Cadair Idris
— the giant's chair above Tal-y-llyn.
Not only on a wall.
“A mountain at the south end of Eryri, 893 metres above the valley. A horseshoe ridge cups Llyn Cau, the dark glacial tarn that gives the mountain its profile. The old story says anyone who sleeps a night on the summit wakes either a poet or a madman. It looks the part.
Cadair Idris, on ceramic.
Each tile is finished by hand in our Knoxville studio. Artwork is slowly infused into the ceramic surface under high heat and pressure, and rests beneath a thin glossy finish. The colour lives in the surface, not on top of it.
Pick any four 4-inch tiles — National Parks you've been to, a Smokies set, the four seasons of one place. $ for a set of , cork-backed, ready to live on the table.
The place, in three passes.
Cadair Idris rises to 893 metres at its summit, Penygadair, in southern Eryri (Snowdonia) National Park in north-west Wales, about ten kilometres south of the town of Dolgellau. The name translates from Welsh as the chair of Idris, after the giant or king of medieval Welsh legend. The mountain forms a long ridge above the Mawddach estuary, with Llyn Cau cupped in a glacial cwm on its southern flank. Three main paths reach the summit: the Pony Path, the Minffordd Path, and the Fox's Path.
Weather on the ridge changes faster than the forecast. The summit sits high enough to catch Atlantic fronts that come in off Cardigan Bay, and cloud can drop over the cwm within an hour of a clear morning. Average temperatures at the summit run several degrees colder than at the trailhead, and visibility on the ridge is the main hazard for walkers. The Met Office mountain forecast is the usual reference. Map and compass are recommended even in summer; the path is exposed above the cwm.
The standard ascent is the Minffordd Path from the car park at Dôl Idris, a round trip of about ten kilometres and 900 metres of climb. Most walkers take five to seven hours. The Pony Path from Ty Nant is gentler but longer. Parking is paid at both main trailheads and is operated by the National Park Authority. A small stone shelter stands at the summit. The mountain is freely accessible; winter ascents require ice axe and crampons in snow conditions.