Visited on a sunny but chilly Bank Holiday (3.5.2010). The Mountain Centre carpark was packed as we arrived here from Libanus, and the attraction is obvious. There is a terrific panoramic view from Mynydd Illtud, taking in the Black Mountains ridges: Hay Bluff, Twmpa, Waun Fach, Pen y Gadair Fawr, Pen Allt-mawr and Pen Cerrig-calch to the east. To the south-east there are the looming peaks of the central Beacons, dominated by Pen y Fan and Corn Du, then south to Fan Fawr and the nearby Fan Frynych, across to the SW taking in the Camarthan Fans. Amazing. Many of the peaks are topped by Bronze Age cairns and pointed to by standing stones. The majority of people headed off NE towards the higher points of the common, to fly kites and take in the glorious views. But we headed towards the first of today's sites, the excitingly named Mountain Centre 1 standing stone.
Visited 14.7.10.
When parking by the pond (which by the way was dried up when I visited as it hadn't rained for several weeks – amazingly enough for this part of the world!) walk around the pond to the left. More or less opposite you will see the stone not far from the edge of the pond. I also noticed several other stones nearby which were sticking out of the ground. I have no idea if these are natural or part of the site. As the pond had dried up I also noticed the top of a couple of stones which would normally be under water.
Strangely enough someone had left a cross with a poppy attached in one of the hollows on top of the stone.
Visited 14.7.10.
Easily seen alongside road opposite entrance to Blaengwrthyd Farm. Larger than I expected and I am pleased to say that the ferns had been cut back from around the stone.
Visited 14.7.10.
Directions: Drive S/W down the single track road from the Mountain Centre 1 stone. As road bends slightly to the right, a stone is easily visible close to the track on the left. It is half buried and covered in moss/lichen. Nearby is another stone just sticking out above the grass. The ferns have been cleared away from around the stone so spotting it is now a lot easier.
Visited 3.5.2010 after Bedd Gwyl Illtyd. This one wasn't all that easy to find and needed a fair amount of OS map perusal as we cut across the common from the NE. The main reason is that this is a low stone, less than a metre tall. It sits down in a small valley, a low stone in a low-lying position (albeit still 300m above sea-level). It is topped with some attractive yellow lichen.
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Posted by thesweetcheat
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