Hafodygors Wen Ring Cairn View all content for Hafodygors Wen (11 posts)

After a fair soaking at Gwern Gof Isaf hut circle near tryfan, I was not quite reluctant to get back out of the warm car, but the idea of waiting for a dryer day had occurred to me that's for sure. But that's not the postal way, I opted for walking boots (that are still waterproof) instead of wellies, picked up the shears and strode of into the misty wilderness. I parked by the cattle grid this time and followed the wall down to the river which had more water in it than the first time I came, I was almost certainly going to slip off a rock and get wet., well, wetter than normal, but I made it across, grumbling but no wetter than when I started. From the other side of the river it's just a case of finding the big rock and the four poster is about 50yards away. River crossing aside no problem. You may have noted that I was carrying shears with me, my first visit had been somewhat frustrated by two inappropriately placed gorse bushes, they are right on the cairn itself and half obscure two of the four stones. The smaller of the two bushes had all but died and the entire plant was removed easily in less than half an hour. I hasten to add that absolutely no damage occurred to the structure of the cairn or to the stone. The ground isn't too pretty where the bush was , but I'm sure that a good summer will green right over the brown patch. It's not like anyone but me ever goes there, If you feel like complaining feel free, (I may have a go at the other gorse bush if no-one does) but I feel the site is better off for having me as a friend, and now the only four poster in North Wales has 50 % less gorse coverage and will soon look the better for it.

Posted by postman 9th January 2012ce

Comments (8)
Complaining? The knighthood should be in the post.	Posted by thesweetcheat 9th January 2012ce
Thanks Alken, you never know, some people might think it interfering or something, messing with archaeological sites is viewed fairly dimly. I was real careful not to even disturb a single boulder of cairn material.	Posted by postman 9th January 2012ce
No other bugger's going to bother with it, the gorse roots will be doing more damage than your shears.	Posted by thesweetcheat 10th January 2012ce
Well done, i've been there a few years ago and the bushes bugged me, i remember it was quite hard to get to [for a little distance] nevermind with shears, i got pulled in there and it got dark really quickly [i was at the row in darkness and i nearly got lost [i fluked it back to the van after shitting myself, it was cold, i didn't even know i was going the right way, i didn't take a compass and couldn't see any stars], so good on you- the bog trotting, hill climbing, stone hugging, gardening postman, is there no end to your talents [apart from guitar].	Posted by bladup 11th January 2012ce
Apparently my money management talents are somewhat lacking so unfortunately my bog trotting hill climbing stone hugging and gardening will have to take a back seat for a while in favour of doing nothing. But i'm taken aback and highly pleased that you've taken the time to see this wild and beautiful place, good on you, i'm sure we'll bump into each other eventually. Do you think the stone row is 100% cosher and is the four poster just that, like the northern ones?	Posted by postman 16th January 2012ce
Hey if you've got no money ,take it to around you're front door it's amazing what you'll find, and if you don't you know it's still lovely out there, i think you got into this from countryside walks so it'll be like going back to the begining, just with your new eyes, field walking for tools and flint is free, can be done from your front door and is a great way to find new places where the anicents were, when i lived in lincoln- theres fuck all there now, i found a lovely spearhead which proved the danes where in lincolnshire in the neolithic- because they were the only ones who could knap in such a high tech way, you can learn more about the people in this way, since moving to cornwall [ last summer] i've found pottery, a fire pit [in a cliff face] and worked flint- it's easy to see in fields full of granite, i was used to seeing worked flint in fields full of flint, so now it's easy to see and i feel i was trained up. The other day i noticed farms and buildings named tremenheere about 30 mins walk from my front door, i looked on pastscape and it said that near there was the approximate site of a possible standing stone, i had a look and was shocked to find a massive standing stone 10 foot+, the landowner said it was up when he was a child, then pulled down and buried, but the plough kept hitting it, so it was moved to the hedge, and in later life it had done his head in-because he knew the spot where it had come from, so he said one day when he had the equipment and manpower he put it back, i never knew i would find something so big on my front door, so chin up and take it local. Hafodygors wen reminded me of fontburn reservoir 4 poster in northumberland [a lot closer to the 4 posters homeland], so thats a good sign, and certain people moved around the landscape a lot back then and would have brought there own traditions with them, a lot of 4 posters seem to be sat in a square [ the hills around make it look like tha t-4 stones on wales/england border is a good example of this ,whereas at circles and henges the hills seem to spiral around into the circles, getting closer and closer until it sweeps round next to the circle, never at it, the row to me was a lot more doubtful, i personly didn't like the shape of the stones, they reminded me of the ones at zennor quoit which the farmer had started buildind a stone shed with, so they probably came from something, they just didn't do it for me (i was a little put out by how quickly it had got dark though and had to go quickly ,so i never had time to take the place in properly, it was a flying visit), so take it back to the begining and do a merlin and walk (you and your lad like biking as well, don't you?) , you never know what you will find, it all started there for me (out of body experience let me know of all the other places, so it's always good to go back to how you got into it in the first place but with you're new eyes). The world needs us pissing everywhere and you playing air guitar to the cosmos, we don't know what power is in what we do, i just know it's real and important, so that makes you real and important, fuck the money and find another way, i had places all over the country to visit and have had to put them all on the backburner (half the time i feel i know the places when i get there anyway) so i know how it feels, but thats the point we've been at it a while now and not been able to go many places is strangely liberating , and when you do have a trip it makes it that bit more special.	Posted by bladup 16th January 2012ce
I know what you mean about the row, having them so close to the ruined building made me doubt their antiquity, and their so tall and thin not at all like any other row iv'e seen. Iv'e just had a look at Fontburn and the two are almost twins aren't they, i'm encouraged all the more to call Hafodygors wen a four poster. Wise words indeed about not having any money, we do indeed like biking i'm a tad surprised you remembered, the last time we did any was a while ago. However, my hometown of Crewe was mostly marshland long ago so only a long hike will get us anywhere interesting, but I know other places in Cheshire that deserve a good look around ( though it'll never be as interesting as Cornwall or even Lincolnshire), along the Mid Cheshire ridge and up near Congleton and Macc for instance, thanks for the advise, I shall certainly follow it. I'd really like to know more about these out of body experiences you've had, how do they occur, are they often, do they still occur, are they natural or forced and where do they come from, do they accompany a rush of blood to the head, my aneurysm prone arterial system might not be able to take it.	Posted by postman 16th January 2012ce
In lincoln under the flooded valley floor is one of the best preserved neolithic, bronze age and iron age sites in the world, living sites, work sites, barrows and even a brewing site have been found but above the ground there's hardly anything to see, the old peat is eroding and starting to reveal loads of barrows, everything else is 2 meters down, the rest that is known comes from finds and work from time team and a little bit [fuck all] from locals, the ancients loved living in wet places for the food and drink, and back in the iron age all the lowlands seem to have been slowly flooded, therefore preserving the archeology and now those layers are eroding away because of climate change, so in the marshes around crewe there could be loads of stuff [starting to be revealed] , it's may just be hidden under layers of deposit, it's amazing what a deep plough brings up, all places that seemingly have nothing started out that way , before people find stuff that leads to more stuff, the one thing i've found is that the ancients were everywhere , we're so used to everything been in the hills, whereas in lincoln the barrows are actually in the witham valley, probably because there isn't any high hills, i once thought there was nothing around lincoln but once i'd had a look [not with my lovely hills eyes on but taking it as it is , i was blown away by what was there!!!], on the north ridge overlooking the valley i found massive enclosers with what looks like a far older henge in it, i found these walking and was shocked how clear they where from above [google earth], i let people know in lincoln and they had a look, phoned me back and said it looked like i was right and that it is probably the first henge found at lincoln and that was that [i was hoping they'd name it after me-----only joking] as for the out of bodys we need something to talk about if our paths do ever cross, don't we?	Posted by bladup 17th January 2012ce
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