Mapping Mountains – Significant Name Changes – Y Pedwarau – The 400m Hills of Wales

 

Garnfor (SH 360 457) 

There has been a Significant Name Change with the details being retrospective to a hill that is listed in the Y Pedwarau – The 400m Hills of Wales, with the summit height, bwlch height and their locations, the drop and status of the hill derived from LIDAR analysis initially conducted by Aled Williams and subsequently by Myrddyn Phillips. 

LIDAR image of Garnfor (SH 360 457)

The criteria for the list that this retrospective name change applies to are:

Y Pedwarau – The 400m Hills of Wales.  Welsh hills at or above 400m and below 500m in height that have 30m minimum drop, accompanying the main list are five categories of sub hills; 500m Sub-Pedwarau, 500m Double Sub-Pedwarau, 400m Sub-Pedwarau, 390m Sub-Pedwarau and the 390m Double Sub-Pedwarau.  The list is co-authored by Myrddyn Phillips and Aled Williams and is published on Mapping Mountains in Google Doc format.

Y Pedwarau - The 400m Hills of Wales by Myrddyn Phillips and Aled Williams

The hill is adjoined to the Yr Eifl group of hills, which are situated in the north-western part of North Wales (Region A, Sub-Region A1), and it is positioned with a minor road to its north-east, the B4417 road to its south and the A499 road to its east and has the villages of Trefor towards the north-east and Llithfaen towards the south.

The hill appeared in the original Welsh 400m P30 list compiled by Myrddyn Phillips and published on Geoff Crowder’s v-g.me website, under the directional name of Yr Eifl North Top, with an accompanying note stating; Name from hill to the South.

Yr Eifl North Top

444m

SH361457

123

254

Clem/Yeaman. aka Pen Bwlch Yr Eifl. Name from hill to the South.

When Myrddyn Phillips first compiled this list he thought it appropriate to either invent a name for a hill, or use a name that appeared near to the summit of the hill on Ordnance Survey maps of the day.  His preference was to use farm names and put Pen, Bryn or Moel in front of them or as in this instance use a directional name based on supplanting the name of a near hill and adding a directional component to it.  This is not a practice that he now advocates as with time and inclination place-name data can be improved either by asking local people or by examining historic documents, through this form of research an appropriate name for the hill can usually be found. 

Extract from the OSMaps website

After initial compilation and prior to the 1^st edition of this list being published by Europeaklist in May 2013 local place-name enquiries were made.  These concentrated in the two villages either side of this hill; Trefor and Llithfaen.  Two names of note were consistently given for this hill; Garnfor and Mynydd Gwaith.

Extract from the Ordnance Survey 1:25,000 Explorer map

Since the Europeaklist version of the list was published, the name Garn Fôr has been added to contemporary Ordnance Survey maps.  However, it is stressed that Garnfor is the predominant local pronunciation of this name, and as such, it is by this form Garnfor that this hill is listed as.

The name of Mynydd Gwaith has also recently appeared on some Ordnance Survey products, including the OSMaps website.

Therefore, the name this hill is now listed by in the Y Pedwarau – The 400m Hills of Wales is Garnfor, and this was derived from local enquiry. 

 

The full details for the hill are: 

Group:  Yr Eifl 

Name:  Garnfor 

Previously Listed Name:  Yr Eifl North Top 

OS 1:50,000 map:  123 

Summit Height:  445.7m (LIDAR) 

Summit Grid Reference:  SH 36095 45726 (LIDAR) 

Bwlch Height:  349.7m (LIDAR) 

Bwlch Grid Reference:  SH 36161 45367 (LIDAR) 

Drop:  96.0m (LIDAR) 

 

Myrddyn Phillips and Aled Williams (August 2025)