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Pumlumon and its Environs

Pumlumon and its Environs (Plynlimon and its Environs) on The Modern Antiquarian, the UK & Ireland's most popular megalithic community website. The site also contains a vast wealth of information on many more ancient sites across the UK & Ireland.

Hirnant Circle © Simon Marshall

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Plynlimon and its Environs

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Sites in this group:

6 posts Aber Camddwr Reconstruction Platform Cairn	1 post Aber Camddwr Ring Cairn Ring Cairn	3 posts Banc Llechwedd-mawr Round Barrow(s)
3 posts Banc Lluest Newydd Cairn(s)	6 posts Blaen Llywernog Standing Stones	4 sites The Buwch a'r Llo Group
9 posts Carnfachbugeilyn Round Cairn	17 posts Carn Biga Cairn(s)	13 posts Carn Fawr Cairn(s)
6 posts Carn Gwilym Round Barrow(s)	1 post Carn Owen Round Cairn	5 posts Carreg Wen Standing Stone / Menhir
8 posts Dinas Hillfort Hillfort	Dinas Hut Circle Ancient Village / Settlement / Misc. Earthwork	5 posts Disgwylfa Fach Stone Standing Stones
2 posts Disgwylfa Fawr Round Cairn	3 posts Drosgol (Pumlumon) Cairn(s)	3 posts Foel Fadian Round Barrow(s)
4 posts Garrig Hir Standing Stone / Menhir	5 sites The Hirnant Group	3 posts Nant Maesnant Fach Cairn(s)
17 posts Pen Pumlumon-Arwystli Cairns Cairn(s)	11 posts Pen Pumlumon-Fawr Cairn(s)	2 posts Y Garn, Pumlumon Cairn(s)

Sites of disputed antiquity:

3 posts
Glandwr Stone(s) Standing Stone / Menhir

7 posts
Pond Nant y Cagal Stones Standing Stones

Latest posts for Pumlumon and its Environs

Showing 1-10 of 191 posts. Most recent first | Next 10

Carn Fawr (Cairn(s)) — Fieldnotes

Carn Fawr represents the last site visit of my day... and, furthermore, could well be the most isolated cairn upon the whole of the Pumlumon massif. You can take it as a given, then, that the vibe and 'sense of place' here makes the receptive traveller feel 'on top of the world'. In a manner of speaking, of course, since this cairn is actually located just below the 2,000ft contour. But truly that is of little relevance here.

According to Coflein [see misc post] there are actually the remains of two further Bronze Age cairns upon this craggy hilltop overlooking Cwm Hengwm, the upper reaches of which are, incidentally, cited by experienced climbing author Dave Ing as the 'wildest cwm in all Wales'. I have to admit, however, that the potent combination of Carn Fawr's impressive dimensions and the manner in which it relates to the landscape renders the memory defective in this instance. Yeah, there can be only one. Carn Fawr not only lives up to its prosaic name... 'Big Cairn'... but additionally has no trouble at all picking the lock of the door to the human psyche labelled 'folk memory, cairns, pertaining to fascination of'. In short, it just looks 'right', you know?

It is therefore sad to relate that Carn Fawr - the large one, that is (the baton is passed to other TMA members to add detail of the others) - has, despite initial appearances, not survived the passage of time as well as its two great neighbours upon Cwmbiga, having a somewhat hollow core. Nonetheless there is a lot of stone within this great stone pile, although, having said that, it is the location which really makes this a 'must visit' for the Citizen Cairn'd on walkabout upon Pumlumon. Situated just a little to the north of the source of the Hafren (Severn) and with Carn Hyddgen, rising across Cwm Hengwm, just one of numerous similarly blessed hills nearby, this is a spot to truly lose yourself for a while. Just make sure it's only in a metaphorical sense, please! Map, compass and the usual kit are, needless to say, essential. But I've said it anyway.

If approaching from Carnfachbugeilyn... Carn Fawr is actually visible from the former looking to the approx west. Follow the fence line to the approx south-west before striking off downhill to your right. If you lose sight of the cairn, carry on until the fence line swings sharply to your left (south)... the monument is now below to your right (approx north).

Finally, thanks to Derfel for posting the images which prove local knowledge cannot really be surpassed.

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Posted by GLADMAN
12th December 2011ce

Edited 13th December 2011ce

Carn Gwilym (Round Barrow(s)) — Miscellaneous

I was prompted to make this post following a recent visit to Carn Fawr... the twin cairns of Carn Gwilym standing proud (with a little help from modern 'masons', it has to be said) upon the summit of Carn Hyddgen across the valley.

Intriguingly, Coflein quotes a field report from 1910 stating:

'there are here two cairns, 60 feet apart. They stand on the summit of Mynydd Hyddgen... an outlying height of Plynlymon, midway between the sources of Nant y Garn and Nant Lluest fach. They are each 20 feet in height; of rough construction, the stones being piled into a mass without any signs of regular courses. No stones similar to those used in the building of these cairns are to be seen anywhere around; none are scattered about from which they could now be erected, and none are of a size larger than one man could carry hither. Of the carneddau of the Plynlymon district Carn Gwilym is probably the best preserved'

Each cairn measuring 20 feet in height in 1910? Surely not? Oh, come on?

Whatever the accuracy of the 'not so modern antiquarians', CPAT gives a succinct appraisal of the current state of affairs:

Northern cairn - 'Substantial summit cairn c. 13m diam. Original form difficult to assess due to disturbance and construction of a modern cairn 3.2m diam x 2.8m high, off-centre to S. Small shelter also built into cairn on E side. Outer edge of cairn is turf covered, with loose rubble interior, Top has been levelled and remains of a revetment wall survive on S side. Irregular group of stones to SE is of uncertain function. The modern cairn has been recently rebuilt (?and enlarged) using more of burial cairn stone. Good palaeoenvironmental deposits over 1m deep c. 100-150m to NE. (CPAT 2002) (CPAT Prehistoric Ritual & Funerary Monuments, 2002)'

Southern cairn - 'Substantial cairn which appears to comprise a turf covered ring bank 13.2 x 12.5 x 0.5m, visible most clearly on E side, the interior of which is filled with loose rubble forming a cairn up to 0.75m high. The top has been levelled and disturbed by the construction of a modern cairn set off-centre to W, measuring 3.4m diam x 2.4m high, possibly recently rebuilt. Small satellite cairn adjoins E side, 2.5m diam, composed of well-sett stones. (CPAT 2002) (CPAT Prehistoric Ritual & Funerary Monuments, 2002)'

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Posted by GLADMAN
12th December 2011ce

Carnfachbugeilyn (Round Cairn) — Fieldnotes

Standing to the approx north west of.... and visible from.... the two great cairns crowning Pumlumon Cwmbiga, the trashed monument of Carnfachbugeilyn ['small cairn of the Bugeilyn', the lake visible below to the north] is always going to be an anti-climax. Nevertheless a visit is still worthwhile, if only for the superb northward views to Foel Fadian (also bearing a monument - actually monuments... one Bronze Age, the other to the late Wynford Vaughan-Thomas, the celebrated correspondent and walker) and Southern Snowdonia, not to mention the aforementioned Cwmbiga cairns crowning the retrospective horizon like a pair of (more than) ample... well, you know what.

As mentioned, the cairn is seriously disturbed - hey, so would you be if you had been messed around to such an extent - although still retaining a reasonable enough volume of material to be classed 'relatively substantial', particularly so if it had been located anywhere else than upon the wondrous Pumlumon. A boundary marker stone stands nearby.

Perhaps the salient point, though, is that the cairn lies on the route from Pumlumon Cwmbiga to the much more impressive Carn Fawr, visible to the approx west..... bonus site, then.

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Posted by GLADMAN
11th December 2011ce

Carn Biga (Cairn(s)) — Fieldnotes

Traditionally one of the 'Three Mountains of Wales', Pumlumon possesses little of the overwhelming physical grandeur of either Cadair Idris or Snowdon, its celebrated companions in the triumvirate. No soaring, razor sharp aretes, a paucity of naked rock... in fact little architectural splendour to raise the pulse and encourage the punter to don boots. No, Pumlumon's charms are a lot more subtle, more ethereal - dare I say metaphysical? - and require a lot of effort from prospective suitors, like the woman who, despite lacking the classical aesthetic attributes, nonetheless holds the attention of every man in the room.... without them being able to grasp why. I guess it could be described as 'allure', this mass of soggy, Mid Walian high ground seemingly exerting a magnetism over human kind - the local Bronze Age inhabitants being the prime example - which transcends the manner in which we view the everyday world. How else would it have managed to be in the 'top three', so to speak?

I'm glad to say that there is pretty obvious, not to say fundamental explanation as to why this should be ... the poor drainage which was so lamented by travellers of yore is paradoxically Pumlumon's crowning asset, accounting for the massif sourcing no less than THREE major rivers in the Hafren (that is, the Severn), Wye and Rheidol. Incredible. If ever a mountain could be termed 'Mother of Rivers', surely Pumlumon has first bagsy? What's more, in my opinion it should also be acknowledged as Wales' - if not the UK's? - greatest upland Bronze Age cemetery, even surpassing Snowdonia's Y Carneddau. Yeah, virtually every summit is crowned by an ancient cairn, a number of which are very substantial indeed. I know of no other upland area with such a concentration of these monuments within a relatively small locale. [Suffice to say... if there is, lemme at it!]. So... what are the odds that Pumlumon's two superlative attributes are connected.... and it was selected to be the ritual capital of the 'Citizens Cairn'd' because it was viewed as literally representing the very font of life back in the Bronze Age? Doesn't sound at all far fetched to me.

'Pumlumon' translates as 'Five Stacks', no doubt a reference to the sum of massive cairns which are shared between the summit peak (Pen Pumlumon-Fawr) and its neighbour, Pen Pumlumon-Arwystli. There are many more examples, however, (arguably) the two finest located at the eastern extremity of the main ridge, upon Pumlumon Cwmbiga. The southern of this pair is clearly the larger [see misc post], although both would appear to have had their upper sections rebuilt in times unknown. I can live with that since, for the most part, structural integrity would appear to have been maintained, the monuments unsullied by the shameful 'walker's storm shelter'. I can also live with the two quartzite 'nipples' which further enhance the cairns' representation of a pair of fulsome breasts from a distance. Although recent (not featuring on my 1995 image) it is, I think, a nice touch. Or is it just me? The panorama surveyed by the cairns is expansive to the north, with Cadair Idris and the hills of Southern Snowdonia resplendent in serried rank under a pristine blue sky. The sadly trashed Bronze Age cairn of Carnfachbugeilyn [my next objective] rises to the north-west beyond the remains of another cairn of uncertain origin, whilst to the approx south-west the main Pumlumon ridge leads towards the major summits of the range beyond Blaenhafren, source of the river. Looking to the east, a phalanx of wind turbines crowns a hillside beyond the Hafren Forest, through which I made my approach to this wondrous spot today.

A minor road from Staylittle, a small settlement at the northern tip of Llyn Clywedog, passes a number of 'tumuli' - love that word - to pass Cwmbiga farm. Roadside parking is available here, a well maintained forestry track following the right hand bank of the Afon Biga into the back of beyond. Eventually this encounters the headwall of the cwm, veering sharply to the left before a cascading stream. Ascend to the right of the stream as best you can to reach a parallel, higher track. In retrospect it is advisable to trend right here for a hundred yards or so before continuing on the ascent line... in order to avoid both some very rough terrain resulting from forestry operations and several deep, transverse gulleys. Soon the northernmost Cwmbiga cairn should be visible on the horizon. Persevere and let a fenceline be your final guide....

Don't forget to pay a visit to Blaenhafren and stand in bemused wonderment at the enormity of what it represents, the twin cairns crowning the eastern skyline as if they just HAD to be there. Choose a fine day - any other kind would be risking literally everything upon a landscape as brutal as Pumlumon - and ponder that a massive suspension bridge or two are needed to span the output of this murky pool when it reaches the Bristol Channel. To be honest my poor brain couldn't cope with that at the time. Need to get metaphysical and build a cairn or two if I ever return, methinks.

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Posted by GLADMAN
11th December 2011ce