Wales
Gorllwyn
613M
2010FT
About Gorllwyn
Rising above the western shores of the Caban-coch reservoir, this rounded Cambrian summit offers a quiet alternative to the more frequented Elan Valley trails. Reaching the status of a Hewitt by a narrow margin, its broad, grassy slopes lead to a lonely plateau where the deep isolation of Mid Wales is truly felt.
Key Statistics
Rank
14th Highest in Wales
Parent Range
Wales
Prominence
?
89.7m
Nearest Town
Lynton
Geology
Gorllwyn is made of sandstone and mudstone from the Yr Allt Formation. These rocks formed from layers of silt and sand that shifted and slid before hardening into stone.
Nearby Fells
Find It
OS Grid Reference
SN917590
Latitude
52.2185°N
Longitude
3.5867°W
Did You Know?
- •The name Gorllwyn is derived from the Welsh 'gor' (meaning top or over) and 'llwyn' (meaning grove or bush), likely a reference to ancient tree lines that once reached higher up these now-exposed moorland slopes.
- •From the cairn, walkers are rewarded with a unique perspective of the Elan Valley’s reservoir system, including the massive masonry of the Claerwen Dam and the winding waters of Caban-coch.
- •The hill is often visited alongside the neighbouring Drygarn Fawr, with the route between them crossing the line of an old Roman road at Esgair Perfedd.
- •At exactly 2,010 feet, it scrapes into the Hewitt classification by a mere ten feet, making it a mandatory, if often soggy, detour for those ticking off the 2,000-foot peaks of Wales.
- •Finding the true summit on this broad, featureless plateau during a typical Mid Wales mist is less a matter of mountaineering and more a test of one's patience with a compass.