Yr Eifl, sometimes called the Rivals in English, is a group of hills on the north coast of the

Llŷn Peninsula The Llŷn Peninsula ( or , ) is a peninsula in Gwynedd, Wales, with an area of about , and a population of at least 20,000. It extends into the Irish Sea, and its southern coast is the northern boundary of the Tremadog Bay inlet of Cardigan Ba ...

Gwynedd Gwynedd () is a county in the north-west of Wales. It borders Anglesey across the Menai Strait to the north, Conwy, Denbighshire, and Powys to the east, Ceredigion over the Dyfi estuary to the south, and the Irish Sea to the west. The ci ...

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 ...

. On a clear day, the views from the highest summit reach as far as 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

Wicklow Mountains The Wicklow Mountains (, archaic: '' Cualu'') form the largest continuous upland area in Ireland. They occupy the whole centre of County Wicklow and stretch outside its borders into the counties of Dublin, Wexford and Carlow. Where the mountai ...

Ireland Ireland (, ; ; Ulster Scots dialect, Ulster-Scots: ) is an island in the North Atlantic Ocean, in Northwestern Europe. Geopolitically, the island is divided between the Republic of Ireland (officially Names of the Irish state, named Irelan ...

and the

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 ...

, as well as the entire sweep of

Cardigan Bay Cardigan Bay () is a large inlet of the Irish Sea, indenting the west coast of Wales between Bardsey Island, Gwynedd in the north, and Strumble Head, Pembrokeshire at its southern end. It is the largest bay in Wales. Geography Cardigan Bay ha ...

. The view of Yr Eifl is especially prominent from the SW coast of Anglesey, for instance from

Ynys Llanddwyn is a small tidal island off the west coast of Anglesey ( Welsh: Ynys Môn), northwest Wales. The nearest settlement is the village of Newborough. Geology and geography The island is of geological interest with pillow lava, jasper formations a ...

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 show a height of , but a recent survey gives the height at . Clogwyni serth Yr Eifl

The three peaks

There are three peaks: * ''Tre'r Ceiri'': , * ''Garn Ganol'': and * ''Garn Fôr'': . Garn Ganol, the central summit, is the highest point on Llŷn, with an ancient cairn, and a

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 ...

. Across the pass "Bwlch yr Eifl", and overlooking the sea, is Garn Fôr, the northern summit. Garn Fôr is also known as ''Mynydd y Gwaith''. It has a

microwave radio relay Microwave transmission is the Data transmission, transmission of information by electromagnetic waves with wavelengths in the microwave frequency range of 300 MHz to 300 GHz (1 m - 1 mm wavelength) of the electromagnetic spectrum ...

station on it, as well as cairns and

granite Granite ( ) is a coarse-grained (phanerite, phaneritic) intrusive rock, intrusive igneous rock composed mostly of quartz, alkali feldspar, and plagioclase. It forms from magma with a high content of silica and alkali metal oxides that slowly coo ...

quarries (which produced the material for the curling event at the

2006 Winter Olympics The 2006 Winter Olympics (), officially the XX Olympic Winter Games () and also known as Torino 2006, were a winter multi-sport event held from 10 to 26 February in Turin, Italy. This marked the second time Italy had hosted the Winter O ...

), and a cliff face dropping to the

Irish Sea The Irish Sea is a body of water that separates the islands of Ireland and Great Britain. It is linked to the Celtic Sea in the south by St George's Channel and to the Inner Seas off the West Coast of Scotland in the north by the North Ch ...

at Trwyn y Gorlech. The third summit,

Tre'r Ceiri Tre'r Ceiri () is a hillfort dating back to the Iron Age. The name means "town of the giants", from , plural of , "giant". The settlement is above sea level on the slopes of , a mountain on the north coast of the Llŷn Peninsula in , north-west ...

, on the south-eastern side, is the location of an

Iron Age The Iron Age () is the final epoch of the three historical Metal Ages, after the Chalcolithic and Bronze Age. It has also been considered as the final age of the three-age division starting with prehistory (before recorded history) and progre ...

hillfort A hillfort is a type of fortification, fortified refuge or defended settlement located to exploit a rise in elevation for defensive advantage. They are typical of the late Bronze Age Europe, European Bronze Age and Iron Age Europe, Iron Age. So ...

. Its name means "settlement of the giants", from ''cewri'', plural of ''cawr'', giant. It is regarded as one of the best examples of a prehistoric hillfort in Europe. A path leads to the summit.

Surroundings

Routes lead onto the hill from the nearby villages of

Llithfaen Llithfaen () is a village on the North West of Wales on the Llŷn Peninsula in Gwynedd, Wales. It is within the community of Pistyll near Caernarfon Bay. Pwllheli is the nearest town, approximately away, and Caernarfon is away. There is a sho ...

to the south,

Llanaelhaearn Llanaelhaearn is a village on the Llŷn Peninsula in the Local government in Wales, county of Gwynedd, Wales. Located in the community of (prior to 2024 called just "Llanaelhaearn") which also includes the larger village of Trefor, Gwynedd, Tr ...

to the east and Trefor to the north. On the western slopes of Yr Eifl, beneath Graig Ddu (a cliff on the western slope of Garn Ganol), a small valley leads down to the sea. This is

Nant Gwrtheyrn Nant Gwrtheyrn is a Welsh Language and Heritage Centre, located near the village of Llithfaen on the northern coast of the Llŷn Peninsula, Gwynedd, in northwest Wales. The centre takes its name from the valley in which it is located, Nant Gwr ...

("Vortigern's valley"), a valley with access via a private road, with a former quarry village, which is now home to a

Welsh language Welsh ( or ) is a Celtic languages, Celtic language of the Brittonic languages, Brittonic subgroup that is native to the Welsh people. Welsh is spoken natively in Wales by about 18% of the population, by some in England, and in (the Welsh c ...

teaching centre, which is a popular tourist attraction too. Another quarry, Trefor

quarry, can be found to the north of Garn Ganol.

References

External links

www.geograph.co.uk : photos of Yr Eifl and surrounding area
{{Authority control Llanaelhaearn Pistyll Mountains and hills of Gwynedd Sites of Special Scientific Interest in West Gwynedd Marilyns of Wales