Everything about Berwyn Mountains totally explained
The
Berwyn range (
Welsh:
Y Berwyn or
Mynydd y Berwyn) is an isolated and sparsely-populated area of moorland located in the north-east of
Wales, roughly bounded by
Llangollen in the north-east,
Corwen in the north-west,
Bala in the south-west, and
Oswestry in the south-east. It is famously known for its alleged 1974 UFO crash known as the
Berwyn Mountain UFO incident.
The Berwyn range also played its part in causing King
Henry II to turn back during his invasion of
Gwynedd in 1165. Rather than taking the usual route along the northern coastal plain, his army invaded from
Oswestry and took a route over the Berwyns. The invasion faced an alliance of Welsh princes, but there was no fighting - endless days of heavy rain forced the army to retreat.
Description
The area is wild, remote (by British standards) and covered in a layer of
heather about one metre thick, with some acidic grassland and
bracken, which makes the area difficult for hill-walkers. Navigation can be difficult as the hills in the area are not very high, and are often obscured by mist or low cloud. The area supports substantial populations of upland birds including raptors, such as the
Hen Harrier (
Circus cyaneus),
Merlin (
Falco columbarius), and
Peregrine (
Falco peregrinus) (about 14-18 breeding pairs of each species, 1-2% of the total British population), and for this reason it's a
Special Protection Area classified in accordance with the
European Union's Birds Directive.
Other wildlife include
Short-eared Owl,
Raven,
Buzzard,
Polecat and
Golden Plover.
The main summits are
Cadair Berwyn and
Cadair Bronwen.
The Berwyn range is crossed to the south-west by the B4391
Milltir Cerrig mountain pass at an altitude of 486 metres (1594 feet).
Etymology
The scholar
T. Gwynn Jones suggested that a possible origin of the term "Berwyn" was "Bryn(iau) Gwyn (ap Nudd)", where the Middle Welsh word
"bre" (hill) had mutated to
Ber +
Gwyn,
Gwyn ap Nudd being the mythological King of the
Tylwyth teg (Fair Folk, or fairies).
Further Information
Get more info on 'Berwyn Mountains'.
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