Conwy Mountain (Mynydd y Dref)

button link to welsh translationlink_to_french_translationConwy Mountain (Mynydd y Dref)

Conwy Mountain is the area of high ground north-west of the walled town of Conwy. Its alternative title is Mynydd y Dref, which means The Town’s Mountain.

Rocks along this ridge are remnants of volcanic eruptions about 450 million years ago. Later continental movements tilted the rocks and pushed them upwards. Glaciation has also shaped the landscape.

Conwy Mountain was granted to Aberconwy Abbey by Llywelyn Fawr (Llywelyn the Great), who was Prince of Wales in the early 13th century. Later that century King Edward I expelled the monks and included Conwy Mountain in the land covered by Conwy’s Royal Charter. Conwy Mountain remains in local public ownership today, managed by Conwy County Borough Council. Registered graziers can bring their sheep to the mountain to graze (hence dogs must be kept under control here).

Also roaming the mountain are wild Carneddau ponies, a hardy breed which is believed to have lived in Snowdonia for centuries, and possibly thousands of years. Ravens and buzzards are also seen here. Conwy Mountain is coloured purple by bell heather in late summer. Other plants include gorse (yellow flowers from January to mid-summer), western gorse (smaller yellow flowers, mid-summer), bilberry plants at ground level (small, sweet blue fruits in summer) and rowan trees (scarlet berries in summer). Bracken grows in the sparse, acidic soil resulting from erosion of the volcanic rocks. Birch, oak, pine and whitebeam populate the lower slopes.

Conwy Mountain played an important part in British history in the late 18th century, when the French Revolution and subsequent wars between Britain and France disrupted the traditional supply of millstones from France. Nodular volcanic rocks on Conwy Mountain were cut into triangles and bound together to form millstones, which were dispatched around Britain to ensure flour production continued.

Them thar hills - identify the hills you can see from Conwy Mountain

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Website of Conwy Countryside Service

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