Firstly, I should say ‘thanks’ to the Sweetcheat for finally giving me the inclination to pay a long overdue visit to this fine, fine, mountain monolith upon the flanks of my beloved Y Mynydd Du.
I’m spending the weekend in South Wales for the Mam C’s confirmation of her wedding vows, so megaliths and such-like are most definately off the agenda... until a communual visit to the Bridgend Designer Outlet is decided upon. Horror of horrors! Time for Gladman to make a quick exit....I therefore find myself heading westwards down the M4 before it dawns upon me that I haven’t a clue where I’m going. Nothing new there, except, on this occasion, the statement is literal. SC’s recent post pops into my mind. Ah.. Waun Leuci will do for a few hours.
Passing the tacky – in my opinion – Dan-yr-Ogof follies, my worst fears are confirmed as I head up the Trecastle road below Fan Hir. Yep, the valley ‘chavs’ are out in force in the sunshine, cars choking the eastern bank of the infant Tawe as their former occupants enjoy their communual barbecues. And to hell with everyone else..... Needless to say I very much doubt if their rubbish will leave with them, at least in a physical sense. Thankfully I manage to procure a parking space a little south of Bwlch Cerrig Duon and set off for the sanctuary of the hills.
The standing stone is taller than I expected, and of far less girth, in direct contrast to the Maen Mawr down the valley. I agree with Postie that the traveller is inclined to believe that the two were to some degree symbolically linked. It is therefore curious that the monoliths are not inter-visible, although it must be said there is very little in it, just a small ‘slither’ of hillside. However I’m not so sure about the profile of the stone mirroring the soaring escarpment of Y Mynydd Du across the valley. Mind you, if I am being a little too cynical in this respect, there’s no denying that the aforementioned mountain massif simply had to be the focal point for all monuments in the area. Surely?
Whatever the truth of the matter, the standing stone is most certainly a focal point for some gorgeous lichen, not to mention local cattle, which have churned the surrounding ground to oblivion. But now I must ascend a little higher.
Cheers Mr G - I imagined that you had been before! I must admit my visit to the area three weeks ago, particularly Cerrig Duon, utterly relit my enthusiasm for why I got into all this in the first place and led to visits during the following week to Stanton Moor and nearby circles, Avebury (solitary in the rain) and Dartmoor (Kiss in the Ring), prior to a lovely fortnight in Penwith that I've just returned from. Funny how a single visit can do that sometimes. Great set of photos too, really nice.
Horray ... your back tsc. Looking forward to seeing pics and reading fieldnotes. Hope you had a fabulous time.
Hey June, it's nice to have such a warm welcome! Yes, a really great break - the sun shone every day and it didn't rain at all - we managed to get to some "new" Penwith sites, including a recently uncovered barrow and went to the Scillies twice as well. Fieldnotes etc to follow - still got to catch up with the ones from the week before I went away! Avebury to myself on a rainy Tuesday morning was good (if wet). Hope I haven't missed any fist-fights on the forum.
Kiss in the Ring.... now there's a site to behold.......... suitable for an intrepid chap like you.
Just me and the cows - as your fieldnotes suggest, one for the stonehead.