Rising to 2,103ft, Drygarn Fawr is an isolated mountain within the Cwmdeuddwr Hills, near Rhayader.
Crowning the summit ridge are two enormous beehive-shaped cairns, the western of which marks the actual summit. These are extraordinary structures for such an out of the way place, so full marks to those persons unkown who actually maintain them so the traveller may continue to appreciate what an ancient cairn (probably) looked like millennia ago. They are all the more remarkable bearing in mind that these hills feed the Elan Valley reservoirs, so bad weather is not exactly an infrequent occurrence here.
The majority of the Cwmdeuddwr summits - literally 'Valley of The Two Waters' - boast summit cairns of varying stature, so clearly this area was one of major significance to our ancestors. Although I haven't returned since 1995, a recent visit to neighbouring Gorllwyn confirmed these Drygarn Fawr cairns remain prominent landmarks for miles around, as clearly they were always intended to be.
Best approached from Llanerch-yrfa in the Irfon Valley to the south-west. It goes without saying that waterproofs, map, compass etc are prerequisites for a visit.
Further to my fieldnotes, Coflein has the following for Drygarn Fawr's two original Bronze Age cairns.... or at least for what lies beneath the massive modern beehives...
Western cairn - SN86315846:
'The base of a robbed cairn, 8.8m in diameter, for which kerbing has been claimed, but dismissed. A visually dominant 'beehive' cairn 5.8m in diameter and 3.7m high, stands upon, and is probably responsible for, its wreck.'
Eastern cairn - SN86755858:
'A scant remains of a cairn, 8.8m in diameter and posibly kerbed, is utterly dominated by a large 'beehive' cairn, 5.6m in diameter and 2.7m high, constructed upon it.'
So yeah, although there's not a great deal of prehistoric structure left - if the truth be told - somehow the modern cairns super-imposed on top actually enhance this mountain top, in my opinion. And at least the bleedin' hillwalking nerds won't be building storm shelters in these anytime soon....... Ha!
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Posted by GLADMAN
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