The Modern Antiquarian. Stone Circles, Ancient Sites, Neolithic Monuments, Ancient Monuments, Prehistoric Sites, Megalithic MysteriesThe Modern Antiquarian

Carreg Maen Taro

Standing Stone / Menhir

Fieldnotes

Visited 1.4.14

Directions:
From Blaenavon take the B4246 north towards Abergavenny. When you reach the top of the mountain you will see a lake and car park on your right. Directly opposite there is a road to the left – turn here. Drive down the road and after about 1 mile you will see a pub on your right (Lamb and Fox) and a rough car park opposite – park here. From the car park walk up the track until it splits into several ‘tracks’. The track leading to the highest ground (above the workings) and the stone can be seen in the distance to your right. The walk only takes about 15 minutes.


It was a quiet day in work and the chance was to be had for an early finish.
I would have been a ‘fool’ not to take advantage of the opportunity!

It was a warm, sunny day as I drove up through the World Heritage Site of Blaenavon and out onto the open mountainside. There were a couple of ‘likely lads’ hanging around the car park so I made sure the car was locked as I headed out onto the hillside. Judging by the amount of fresh lorry tyre tracks I saw this area is still being used for some reason or other?

Now, I often refer to these moorland sites as bleak. But there are two types of bleak; bleak in a nice way i.e. the Brecon Beacons or bleak in a horrible way i.e. old industrial area (South Wales Valleys). Unfortunately this site falls into the latter category – unless industrial history happens to be your thing of course.

Carreg Maen Taro is about 1 metre tall and the ‘M’ + ‘B’ markings are obvious. The stone is covered in lichen of various shades of green. There are many large stones scattered around the base of the stone.

I then walked over to the nearby fallen stone which made a handy place to sit and write these notes. Oddly enough this stone was covered in white lichen.

All was quiet here except for birdsong – which is always nice. The only company I had were a few scraggy sheep and a lone horse in the distance. The sun was warm with only a slight breeze. The views would have been very good had it not been for the haze, although the Sugar Loaf and the Blorenge were easy to make out. I sat a while and was well with the world. It was certainly better than being in work!

On the way back to the car I managed to collect a bag of horse manure for the vegetable patch – always a bonus!

This is an easy site to visit and worth the effort if you happen to be in Blaenavon visiting the famous iron works.
Posted by CARL
2nd April 2014ce

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