-highest peak byrelative height in Wales,49th in the British Isles and lies on the border betweenGwynedd andConwy.[1]
Carnedd Llewelyn lies in the middle of the main north-east to south-west ridge of the Carneddau, betweenCarnedd Dafydd to the south-west andFoel Grach to the north. A short subsidiary ridge links it toYr Elen to the north-west. It can be climbed from Gerlan, aboveBethesda, taking the path followingAfon Llafar then continuing to the summit of Yr Elen before following the short ridge to Carnedd Llewelyn. Another path starts from Helyg on theA5, taking the track to the reservoir then following the slopes above Craig yr Ysfa to the summit. An alternative is to reach it by following the main ridge, either fromPen yr Ole Wen or fromFoel-fras.
The summit is a flat, boulder-strewn plateau, similar to several of the other mountains that lie in the southern Carneddau. The cliffs below the ridges are well-known rock climbs, notablyYsgolion Duon (meaning "black ladders") and Craig yr Ysfa. The flat plateau means that during winter and spring, significant accumulations of snow and blizzards occur on frequent occasions. The mountain has also been noted for its long-lying snow patches in recent years, with old snow patches known to survive on its southern gullies well into July. The highest lake in Wales,Llyn Llyffant lies to the lee of the summit of Carnedd Llywelyn.[2]
Carnedd Llywelyn means "Llywelyn'scairn" inWelsh. It is widely believed that Carnedd Llewelyn and the neighbouring Carnedd Dafydd are named afterLlywelyn ap Gruffudd and his brotherDafydd ap Gruffudd, the last independent prince of Wales, respectively.[3] An alternative theory is that the twin peaks are named afterLlywelyn the Great, an earlier prince ofGwynedd, and his son and successor,Dafydd ap Llywelyn.[4][5] Other sources cite a combination of the above, i.e. Llywelyn the Great and Dafydd ap Gruffudd.[6]
The spelling of the name is also controversial.Carnedd Llewelyn is the form used by theOrdnance Survey, the mapping agency forGreat Britain, and other sources.[7] In Wales the spellingCarnedd Llywelyn predominates (it is used on the website of the SnowdoniaNational Park Authority, for example[8]); this is also the form preferred by most Welsh writers, among others.[9] Many authoritative works, from other study groups, also use the Welsh form.[10] The Welsh personal nameLlywelyn, from which the mountain's name is derived, is always spelt thus in theWelsh language, although the formsLlewelyn andLlewellyn are found in older English-language sources.
On 14 March 1950 a number ofRoyal Air Force,Avro Lincoln's fromNo. 230 Operational Conversion Unit RAF took off fromRAF Scampton bound forRAF Hemswell,England on a night-time cross-country exercise. In the early hours of 15 March a controller atRAF Barton Hall instructed three of the Lincolns to divert toRAF Valley,Anglesey, Wales due to bad weather at RAF Scampton. It was at 2:55 am GMT that one of the Avro Lincoln's (RF511) had gone missing and the other two aircraft landed safely five minutes later. The wreckage of RF511 was found at 5:20 GMT on Carnedd Llewelyn and it was confirmed that all six crew had died. The subsequent Court of Inquiry determined that the likely cause of the crash was pilot error; the crew had turned onto a southeasterly course over Anglesey instead of the reciprocal out to sea. The pilot misheard the instruction to "turn 180 degrees" as "turn 80 degrees", resulting in acontrolled flight into terrain.[11][12][13][14][15]
The wreckage of RF511 remains on the mountain, and in 2002 a memorial plaque was placed at the crash site.
The mountain features in Welsh poetry and literature; the earliest known work is a poem byRhys Goch Eryri,Carnedd Llywelyn, composedc. 1400.
TheAetherius Society considers it to be one of its 19holy mountains.[16][17][18]
| Northern Highlands (20) |    | |
|---|---|---|
| Western Highlands (20) | ||
| Central and Eastern Highlands (13) | ||
| Southern Highlands (15) | ||
| Islands (13) | ||
| Scottish Lowlands, England and Wales (13) | ||
| Republic of Ireland, Northern Ireland (25) | ||