Elidir Fawr 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 ...

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 ...

, north

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 ...

, the northernmost peak in the

Glyderau The Glyderau (a Welsh plural form, also known in English as the Glyders) are a mountain group in Snowdonia, North Wales. The name derives from the highest peaks in the range, Glyder Fawr and Glyder Fach. According to Sir Ifor Williams, the w ...

. Its name means 'Big Elidir', named after a legendary warrior king of the 6th century also known as Eliffer Gosgorddfawr (Elidir of the Great Army). To the north of the summit is a small lake, Marchlyn Mawr, which is the upper

reservoir A reservoir (; ) is an enlarged lake behind a dam, usually built to water storage, store fresh water, often doubling for hydroelectric power generation. Reservoirs are created by controlling a watercourse that drains an existing body of wa ...

for Dinorwig power station, a pump-storage

power station A power station, also referred to as a power plant and sometimes generating station or generating plant, is an industrial facility for the electricity generation, generation of electric power. Power stations are generally connected to an electr ...

hidden inside the mountain. Water from this lake flows through huge tunnels into the lower reservoir Llyn Peris. From the north, Elidir Fawr is very prominent, and can appear to be higher than the higher mountains behind it.

Slate quarries

From

Llanberis Llanberis () is a village, community (Wales), community and electoral ward in Gwynedd, northwest Wales, on the southern bank of the lake and at the foot of Snowdon, the highest mountain in Wales. It is a centre for outdoor activity, outdoor ac ...

, the mountain is dominated by the former Dinorwic slate quarries and the waste they have left behind.

Approach

It is a reasonably short, but steep walk up to the summit, and this can be undertaken from the

Deiniolen Deiniolen (; ; ) is a village in Gwynedd, Wales, at the foot of Elidir Fawr, in Llanddeiniolen Community. Deiniolen has views over Caernarfon (7 miles away) and on a clear day, Holyhead Mountain and occasionally the Wicklow Mountains in Irel ...

side or from

Nant Peris The Llanberis Pass (; alternative English name, Pass of Llanberis) in Snowdonia carries the main road (A4086) from the south-east to Llanberis, over Pen-y-Pass, between the mountain ranges of the Glyderau and the Snowdon massif. At the bottom o ...

. The Deiniolen walk provides views down to Llanberis, while the Nant Peris approach is short and quite steep.Nuttall, John & Anne (1999). The Mountains of England & Wales - Volume 1: Wales (2nd edition ed.). Milnthorpe, Cumbria: Cicerone. . The summit can also be reached from Ogwen Cottage via a traverse of Y Garn and Foel-goch. The route makes its way around the headwall of Cwm Dudodyn to Bwlch y Brecan and up to the rocky summit of Elidir Fawr. File:Elidir Fawr.jpg, Elidir Fawr from the slopes of Moel Eilio, with the Dinorwic Quarry prominent on its south-west face. File:Elidir Fawr ridge, as seen from the ridge along Mynydd Perfedd, above the reservoir, with Moel Cynghorion in the background.jpg, Elidir Fawr ridge, as seen from the ridge along Mynydd Perfedd, above the reservoir, with Moel Cynghorion in the background

References

External links

Walks to the summit

www.geograph.co.uk : photos of and from Elidir Fawr
{{coord, 53.13074, N, 4.07603, W, region:GB_source:enwiki-osgb36(SH612613), display=title Marilyns of Wales Hewitts of Wales Mountains and hills of Snowdonia Nuttalls Furths Mountains and hills of Gwynedd Llanberis Llanddeiniolen