Pen Pumlumon Arwystli

About Pen Pumlumon Arwystli

Situated on the expansive, windswept plateau of the Pumlumon massif, this Hewitt offers a wilder alternative to its busier neighbour, Pen Pumlumon Fawr. The terrain is often boggy and pathless, typical of Mid-Wales, leading to a summit marked by three ancient stone cairns with far-reaching views across the Cambrian Mountains.

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Did You Know?

• •The name derives from the Welsh for 'Head of the Pumlumon of Arwystli', marking its position as the highest point of the medieval cantref (an ancient land division) of Arwystli.
• •The summit is crowned by three substantial Bronze Age burial cairns, which serve as essential navigational aids on a plateau where the weather can close in with remarkable speed.
• •This peak sits at the heart of a vital British watershed; the infant sources of both the River Severn (Afon Hafren) and the River Wye (Afon Gwy) rise on the slopes immediately surrounding the summit.
• •Looking north from the cairns, the sharp, distinctive profile of Cadair Idris is clearly visible on the horizon, contrasting with the gentler, rolling moorland of the Elan Valley to the south.
• •The ground here is legendary among Welsh walkers for its saturation; it is one of the few places where you can be standing on the second-highest point in Mid-Wales while simultaneously standing in six inches of water.