A crag with a view

From the top of the crags above Tremadog, the view was spectacular. 

Starting from the North East and moving clockwise...

1. Cnicht 

The pinnacle of this mountain makes it very distinctive, especially from the south west, but in reality, Cnicht is a long ridge with a pointy bump at the end. At 2,260 feet it is not especially high; certainly not high enough to join the Welsh 3,000s, but it is a rewarding walk. The name Cnicht comes from Old English, rather than Welsh, and means Knight. Years ago, when I stayed at Tremadog on a school residential, the dormitory I stayed in was named Cnicht.

2. Moelwyn Mawr

At 2,526 feet, Moelwyn Mawr is higher than Cnicht, though still not a 3,000. Its summit overlooks the Vale of Ffestinniog and its small high lake, Llyn Stwlan is used as part of the water source for the hydro-electric power station at Tanygrisiau. Moelwyn Mawr is Welsh and translates as 'Great White Hill'.

3. The Cob

The Cob is a sea wall causeway built in 1811 by William Maddocks. It stretches for 1.4 miles, spanning the mouth of the Glaslyn River, and carries a road, a cycle path and the Ffestinniog narrow gauge railway. The Cob was constructed to reclaim the land of the Treath Mawr from the sea and it was on this reclaimed land that the town of Portmadog was built. Until 2003, the Cob was privately owned and charged a toll. Because it had been set by an Act of Parliament when permission to build the Cob was granted, the toll continued at a fixed rate for almost 200 years - 1 shilling (latterly 5p) per car! Now, the Cob has been purchased by the Welsh Assembly and the journey is free.

In the foreground, you can see the ongoing construction of a new road; a by-pass which will hopefully relieve some of the traffic congestion in Porthmadog and improve the town immensely.

4. Criccieth Castle

Finally, looking south west, down the Llyn Peninsular, is the unmistakable shape of Criccieth Castle, about which I have posted before.