Cadair Berwyn, Cader Berwyn or Craig Uchaf is a

mountain A mountain is an elevated portion of the Earth's crust, generally with steep sides that show significant exposed bedrock. Although definitions vary, a mountain may differ from a plateau in having a limited summit area, and is usually higher t ...

summit in north-east

Wales Wales ( ) is a Countries of the United Kingdom, country that is part of the United Kingdom. It is bordered by the Irish Sea to the north and west, England to the England–Wales border, east, the Bristol Channel to the south, and the Celtic ...

with a height of above sea level. It is the highest point in the

Berwyn range The Berwyn range (Welsh (language), Welsh: ''Y Berwyn'' or ''Mynydd y Berwyn'') is an isolated and sparsely populated area of moorland in the northeast of Wales, roughly bounded by Llangollen in the northeast, Corwen in the northwest, Bala, Gw ...

, the highest in North East Wales and the highest significant summit in Wales outside the

National Park A national park is a nature park designated for conservation (ethic), conservation purposes because of unparalleled national natural, historic, or cultural significance. It is an area of natural, semi-natural, or developed land that is protecte ...

s. Cadair Berwyn and Foel Cedig to the west are the two Marilyns that form the Berwyn range. The undulating plateau of the range also includes a large number of other summits above , including satellite summits of Cadair Berwyn and many which are classed as

Nuttalls Nuttall may refer to: People * Nuttall (name) * Nuttall baronets Nature * Nuttall's oak, a fast-growing large deciduous oak tree native to North America * Nuttall's woodpecker, a species of woodpecker found in oak woodlands of California * Nu ...

. The mountain lies on main ridge of the Berwyns which runs north–south. The eastern side of the ridge is characterised by steep drops and crags including Craig Berwyn north of the summit and Craig y Llyn to the south. Craig y Llyn forms the headwall of a cwm, and it is to this that the word ''cadair'' (''chair'' in Welsh) presumably refers. Further north along the ridge is

Cadair Bronwen Cadair Bronwen is a mountain in North Wales and forms part of the Berwyn range. To the south are the higher Berwyn summits, including Cadair Berwyn. To the north lies Moel yr Henfaes and Moel Fferna, which top the north end of the Berwyn range. ...

, whilst to south the ridge continues to

Moel Sych Moel Sych () with a height of is a subsidiary summit of Cadair Berwyn in north east Wales. It is the third highest summit in the Berwyn range after Cadair Berwyn and Cadair Berwyn North Top. The summit lies at the triple historic county boun ...

(, meaning 'dry hill'). It is often reported that

, along the ridge, is of equal height, but Cadair Berwyn's

spot height A spot height is an exact point on a map with an elevation recorded beside it that represents its height above a given datum.Whittow, John (1984). ''Dictionary of Physical Geography''. London: Penguin, 1984, p. 506. . In the UK this is the Ordnan ...

on the

Ordnance Survey The Ordnance Survey (OS) is the national mapping agency for Great Britain. The agency's name indicates its original military purpose (see Artillery, ordnance and surveying), which was to map Scotland in the wake of the Jacobite rising of ...

maps, where the

trig point A triangulation station, also known as a trigonometrical point, and sometimes informally as a trig, is a fixed surveying station, used in geodetic surveying and other surveying projects in its vicinity. The station is usually set up by a map ...

stands, is not the true summit. Cadair Berwyn's summit, south of the trig point, is taller than Moel Sych. This summit is listed as Cadair Berwyn New Top on the Nuttall list. However, the name given to it by its discoverer, Bernard Wright, was Craig Uchaf. In 1987 Bernard Wright, a rambler from Cheshire, was standing on Cadair Berwyn North Top (then said to be the highest mountain in Clwyd) when he noticed that a nearby peak appeared to be higher. After first denying it, the cartographers at the Ordnance Survey finally admitted that Bernard had discovered a 'new mountain' at 830 metres above sea level. Bernard's name for this peak was Craig Uchaf (highest rock) the topographical name fitting in well with those that the Welsh have been giving their landscape for centuries. Near the summit is a Bronze Age cairn. In 2014, accurate re-surveying using

GPS The Global Positioning System (GPS) is a satellite-based hyperbolic navigation system owned by the United States Space Force and operated by Mission Delta 31. It is one of the global navigation satellite systems (GNSS) that provide geol ...

by Myrddyn Phillips added an additional 2 metres to the height. Phillips uses the name Craig Berwyn rather than Cadair Berwyn for this summit. Several other summits in the area are listed as Hewitts or Nuttalls, including Foel Wen (, Welsh for ''white hill'') and Mynydd Tarw (, ''bull mountain''). Cadair Berwyn is the highest point (

county top The mountains and hills of the British Isles are categorised into various lists based on different combinations of elevation, prominence, and other criteria such as isolation. These lists are used for peak bagging, whereby hillwalkers attempt ...

) of the historic county of

Denbighshire Denbighshire ( ; ) is a county in the north-east of Wales. It borders the Irish Sea to the north, Flintshire to the east, Wrexham to the southeast, Powys to the south, and Gwynedd and Conwy to the west. Rhyl is the largest town, and Ruthi ...

. The historic border with

Merionethshire Merionethshire, or Merioneth ( or '), was Historic counties of Wales, one of the thirteen counties of Wales that existed from 1536 until their abolishment in 1974. It was located in the North West Wales, north-west of Wales. Name 'Merioneth' is a ...

also ran through the summit. Moel Sych and Cadair Berwyn North Top had been thought at one time to have been the joint county tops of Denbighshire, but resurveying demoted them as explained previously. In terms of modern administrative units, the summit lies entirely within the

Powys Powys ( , ) is a Principal areas of Wales, county and Preserved counties of Wales, preserved county in Wales. It borders Gwynedd, Denbighshire, and Wrexham County Borough, Wrexham to the north; the English Ceremonial counties of England, ceremo ...

council area, though the border with modern Denbighshire council runs very close (about to the northwest - the new boundary does not exactly follow the old county boundary). Curiously, the historic county of Denbighshire lies on the eastern side on the main Berwyn ridge, but the modern council lies on the western side. The northern end of the main ridge (Craig Berwyn on the OS map, height, north of Cadair Berwyn North Top) is the highest point in

Wrexham county borough Wrexham County Borough () is a Principal areas of Wales, county borough, with city status in the United Kingdom, city status, in the North East Wales, north-east of Wales. It borders the English ceremonial counties of Cheshire and Shropshire to ...

. Cadair Berwyn stands between

Snowdon Snowdon (), or (), is a mountain in Snowdonia in North Wales. It has an elevation of above sea level, which makes it both the highest mountain in Wales and the highest in the British Isles south of the Scottish Highlands. Snowdon i ...

and

the Wrekin The Wrekin ( ) is a hill in east Shropshire, England. It is located some west of Telford, on the border between the unitary authorities of Shropshire Council, Shropshire and Telford and Wrekin. Rising above the Shropshire Plain to a height of ...

and blocks their line-of-sight. The view from the summit on a clear day is extensive and includes Snowdon,

Cadair Idris Cadair Idris or Cader Idris is a mountain in the Meirionnydd area of Gwynedd, Wales. It lies at the southern end of the Snowdonia National Park near the town of Dolgellau. The peak, which is one of the most popular in Wales for walkers and hikin ...

Brecon Beacons The Brecon Beacons (; ) are a mountain range in Wales. The range includes South Wales's highest mountain, Pen y Fan (), its twin summit Corn Du (), and Craig Gwaun Taf (), which are the three highest peaks in the range. The Brecon Beacons ha ...

Shropshire Hills The Shropshire Hills are a dissected Highland, upland area and one of the natural regions of England. They lie wholly within the county of Shropshire and encompass several distinctive and well-known landmarks, such as the Long Mynd, Wenlock Edge ...

Peak District The Peak District is an Highland, upland area in central-northern England, at the southern end of the Pennines. Mostly in Derbyshire, it extends into Cheshire, Greater Manchester, Staffordshire, West Yorkshire and South Yorkshire. It is subdivi ...

Yorkshire Dales The Yorkshire Dales are a series of valleys, or Dale (landform), dales, in the Pennines, an Highland, upland range in England. They are mostly located in the Ceremonial counties of England, ceremonial county of North Yorkshire, but extend into C ...

Lake District The Lake District, also known as ''the Lakes'' or ''Lakeland'', is a mountainous region and National parks of the United Kingdom, national park in Cumbria, North West England. It is famous for its landscape, including its lakes, coast, and mou ...

and the

Isle of Man The Isle of Man ( , also ), or Mann ( ), is a self-governing British Crown Dependency in the Irish Sea, between Great Britain and Ireland. As head of state, Charles III holds the title Lord of Mann and is represented by a Lieutenant Govern ...

. The peak is the nearest high mountain to a significant fraction of the population of the English

Midlands The Midlands is the central region of England, to the south of Northern England, to the north of southern England, to the east of Wales, and to the west of the North Sea. The Midlands comprises the ceremonial counties of Derbyshire, Herefor ...

but sees far fewer walkers than equivalent summits in the Lake District and

Snowdonia Snowdonia, or Eryri (), is a mountainous region and National parks of the United Kingdom, national park in North Wales. It contains all 15 mountains in Wales Welsh 3000s, over 3000 feet high, including the country's highest, Snowdon (), which i ...

. There is a standing stone in the area, located near the summit between Cadair Berwyn and Tomle. This was re-erected in June 2008 by High Sports. The standing stone can be found at SJ080337. Below the mountain is a small lake, Llyn Lluncaws set in a glacial cirque. On 11 August 1942, a

United States Army Air Forces The United States Army Air Forces (USAAF or AAF) was the major land-based aerial warfare service component of the United States Army and ''de facto'' aerial warfare service branch of the United States during and immediately after World War II ...

, Boeing B-17E Flying Fortress flying from RAF Polebrook to

RAF Burtonwood Royal Air Force Burtonwood (or RAF Burtonwood) is a former Royal Air Force and United States Army Air Forces base that was located in Burtonwood, Northwest of Warrington in Cheshire, England. The base was opened in 1940 in response to World W ...

crashed into the side of Cadair Berwyn resulting in the deaths of all eleven passengers and crew. It is the location, as well as

, of an alleged UFO landing in 1974, known as the Berwyn Mountain UFO incident.

References

External links

* Computer generated summit panorama
Cadair Berwyn

www.geograph.co.uk : photos of Cadair Berwyn and surrounding area
Marilyns of Wales Hewitts of Wales Mountains and hills of Denbighshire Nuttalls Highest points of Welsh counties Aviation accidents and incidents locations in Wales