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Quest for the Greyhounds lair

7th October 2006
07.00am. As we drove down the M5 the full moon was sinking below the horizon,and the words Gwal y Filiast bouncing around my mind as they had done ever since I first laid eyes on it's perfect wooded scene.
After passing through Merthyr Tydfil the Brecon Beacons loom large and dark to the North the first stop was the Dan yr ogof show caves,absolutely astounding ,the Cathedral cave with it's underground waterfall cavern,and way up in the cliffs "the Bone cave"where the skeletons of 42 people were unearthed some were contemperary with with the stone row of Saith maen.The kids especially loved the dinosaur park ,it even has stone circles and rows

Next we went to Carreg Cennen castle which may have been built on the site of an Iron age hillfort but definately has a deep dark cave underneath it .the nearby standing stone of Carreg cyn Ffyrdd was just to the North so we headed there,actually we headed past it twice until I parked the car and nosied up and down the road and there it was hiding in dense undergrowth hoping to pass itself off as another telegraph pole.In retrospect I should have spotted it sooner it's nearly 7ft tall but I was looking too deep into the trees.

Sythfaen — Images

09.10.06ce
<b>Sythfaen</b>Posted by postman


Not too far away is the Sythfaen Llwyn Ddu ,a menhir said to be nearly 3m tall ,but could I find it ,could I sod,I was beginning to doubt my stone finding capabilities,hopefully in the morning Gwal y Filiast would be easier .But right now the Nantgeradig stones were between us and the hotel so i would try to find them next.
Behind houses on the eastern side of the B4310,north of the river Towylafon Tywi are a pair of stones,two feet apart 4ft and 7ft tall and totally overgrown in the megaliths worst enemy after ivy ,nettles and brambles .

Ffynnon Newydd Henge — Images

09.10.06ce
<b>Ffynnon Newydd Henge</b>Posted by postman
Honestly I wish they'd look after these places better , I should've brought me shears.Trampling on nettles and brambles aint fun,scratched and stung but happy my special powers (of stone finding)had returned,we checked into the hotel watched CSI and crashed out.

Straight to the Greyhounds lair (a bitch apparently)at 09.00 am it wasn't long before another problem occured the little lane on the map that runs parallel to the river seemed impossible to find so we skirted round the woods to the north then the south and parked by a house down a lane that has a path more or less straight to the dolmen, we asked at the house with a playfull dog called Digger.The path though wasn't going to be the serene woodland walk I envisioned, in wet weather wellies would be needed it was ok though so on we merrily trod, after one gate , a fallen tree and a new gate , a left taken fork the dolmen came into view "there it is " I yodeled a wonderful site indeed.The greyhound was out so we had a look around(why is it allways a greyhound are they an ancient breed).This place should be more famous with proper paths and a carpark marked

Gwal-y-Filiast — Images

09.10.06ce
<b>Gwal-y-Filiast</b>Posted by postman<b>Gwal-y-Filiast</b>Posted by postman

Gwal y Filiast it's second only to Carreg Sampson for size unless there's another I don't know about,a truly beautiful place.

Off to Glandwr Ogham stone next,never seen one before ,my son said the Ogham script read "more toys for all children"but I doubted the veracity of this translation.

Glandwr Churchyard — Images

09.10.06ce
<b>Glandwr Churchyard</b>Posted by postman

Llanfyrnach Stone B — Images

09.10.06ce
<b>Llanfyrnach Stone B</b>Posted by postman

Llanfyrnach stone A — Images

09.10.06ce
<b>Llanfyrnach stone A</b>Posted by postman

Then a bit further north is a trio of stones near Llanfyrnach ,firstly brynmieni II a big 8ft tall stone with good views north and west but this must be an abode of the fairies because my camera emptied itself of batteries without my noticing then 30 mins of searching served fruitless ,Gone they were ,we would have to miss out Rhyd y Gath and try to squeeze a couple of shots of Brynmieni success the stone was about ten feet tall and part of the hedge in a lane going down to the farm.Time to quit the area get some batteries and head over to Carmarthen and see couple of stones before going home

Llethr is on private land but out of view of the house ,so a quick ninja scurry and all was well another good sized stone maybe 9ft tall and found by me

Ffosymaen — Images

09.10.06ce
<b>Ffosymaen</b>Posted by postman

Llech Ciste — Images

09.10.06ce
<b>Llech Ciste</b>Posted by postman


Llech Ciste, another site found by me ,between Brechfa and Hebron and behind a farm house ,I asked permission here and the red faced farmers wife said it would be okay so long as I shut the gate .as soon as I opened the gate a horse came running over ,close wasn't the word ,it kissed me gently on the cheek and proceeded to get in nearly every photo ,it would not leave me alone .The stones were all white quartz the middle one the only one still standing and a good size too ,theyr'e not in a straight line even if they lay where they fell it still seemed to be a curving arc a bit like Duloe but trashed .Oh dear time and money have beaten me again , but I shall return soon for the"other "Carreg Samson
postman Posted by postman
9th October 2006ce
Edited 14th February 2007ce


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