CoralJackz – That History Couple

One of our favorite places in Wales is Cadair Idris mountain in Eryri..
Wales is rich in folklore, myths and legends. The mountain of Cadair Idris, “the chair of Idris”, is no stranger to these tales..

We used to spend our summers working at events across the UK and each time we would drive to England, we would make sure to stop past this beautiful place for a few nights. We usually stay at Cwmrhwyddfor campsite which is a short walk along the road to the Dôl Idris Car Park where we begin our ascent up the mountain. The views from this campsite are breathtaking.

Legends:
Giants are featured prominently in Welsh folklore and mythology. It’s said that giants were even the original inhabitants of ancient Britain…

One of the most well known giants in Welsh folklore was Idris Gawr, a poet, astronomer and philisopher. He was king of Meirionnydd in early medieval Wales. Legend says that Idris built this mountain, which is formed of three peaks surrounding a supposedly bottomless lake, as a seat for him to sit and survey his kingdom, and to study the stars.

One day, while sitting by a lake at the base of the mountain, he removed three stones from his shoe. He threw one of the stones in the direction of Trawsfynydd, and that stone is known today as Lech Idris. Giants are supposedly responsible for many of the cairns scattered over the mountain..

Detailed in the Mabinogion and the ‘Ancient Manuscripts of Wales’, Annwn is known as the Welsh underworld. It was ruled initially by Arawn, then by Gwyn ap Nudd. The Cŵn Annwn, “hounds of Annwn”, were the red eared, spectral hounds of the underworld. Another legend of Cadair Idris is that Gwn ap Nudd would use this mountain as a hunting ground.. using the dogs to herd souls into the underworld. 

It is said that anybody who spends a night on the summit of the mountain would wake up to be either a poet or demented! 

We haven’t spent a night at the top yet, but we hope to do so this year!

Nearby is also our favourite Castle, Castell y Bere.. built around 1221 by
Llywelyn ap Iorwerth (Llywelyn the Great)..

We’ll cover Castell y Bere another time on here. If you would like to learn more, here is the video we made covering the history and legends of Cadair Idris and Castell y Bere –