Carneddau facts for kids
The Carneddau (pronounced Car-NED-eye) are a group of mountains in Snowdonia, Wales. Their name comes from the Welsh word for 'cairns', which are piles of stones often found on mountain tops. These mountains have some of the largest areas of high ground in Wales and England. They also include several of the highest peaks in the country.
The Carneddau mountains are home to beautiful lakes like Llyn Cowlyd and Llyn Eigiau. You can also find the stunning Aber Falls waterfalls here. This mountain range is surrounded by the Irish Sea to the north and the Conwy valley to the east. Main roads like the A5 also border the area. The Carneddau cover about 200 square kilometers, which is about 10% of the whole Snowdonia National Park.
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How the Carneddau Mountains Were Formed
The rocks that make up the Carneddau mountains are very old. They were formed between 500 and 440 million years ago during a time called the Ordovician period. Back then, huge land masses were slowly moving towards each other. This movement caused the ocean floor to melt, leading to volcanoes and the land pushing upwards. This is how the amazing mountains of Snowdonia first began to rise.
Over millions of years, these mountains have been shaped by weather and giant sheets of ice. The last ice sheet melted away about 10,000 years ago. It left behind smooth mountain tops and large boulders scattered around. It also created small, shallow lakes in the valleys.
A Look at the Carneddau's Past
People first started living in the Carneddau area during the Neolithic (New Stone Age) period. These early farmers began clearing the thick forests of oak and birch trees. Later, people from the Bronze Age cleared even more forests. They also built standing stones across the uplands.
Today, there are over a thousand ancient monuments on the land owned by the National Trust in the Carneddau. You can find the remains of round stone huts from the Bronze Age. The stone cairns on the mountain summits sometimes contain the ashes of important people from that time.
During the Iron Age, more huts were built on the slopes of Drosgl mountain. People lived in these settlements for about a thousand years, even after the Romans arrived. The Romans built a road called Bwlch y Ddeufaen across the northern slopes of the Carneddau. After the Romans left in 410 AD, Welsh princes took control. They continued to clear forests, and goats were once the main type of livestock. You can still see their wild descendants in the area today! Later, cattle became common, and sheep became very popular in the 18th century for their wool.
By the 1200s, King Edward I of England wanted to control more of Wales. English castles were built around Snowdonia. The two highest mountains in the Carneddau are named after important Welsh princes. Carnedd Llewelyn is named after Llywelyn the Great (1172-1240). Carnedd Dafydd is named after his grandson, Dafydd ap Gruffydd (1238-1283). Prince Dafydd was captured in the northern foothills of the Carneddau in 1283. His capture marked the end of Wales's independence.
Legends of the Mountains
Many old stories and legends are connected to the Carneddau. One famous legend says that Llyn Ogwen is where King Arthur's sword, Excalibur, was supposed to have been thrown. Another tale speaks of two small lakes below the cliffs of Carnedd Llywelyn. People believed these lakes were haunted by strange, deformed fish.
A more recent legend tells of two huge boulders called the "Meini Gwynedd" near the top of Carnedd Llywelyn. It's said they were moved there in 1542 from the banks of one of the lakes. Henry VIII supposedly ordered an investigation and then declared the story was true!
Exploring the Carneddau Landscape
The Carneddau form the largest continuous area of mountain land over 2,500 feet high in Wales. While they might not look as rugged as the Snowdon or Glyderau mountains, they are still very impressive. Much of the higher ground is covered with rough grass and heather.
Pen yr Ole Wen is on the western edge of the range and stands tall over the Nant Ffrancon pass. As you follow the ridge from there, you reach Carnedd Dafydd, then Carnedd Llewelyn, and other lower peaks. The northern and western sides of the ridge have mostly grassy slopes. However, the eastern side has some high cliffs, deep valleys, and small lakes. The Carneddau are also special because they are home to the only group of wild horses in the United Kingdom.
Here are some of the main peaks in the central Carnedd ridge:
- Carnedd Llewelyn (1064 meters)
- Carnedd Dafydd (1044 meters)
- Pen yr Ole Wen (978 meters)
- Foel Grach (976 meters)
- Yr Elen (962 meters)
- Foel-fras (942 meters)
- Carnedd Gwenllian (926 meters)
In 2009, a peak previously called Garnedd Uchaf was renamed Carnedd Gwenllian. This was done to honor Princess Gwenllian, the daughter of Prince Llywelyn ap Gruffudd.
Plants and Animals of the Carneddau
The plants in the Carneddau must be very tough to survive the snow, frosts, and strong winds. Plants found by sheltered streams are very different from those clinging to rocks on windy slopes. Sheep graze on the mountains, which affects the types of plants that grow there.
In areas where sheep are kept out, you might find beautiful globe flowers, wood avens, angelica, red campion, and roseroot. Trees like ash, alder, hawthorn, holly, and rowan grow at lower elevations. Higher up, on rocky slopes, you can spot Welsh poppies. In damp, rocky spots, you might even find the rare Wilson's filmy fern. Boggy areas are home to cotton grass, marsh orchids, sundews, and bog asphodel. The drier, rocky slopes have bilberry, ling, and different types of heather. On the very top ridges, you'll see small, low-growing willows, sedges, mosses, and lichens.
Long ago, wolves and deer used to live in the Carneddau. They are gone now, but besides the many sheep, you can find red foxes, moles, mice, polecats, and an increasing number of otters.
Many birds also live and breed here. These include the common buzzard, kestrel, merlin, and peregrine. You might also see ravens and choughs. The rare ring ouzel, wheatear, and stonechat are at home here. Other birds like the skylark and meadow pipit are also common. Common sandpipers nest by the lakes, and the rare twite lives in the Nant Ffrancon Valley. Dotterels can sometimes be seen passing through the higher slopes.
The wild ponies that roam the Carneddau are very special. A study in 2012 showed that they have been a separate breed for hundreds of years. Sadly, their numbers were greatly reduced by heavy snows in the spring of 2013.
Images for kids
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Pen yr Ole Wen rising above Ogwen Cottage
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Yr Elen, with Carnedd Llewelyn behind
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Aber Falls, at the foot of the Carneddau
