Waun Leuci summit Round Barrow(s) View all content for Waun Leuci summit

The sprawling mass of Waun Leuci sits between South Wales' great Mynydd Du mountain range and the Fforest Fawr to the east. The whole area is teeming with prehistoric sites - predominately hilltop burial cairns and standing stones, the best known probably being the Maen Mawr and its attendant stone circle, which oversees the Tawe Valley below to the immediate west. Waun Leuci, at 1,844ft, doesn't quite make the 'magical' (to some, anyway) 2000ft mark but is nevertheless a fine viewpoint - a prerequisite for a burial cairn, it would seem - particularly looking across to Bannau Brycheiniog (Mynydd Du's highest point at 2,631ft) and the aforementioned stone circle. In fact the view up and down the Tawe valley is quite breathtaking. The summit is crowned by the remains of a large Bronze Age funerary cairn and there are a number of other 'probables' nearby. Coflein states: "..on the summit of Waun Leuci, at approximately 560m above OD., are two cairns. The southern most consists of a pile of grass-grown rubble, measuring approximately 7m in diameter and 0.7m high.." We approached via a near vertical ascent from the west - where it is possible to park (and visit the Maen Mawr, of course). However this proved deceptively difficult due to the rough, tussocky grass. Note that there is also a fine Bronze Age standing stone below to the NW.

Posted by GLADMAN 16th August 2009ce

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