Carnedd Llewelyn

Carnedd Llewelyn and the immense Craig yr Ysfa

Height: 1,064m (3,491ft)

Prominence: 750m (2,460ft)

Region: Snowdonia - Carneddau

Classifications: Marilyn, Hewitt, Nuttall, County Top, Welsh 3000

Summit feature: Cairn

Times climbed: 3

Related trip reports:
The Carneddau - 16/02/2019
The Cwm Eigiau Horseshoe - 14/05/2017

The Carneddau - 13/03/2016

The summit looking to Carnedd Dafydd

Carnedd Llewelyn (Car-neth Thoo-wel-in - Llewelyn's Cairn) is the highest point of the Carneddau and the second highest peak in Wales. It lies in the middle of the main north-east to south-west ridge of the Carneddau, between Carnedd Dafydd to the south-west and Foel Grach to the north.

Carnedd Llywelyn means "Llywelyn's cairn" in Welsh. It is widely believed that Carnedd Llewelyn and the neighbouring Carnedd Dafydd are named after Llywelyn ap Gruffudd and his brother Dafydd ap Gruffudd, the last independent prince of Wales, respectively.

The spelling of the name is also controversial. Carnedd Llewelyn is the form used by the Ordnance Survey, the mapping agency for Great Britain, and other sources. In Wales the spelling Carnedd Llywelyn predominates (it is used on the website of the Snowdonia National Park Authority, for example); this is also the form preferred by most Welsh writers, among others. Many authoritative works, from other study groups, also use the Welsh form. The Welsh personal name Llywelyn, from which the mountain's name is derived, is always spelt thus in the Welsh language, although the forms Llewelyn and Llewellyn are found in older English-language sources.

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, notably Ysgolion 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.

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