Wales
Carnedd Wen
523M
1716FT
About Carnedd Wen
Rising from the vast, undulating moorlands of Central Wales, this broad Marilyn offers a solitary alternative to the rugged Aran ridge nearby. Its sprawling, heather-clad summit is marked by a lone trig pillar, serving as an excellent vantage point for surveying the remote plateau between the Dyfi and Dee valleys.
Key Statistics
Rank
96th Highest in Wales
Parent Range
Central Wales
Prominence
?
231m
Nearest Town
Powys
Geology
The ground beneath your boots is the Penstrowed Grits Formation, a landscape built from durable layers of sandstone and mudstone.
Find It
OS Grid Reference
SH924099
Latitude
52.6761°N
Longitude
3.5929°W
Did You Know?
- •The name is Welsh for 'White Cairn,' where Carnedd refers to a stone mound or burial site and Wen (from gwyn) means white, likely a reference to local quartz found in the peat.
- •To the west, the summit provides an impressive profile of the Aran ridge, specifically the steep eastern escarpments of Aran Fawddwy and Erw y Ddafad-ddu.
- •The surrounding terrain consists of significant blanket bog, a crucial upland habitat that acts as a major carbon sink for the Powys moorlands.
- •The hill sits near the divide of two major river systems: water falling on the northern slopes eventually reaches the River Dee, while the southern slopes feed the Dyfi.
- •Navigating the featureless plateau in poor visibility is a notorious challenge; the summit is so expansive that finding the trig pillar often feels more like a game of chance than a hike.