Cnicht
Cnicht is a mountain in Snowdonia which forms part of the Moelwynion mountain range.[1][2][3]
| 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 | ||
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 rightly regarded by most people as a mountain in its own right, there are compilers of lists who consider that it does not in fact have enough prominence to separate it from its parent Allt-fawr in spite of over 110m of re-ascent and a distance of more than 4 km. Hence it is not regarded 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.
