Twas a beautiful morning on the hilltops looking down into the mist enshrouded Wye valley. I parked close to Carregwiber farm, and walked through it to the hill, caged dogs barked at me but a good postman shrugs off such things and soon they gave up as I ascended this abode of the ancestors. The southern side of the hill is steep and undefended, the earthworks banana around the hilltop with possible entrances on the west and east. Coflein describes it as a Defended enclosure rather than a hillfort and the iron age tag has a ? after it.
The very peak of the hill has bare bedrock, if it were situated far to the north one might expect cupmarks or something, but no, here its just the view that captivates.
In "The Ancient Stones of Wales" by Chris Barber and John Godfrey Williams (1989 Blorenge Books), this is given the alternative name the Dragon Stone or Serpent Stone. However, the description given doesn't match the other posts:
"This stone stands about 2.5 feet out of the ground and is 4 feet long and 2 feet wide and is near a roadway leading to a farm. It is a slatey-blue stone with seams of white quartz a few inches thick and should be called the Serpent Stone according to a local farmer interviewed by J.G.W. in March, 1963."
This is a strange place, I came down from the hillfort armed with map and compass confident that these two stones were going to be easy to find. Before I'd even found stone one the hill had somehow seperated me from my compass, even retracing my footsteps in the dewy grass failed to reunite us, oh well thought I worse things happen at sea, lets just have a good walk round and try with just a map, which I now held on to with an iron grip.
I found one likely looking stone next to a smaller similar shaped stone inbetween the two was a dead sheep, but this stone was next to a bridleway which my map completely fails to acknowledge, so maybe that stone is either not a menhir or it is and its not on the map, because Coflein says there are three stones up on this wide ridge but mappy says only two.
I carried on walking in ever wider circles 'till I came upon a ruined house with two junked cars, that wasnt on the map either, on the other side of the house I finally found a standing stone a small one indeed but definatly a standing stone.
I packed up quickly and left the place before I too became lost.
Coflein says there are three stones the one by the house is the most obvious, down the bridleway is the other one with deadsheep. But if that isnt it then there is one thats a boulder in a hollow and its almost two metres tall so god knows how I missed that one.
A beautiful and mysterious place.
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