The Modern Antiquarian. Stone Circles, Ancient Sites, Neolithic Monuments, Ancient Monuments, Prehistoric Sites, Megalithic MysteriesThe Modern Antiquarian

Plas Newydd Burial Chamber

Dolmen / Quoit / Cromlech

Fieldnotes

I first came here thirty odd years ago on a school trip to what we called the Menai centre, all week I'd spied the curious stones outside the art room window, so I made sure I took a closer look before we left, needless to say I went on my own. I didn't appreciate all it's complexities, uses, age and so on, back then, and soon forgot all about it. But when I saw it again much later I
knew Id been there before and know now that it is possibly the first ancient place I ever went to.
The second time I came here I bought a family ticket to the gardens only, this allowed me access to not only Plas Newydd burial chamber but also Bryn yr Hen Bobl burial chamber, well..... I say access, but that's not strictly true.
Last Sunday, with sunshine being all the rage right now, my daughter and I went for my third meet and greet with Plas Newydd burial chamber.
We drove strait into the large car park and parked as far from the road as we could, from here the top of the biggest dolmen can be seen, just.
From the car park you can either jump brazenly over the fence and leg it down to the chambers before they drag you away kicking and screaming, oops, wrong place and time. Or you can walk nonchalantly over to the gate that leads to where you want to go, find it locked and have to climb over anyway, then continue with extreme nonchalance down to the stones. Or walk back to the road, and go in the other entrance, then you can walk straight to it, no climbing no sneaking, nonchalance is the key, act entitled, that's what they say.

The big dolmens capstone is a whopper, from a certain angle both capstones look to be part of a single bigger stone, broken in two for their present purpose. The ivy that has so choked the stones in the past are gone, Phil and me sit in the shade under the big stone and talk of silly things, like the negatives encountered whilst canoeing.
The stones are great, they take me back to Brittany, the land of big dolmens. But my attention is forever being dragged away, partly by the carpet of flowers under our feet, which philli is loathe to tread on, but mostly to the panoramic display across the Menai Straits, Snowdonia. I can pick out individual peaks of the Carneddau, Foel Grach, Yr Elen, Carnedd llewelyn and Dafydd, Pen Yr Ole Wen and down into the Ogwen valley. Further along is the massive bulk of Snowdon and near neighbours, further still Mynnydd Mawr the Nantle ridge and off in the far hazy distance are The Rivals.

A very good first site of the day, beauty and nostalgia, I must be getting old.
postman Posted by postman
27th April 2015ce

Comments (2)

Nice notes Postie. This is a place I didn't get to when I visited Anglesey.
Makes me want to go again!
Posted by CARL
28th April 2015ce
Thanks Carl, and again and again and again. postman Posted by postman
28th April 2015ce
You must be logged in to add a comment