Carmarthenshire Standing Stones

Visited 11th January 2003: At Meini Gwyn are three quartz standing stones, two relatively close to each and one further off in the garden of a nearby cottage. Of the three stones, two are fallen, the third (in the middle) is probably in it’s original position.

The two stones to the east are easy to see from the road (the fence is so poor that you could slip underneath it without any trouble...if you wanted to that is). To the east of the furthest stone are the (probable) remains of a cairn and a small tumulus, but you have to squint really hard to make them out.

The stone in the garden is only just visible from the road. I asked at the cottage to take a closer look, and the man who lives there was happy for me to go in and take a photo. He was keen that I shouldn’t be in the garden at the same time as his dog, but I never saw the beast, so I can only guess at how big it was (6ft tall with fangs etc). The stone has been planted around, and made into rather a fetching garden feature.

Thanks to Rhiannon for drawing this site to my attention in the first place.

Visited 11th January 2003: There’s no public footpath to Pentre Ynys, but you can see the stone from the road.

When we visited, the gate to the field it sits in was wide open and there were no crops or livestock to avoid, so we decided to take closer look. I parked in the gateway opposite, and we were just at the stone when the farmer turned up at the gateway in an enormous tractor. Our car was stopping him from turning into the field, so feeling embarrassed (for parking badly and for going into the field without permission) I pegged it back to move the car. As it turned out the farmer was fine about us looking at the stone, and was just keen to get on with his muck spreading.

The stone itself looks a bit lost in the middle of the field. The surrounding ground has been quite badly eroded by cattle, and the stone has bird shit all over it (excuse my French), so it lacks glamour.

There’s another stone relatively nearby, but less accessible, called the Rhyd y Fwyalchen Stone (SN42942412). This stands to the south, on the other side of Nant Felys (like Pentre Ynys it’s marked on the Landranger). I’d imagine that the two stones are directly connected to each other and/or the river that runs between them.

Visited 11th January 2003: Parc Garreg Lwyd is still standing, but only just. It leans alarmingly to the south. The stone is on private land with no public access across it, but you can get a good view of the stone from the road.

There’s enough space to park a car adjacent to the stone, but there’s a surprising amount of traffic running along here, so we didn’t stop for long. Parc Garreg Lwyd is marked on the Landranger, so it’s easy to find.

Visited 11th January 2003: We were on our way to see Gareg Hir when we passed these two round barrows. As Alfie was demanding milk we stopped, and I decided to take a closer look. The barrows turned out to be bigger, and better defined than I’d expected. They’re both ploughed down, and I’m no expert on these things, so I’m not sure what type they originally were.

Crugiau Fâch are the two most accessible barrows in a reasonably large group (large by Carmarthenshire standards that is). Most of the others are in the surrounding forestry.

Visited 11th January: This was the last site we visited, and it was certainly the most beautiful. Access to Gareg Hir is very good, and you can see it from the road. The stone stands on the edge of a forestry plantation, and there’s a public footpath running very close to it. We parked in front of the metal gate that bars access to the forestry track, but this wouldn’t be ideal for a long visit.

The stone has a lot of modern carving on it (modern as in not prehistoric). There are also some interesting artificial looking horizontal groves on the north facing side of the stone. These may also be modern.

This is a fine stone by any standards, and well worth a visit.