Hiking Highlight
Recommended by 10 hikers
This Highlight is in a protected area
Please check local regulations for: Parc Cenedlaethol Eryri
Britain has some strange mountain names, but few compete with Pen Llithrig y Wrach, or ‘the Slippery Peak of the Witch.’ There is some debate as to the origin of the name, though it definitely bestows the peak with a certain intrigue.
Name aside, this is a fine mountain in Snowdonia’s wild Carneddau range. It’s technically the termination of Carnedd Llewellyn’s southeastern limb and is connected to neighbouring Pen yr Helgi Du by a fine ridge.
Broadly triangular in form, Pen Llithrig y Wrach’s eastern slopes fall steeply to Llyn Cowlyd, while its other flanks are more amenable. Capel Curig is the obvious base and, along with the laybys on the A5, most routes start here. It is also possible to begin your adventure in the remote and little-visited Cwm Eigiau.
From the summit, the view across Llyn Cowlyd to Creigiau Gleision’s craggy form is excellent, while the prospect of Tryfan and the Glyderau to the southwest is sensational.
Pen Llithrig y Wrach is a mountain peak in Snowdonia, North Wales. It is one of the four Marilyns that make up the Carneddau range. To the east is Creigiau Gleision, another Marilyn, while to the west is Pen yr Helgi Du and Carnedd Llewelyn. Craig Eigiau and Llyn Eigiau can be seen to the north, while Gallt yr Ogof, Glyder Fach and Tryfan can be viewed to the south. It is also a UK listed Nuttall.
It has one of the more colourful names of any British mountain, translating as slippery peak of the witch, perhaps in reference to the boggy conditions underfoot, or because of the resemblance of its pointed profile to an archetypal witch's hat.
It is an outlier of the Carneddau, the higher peaks of which can be reached from Pen Llithrig y Wrach via Pen yr Helgi Du. On its eastern side, the mountain slopes steeply down to Llyn Cowlyd.
It may be climbed from the southern side, from Capel Curig or the A5, or from the north-east, from Dolgarrog or Tal-y-bont in the Conwy valley. It is quite prominent when viewed from the north near Llandudno.
November 20, 2020
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