Wales
Banc y Garn
437M
1434FT
About Banc y Garn
Situated on the western fringes of the Pumlumon massif, this modest Welsh summit offers a wild, untamed character typical of the Cambrian Mountains. Its rounded, grassy profile is capped by a prehistoric cairn, providing a quiet vantage point over the Afon Castell valley and the massive bulk of nearby Pumlumon Fawr.
Key Statistics
Rank
391st Highest in Wales
Parent Range
Central Wales
Prominence
?
105m
Nearest Town
Bontgoch
Geology
You are walking on layers of mudstone. These fine-grained rocks from the Rhayader and Derwenlas formations provide the solid foundation for this fell.
Find It
OS Grid Reference
SN706844
Latitude
52.4422°N
Longitude
3.9052°W
Did You Know?
- •The name is Welsh, where 'banc' refers to a hill or slope and 'garn' (a mutation of 'carn') signifies a cairn. This 'Hill of the Cairn' is named for the prehistoric stone mound that still marks its highest point.
- •The summit provides a clear, uncrowded view of the Afon Castell winding below and the sprawling, peat-hued ridges of the Pumlumon range stretching out towards the east.
- •The summit cairn is likely a Bronze Age funerary monument, part of a wider network of prehistoric sites scattered across these high, exposed grazing lands.
- •Like much of the Cambrian Mountains, the terrain consists of rough grass and blanket bog; in this part of Wales, a 'well-defined path' is often a polite term for a sheep track that disappears the moment the mist rolls in.