Yr Eifl

Infobox Mountain
Name = Yr Eifl
Photo = Ye_Eifl_%40_sunset.jpg
Caption = Yr Eifl from Llandegfan at sunset
Location = Llŷn peninsula, WAL
Elevation = 564 m (1,850 ft)
Prominence = "c." 433 m
Parent peak = Moel Hebog
Topographic
OS "Landranger" 123
Grid_ref_UK = SH364447
Listing=Marilyn
Translation = The forks
Language = Welsh
Pronunciation=əɾ əivl

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 three peaks

There are three peaks:
*"Tre'r Ceiri" (485 m),
*"Garn Ganol" (564 m) and
*"Garn For" (444 m).

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 the Iron Age hill fort "Tre'r Ceiri". 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

* [http://www.geograph.org.uk/search.php?i=2798251 www.geograph.co.uk : photos of Yr Eifl and surrounding area]