Bwlch y Groes
Encyclopedia
Mountain pass
A mountain pass is a route through a mountain range or over a ridge. If following the lowest possible route, a pass is locally the highest point on that route...
in Wales
Wales
Wales is a country that is part of the United Kingdom and the island of Great Britain, bordered by England to its east and the Atlantic Ocean and Irish Sea to its west. It has a population of three million, and a total area of 20,779 km²...
, with a summit altitude of 545 metres (1,788 feet). It lies on minor roads linking Dinas Mawddwy
Dinas Mawddwy
Dinas Mawddwy is a village in Gwynedd, north Wales, just to the side of the A470 so that most visitors pass the village by. Its population is roughly 600. The village marks the junction of the unclassified road to Llanuwchllyn which climbs up through the mountains to cross Bwlch y Groes at its...
(via Llanymawddwy
Llanymawddwy
Llanymawddwy is a village in Gwynedd, Wales, which is to the north of the larger village of Dinas Mawddwy, on the minor road which connects Dinas Mawddwy to Llanuwchllyn over Bwlch y Groes. The most notable building is St...
), Llanuwchllyn
Llanuwchllyn
Llanuwchllyn is a village in Gwynedd, Wales, near the southern end of Bala Lake . Its population according to the United Kingdom Census 2001 was 834., of which approximately 81% were Welsh-speaking....
and Lake Vyrnwy
Lake Vyrnwy
Lake Vyrnwy Nature Reserve and Estate is an area of land in Montgomeryshire, Powys, Wales, surrounding the Victorian reservoir of Lake Vyrnwy. Its stone-built dam, built in the 1880s, was the first of its kind in the world. The Nature Reserve and the area around it are jointly managed by the Royal...
. The cross, just below the summit at the junction of the roads from Vyrnwy and from Dinas Mawddwy, commemorates the place of the pass on a pilgrim route from north Wales.
The view from the pass encompasses the plain of the Dyfi valley
River Dyfi
The River Dyfi is a river in Mid Wales. The Dyfi estuary forms the border between the counties of Gwynedd and Ceredigion.- Source :...
, Cadair Idris
Cadair Idris
Cadair Idris or Cader Idris is a mountain in Gwynedd, Wales that lies at the southern end of the Snowdonia National Park. The peak, which is one of the most popular in Wales for walkers and hikers, is composed largely of Ordovician igneous rocks, with classic glacial erosion features such as...
and a close view of Aran Fawddwy
Aran Fawddwy
Aran Fawddwy is a mountain in southern Snowdonia, Wales, United Kingdom.The nearest urban centres to the mountain are Dinas Mawddwy to the south, Llanymawddwy to the southeast, Llanuwchllyn on the shores of Bala Lake to the north, and Rhydymain to the west. On the eastern slopes of Aran Fawddwy is...
.
The Bwlch y Groes is also known as the Hellfire Pass, and was used between and after the wars by the Austin Motor Company
Austin Motor Company
The Austin Motor Company was a British manufacturer of automobiles. The company was founded in 1905 and merged in 1952 into the British Motor Corporation Ltd. The marque Austin was used until 1987...
and the Standard Triumph Motor Company
Triumph Motor Company
The Triumph Motor Company was a British car and motor manufacturing company. The Triumph marque is owned currently by BMW. The marque had its origins in 1885 when Siegfried Bettmann of Nuremberg initiated S. Bettmann & Co and started importing bicycles from Europe and selling them with his own...
to test prototype cars and their performance during Hillclimbing
Hillclimbing
Hillclimbing is a branch of motorsport in which drivers compete against the clock to complete an uphill course....
. The southern ascent of the Bwlch y Groes, which is approximately 1.7 miles long with severe gradients throughout (steepest 1 in 4), was renowned throughout the 1970s and 80s as the most challenging climb used in the Milk Race round-Britain cycle race.
See also
- List of highest paved roads in Europe
- List of mountain passes