Cnicht
Cnicht | |
---|---|
![]() Cnicht from the south-west | |
Highest point | |
Elevation | 689 m (2,260 ft) |
Prominence | 104 m (341 ft) |
Listing | HuMP, Hewitt, Nuttall |
Naming | |
English translation | knight |
Language of name | Old English |
Pronunciation | /ˈknɪxt/ |
Geography | |
Location | Gwynedd, Wales |
Parent range | Moelwynion |
OS grid | SH645466 |
Topo map | OS Landranger 115 |
Listed summits of Cnicht | ||||
Name | Grid ref | Height | Status | |
---|---|---|---|---|
Cnicht | 689 m (2,260 ft) | Nuttall |
Cnicht is a mountain in Snowdonia which forms part of the Moelwynion mountain range.[1][2][3]
Features[]
Its appearance when viewed from the south-west, i.e. from the direction of Porthmadog, has earned it the sobriquet the "Matterhorn of Wales", albeit being 3,789 metres lower. In reality Cnicht is a long ridge and, at 689 m, is the fifth-highest peak in the Moelwynion mountain range. It can be easily ascended from Croesor, the village at its foot, or, with more difficulty, from Nant Gwynant to the north-west.
Although regarded by some as a mountain in its own right, Cnicht does not have the required 150m of topographic prominence to be classed as a Marilyn.
Toponymy[]
The mountain gets its name from the old English word 'knight', the silent 'k' being pronounced at that time. It is said that the shape of the mountain bears a similarity to a knight's helmet.
In fiction[]
It appears as the "Saeth" in Patrick O'Brian's 1952 novel Three Bear Witness (published as Testimonies in the USA), which is set in a fictionalised version of Cwm Croesor.[4] O'Brian and his wife lived in the valley between 1946 and 1949.
References[]
- ^ Marsh, Terry. The Summits of Snowdonia (London: Robert Hale, 1984)
- ^ Marsh, Terry. The Mountains of Wales (London: Hodder and Stoughton, 1985)
- ^ Nuttall, John & Anne (1999). The Mountains of England & Wales - Volume 1: Wales (2nd edition ed.). Milnthorpe, Cumbria: Cicerone. ISBN 1-85284-304-7.
- ^ Tolstoy, Nikolai (2005). Patrick O'Brian:The making of the novelist. London: Arrow. pp. 337–339. ISBN 0-09-941584-4.
External links[]
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Wikimedia Commons has media related to Cnicht. |
Coordinates: 53°0′1.26″N 4°1′7.66″W / 53.0003500°N 4.0187944°W
- Mountains and hills of Snowdonia
- Hewitts of Wales
- Nuttalls
- Mountains and hills of Gwynedd
- Beddgelert
- Llanfrothen
- Gwynedd geography stubs