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Dinas (Llanfairfechan)

Ancient Village / Settlement / Misc. Earthwork

<b>Dinas (Llanfairfechan)</b>Posted by GLADMANImage © Robert Gladstone
Nearest Town:Llanfairfechan (2km NW)
OS Ref (GB):   SH700738 / Sheet: 115
Latitude:53° 14' 41.85" N
Longitude:   3° 56' 54.41" W

Added by postman


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Fieldnotes

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We parked the car at Nant y Coed nature reserve after a bit of a hit and miss affair to get there. The Afon Llanfairfechan runs through it very prettily and we follow it for a while until we come across a path that goes up, up is where the settlement is so we go that way. We could have come at it from the gentler eastern side but it's a long walk in so we plumped for the direct approach, which is something of a past time for me, seeing what it would be like for any would be attackers.

The path that goes up is in a very nice wooded area, it's very thin and steep on both sides, I do like a daring foot path. Until that is we come across a sign saying No access to Dinas, never a good thing.
We carried on the thin path until it comes out of the wood, jumped a wall, which isn't easy with two small dogs, then made our way up a grassy slope up to the wall that's half way up. From there it is all big stony scree, i'm afraid to say that at this time I became a bad dad, I'm fairly used to such climbs I can walk up it like i'm on stairs, but Eric was scared, Arthur the Jack Russell wouldn't move until he got proper directions from someone who is less frightened than him, then he got upset. So we sat for a while whilst I reassured him, then I took both dogs and once more led the way.
A minute or two later we arrived at the top, and Eric had a go at me when he saw how much easier the eastern way was, but it's ten times further I told him, this seemed to placate him but for the next ten minutes he had a moody look to him.

We sat for those ten minutes in silence taking in the sea and mountain air, surveying the splendid scenery afforded by being high up. This settlement, one cant really call it a fort, occupies a fantastic and very strategic position. From here we can see North all the way to the other side of Angelsey, Holyhead mountain sticking out like a sore thumb. West is hills and scattered over them are cup marked boulders and outcrops, arrow stones, cairns and more hut circles than you can shake a divining rod at, if you should need to. South is the mountains, and Bwlch y Ddeufaen with much stony goodness beyond it's portals,and east is more hills but with Druids circles, cairns, cists and all that is there. You can see it all from Dinas.

The settlement is, very eroded, but still enough remains to be glad one made the effort of getting up here, it's not as good as the brilliant examples of hill top settlements on the lleyn peninsula, but i'm not there, i'm here, and at that moment, here is all we need.
There are maybe ten huts on the hill top itself, and another half dozen at least strewn around the grassy fields east of the iron age village, there's even a couple of barrows. The hill top huts are very close together and right on the edge of the steep drop down to the river, their closeness reminded me of Scara Brae, this would have been one close knit community. After many photos and much surveying the area we have run out of time, we descend the hill on it's south side til we get to a wall, we follow it and it in turn leads us to another wall, I surmise the No access to Dinas sign will not be far away, then Eric says "hey look where we are".
The rest, as they say is history.
Sorry couldn't think of a decent way to end.
postman Posted by postman
11th November 2013ce
Edited 11th November 2013ce

Miscellaneous

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Map only calls this Dinas, or Settlement, Ive yet to take a closer look, but with several barrows and a myriad of hut circles, it shouldn't be long. He says adding another site to an already impossible list of places to see. postman Posted by postman
13th April 2013ce