Great Rhos

About Great Rhos

Rising as the highest point of the wild Radnor Forest, this broad peat-covered moorland offers a sense of immense isolation. Despite its rounded profile, the plateau provides far-reaching views across the Mid Wales hills toward the Brecon Beacons, though navigation requires care among the boggy hags and deep heather.

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Did You Know?

• •The name is derived from the Welsh word 'rhos', meaning moorland or rough grazing, an apt description for this sprawling upland plateau.
• •Much of the hill’s eastern flank borders the Harley Dingle, a deep valley used as a Ministry of Defence explosives testing range, which often means the sound of silence is interrupted by distant, dull thuds.
• •While the summit is a remote, flat expanse, walkers often use the 246-metre tall radio mast on the neighbouring Black Mixen as a navigation handrail to find their way across the featureless ground.
• •From the summit cairn, the view extends past the nearby Sheepwalks to the distinctive volcanic silhouettes of the Stiperstones and the Long Mynd across the border in Shropshire.
• •Calling this area the Radnor Forest is a linguistic relic of its time as a royal hunting ground; the modern reality is a high-altitude bog where the only trees are usually several feet deep and fossilised in the peat.