Pen y Gadair Fawr

Pen y Gadair Fawr is an 800 metres (2,625 ft) high subsidiary summit of Waun Fach and the second highest peak in the Black Mountains in south-eastern Wales. Marked by a medium-sized cairn, it is a much more distinguished top than its parent 1.5km to the northwest. Its 658 metres (2,159 ft) high top Pen Twyn Mawr is about 2km to the southeast.[1]

Pen y Gadair Fawr
Pen y Gadair Fawr with Waun Fach (left)
Highest point
Elevation800 m (2,600 ft)
Prominence47 m (154 ft)
Parent peakWaun Fach
ListingHewitt, Nuttall
Naming
English translationtop of the large chair
Language of nameWelsh
Geography
LocationBlack Mountains, South Wales
OS gridSO215300
Topo mapOS Landranger 161
Listed summits of Pen y Gadair Fawr
NameGrid refHeightStatus
Pen Twyn MawrSN969193658 metres (2,159 ft)Nuttall

Geology

The summit and upper slopes of Pen y Gadair Fawr are formed from the Early Devonian Epoch sandstones of the Brownstones Formation, a division of the Old Red Sandstone. Beneath these and forming the lower slopes are the sandstones of the Senni Formation (traditionally the Senni Beds). Mudstone layers within these sandstones are more readily eroded and have given rise to the stepped appearance of parts of the mountain, not least the summit section. Peat has accumulated on parts of the hill in the postglacial period, notably north towards Waun Fach.[2]

Access

The hill is wholly within land mapped under the Countryside and Rights of Way Act 2000 as open country and hence is legally accessible to walkers despite their being no public rights of way leading to it. Mountain bikers can follow the forest roads within nearby Mynydd Du Forest, one of which tops out at 715m, just 0.5km from the summit, but have no legal access to the hill itself.[3][4]

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References
  1. Nuttall, John & Anne (1999). The Mountains of England & Wales - Volume 1: Wales (2nd edition ed.). Milnthorpe, Cumbria: Cicerone. ISBN 1-85284-304-7.
  2. "England and Wales sheet 214 'Talgarth'". Maps portal. British Geological Survey. Retrieved 17 May 2020.
  3. "Cycling". Natural Resources Wales. Retrieved 17 May 2020.
  4. "Bing maps". Bing. Retrieved 17 May 2020.

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