Yr Eifl

Yr Eifl
Yr Eifl from Llandegfan at sunset
Highest point
Elevation
Prominence
Parent peak	Moel Hebog
Listing	Marilyn
Naming
Translation	The forks. Also known as The Rivals as it sounds similar to 'yr Eifl' (Welsh)
Pronunciation	Welsh: [əɾ ˈəivl]
Geography
Location	Llŷn peninsula, UK
OS grid	SH364447
Topo map	OS Landranger 123

Yr Eifl is a mountain on the north coast of the Llŷn peninsula in Gwynedd, north-western Wales.

It has three summits, each quite separate from the others, and this is often supposed to be the source of the English name The Rivals. But this is merely an anglicised form of Yr Eifl, meaning "the forks" or "the strides" (Welsh: gafl, plural geifl).

On a clear day, the views from the top summit reach as far as the Isle of Man, the Wicklow mountains in Ireland and the Lake District, as well as the entire sweep of Cardigan Bay.

The view of Yr Eifl is especially striking from the SW coast of Anglesey, for instance from Llanddwyn island.

The OS Maps show a height of 564 metres, but a recent survey gives the height at 561 metres (1,841 feet).

The three peaks

There are three peaks:

• Tre'r Ceiri (485 metres (1,591 ft)),
• Garn Ganol (561 metres (1,841 ft)) and
• Garn For (444 metres (1,457 ft)).

Garn Ganol, the central summit, is the highest point on Llŷn, with an ancient cairn, and it houses the trig point;

Across the pass "Bwlch yr Eifl", and overlooking the sea, is Garn For, the northern summit. It has a microwave radio relay station on it, as well as cairns and granite quarries (producing the material for the curling event at the 2006 Winter Olympics), and a cliff face leading down to the Irish Sea.

The third summit, Tre'r Ceiri, on the south-eastern side, is the location of an Iron Age hill fort. This name is believed to mean "home of the giants", from cewri, plural of cawr, giant. It is regarded as one of the best examples in Europe of a prehistoric hill fort. There is a path leading up to this summit.

Surroundings

Routes lead onto the hill from the nearby villages of Llithfaen to the south, Llanaelhaearn to the east and Trefor to the north. On the western slopes of Yr Eifl, beneath the menacing shadow of Graig Ddu (a cliff on the W slope of Garn Ganol), is a small valley leading down to the sea. This is Nant Gwrtheyrn ("Vortigern's Valley"), a valley with no public roads, with a former quarry village, which is now home to a Welsh-language teaching centre.

Another quarry, Trefor granite quarry, can be found to the north of Garn Ganol.

External links

• www.geograph.co.uk : photos of Yr Eifl and surrounding area