Manod Mawr 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 ...

North Wales North Wales ( cy, Gogledd Cymru) is a region of Wales, encompassing its northernmost areas. It borders Mid Wales to the south, England to the east, and the Irish Sea to the north and west. The area is highly mountainous and rural, with Snowdonia N ...

and forms part of the

Moelwynion The Moelwynion (a Welsh plural, sometimes anglicised to Moelwyns) are a group of mountains in central Snowdonia. They extend from the north-east of Porthmadog to Moel Siabod, the highest of the group. The name derives from the names of two of the ...

. Although known as a mountain in the eastern Moelwyns, it and its sister peaks are sometimes known as the Ffestiniog hills. Manod Mawr is a mountain which has been extensively quarried. The now-closed Graig Ddu Quarry is to be found on the contour, in the hollow between Manod Mawr's summit and

Manod Mawr North Top Manod Mawr North Top is a mountain in North Wales and forms part of the Moelwynion. It lies directly to the north of its parent Manod Mawr Manod Mawr is a mountain in North Wales and forms part of the Moelwynion. Although known as a mou ...

. Manod Mawr's summit is in the exclusion zone of the

Snowdonia National Park Snowdonia or Eryri (), is a mountainous region in northwestern Wales and a national park of in area. It was the first to be designated of the three national parks in Wales, in 1951. Name and extent It was a commonly held belief that the nam ...

around

Blaenau Ffestiniog Blaenau Ffestiniog is a town in Gwynedd, Wales. Once a slate mining centre in historic Merionethshire, it now relies much on tourists, drawn for instance to the Ffestiniog Railway and Llechwedd Slate Caverns. It reached a population of 12,000 ...

, while

's summit only just misses out on the

national park A national park is a natural park in use for conservation purposes, created and protected by national governments. Often it is a reserve of natural, semi-natural, or developed land that a sovereign state declares or owns. Although individua ...

's protection. There were fears the quarry would eventually remove the North Top.Nuttall, John & Anne (1999). The Mountains of England & Wales - Volume 1: Wales (2nd edition ed.). Milnthorpe, Cumbria: Cicerone. . During the

Second World War World War II or the Second World War, often abbreviated as WWII or WW2, was a world war that lasted from 1939 to 1945. It involved the World War II by country, vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great power ...

, quarry tunnels in the Manod range were used to store and protect, in secret, valuable paintings from the

National Gallery The National Gallery is an art museum in Trafalgar Square in the City of Westminster, in Central London, England. Founded in 1824, it houses a collection of over 2,300 paintings dating from the mid-13th century to 1900. The current Director o ...

London London is the capital and List of urban areas in the United Kingdom, largest city of England and the United Kingdom, with a population of just under 9 million. It stands on the River Thames in south-east England at the head of a estuary dow ...

References

External links

www.geograph.co.uk : photos of Manod Mawr and surrounding area
Bro Machno Ffestiniog Mountains and hills of Conwy County Borough Mountains and hills of Gwynedd Mountains and hills of Snowdonia Marilyns of Wales Hewitts of Wales Nuttalls {{Gwynedd-geo-stub