In a line between the standing stone and my route is a green mound, which will prove to be the Rhyd Uchaf cairn. To get to it, there are a couple of deceptively steep-sided streams to cross. Although ruined, the placing of the cairn is nicely judged, on a little knoll surrounded by various tributary streams of the nascent Afon Llia, the water source that may well have provided the inspiration for the siting of the little complex of monuments here and of this cairn in particular.
Visited 30.10.10.
Starting at the Maen Llia standing stone, I headed south east across the bumpy, boggy ground towards the small hillock at the bottom of the valley. I had to climb over a rust fence and leap over the infant Afon Llia River – not a big leap but the water was quite deep and very fast flowing. Climbing the rise you come to the remains of the cairn.
It is about 8 metres in diameter and easy to spot. Lots of stones sticking out of the grass and the remains of the cist in the centre. The cist is about 2 feet x 1 foot and had one lining stone remaining. The interior was largely filled in and covered in grass.
The Cairn is about 300 metres from the standing stone and took 10 minutes to walk. It is well worth checking out when you visit the more famous Maen Llia although it would probably make more sense to approach along the Sarn Helen Roan Road from the south. Access would then be very easy.
The name given to this cairn means, appropriately enough given its watery surroundings, "Highest Ford".
Coflein description:
A round cairn is located towards the head of the Llia valley, ground rising to the north, east and west. The cairn measures 11.5m in diameter and has a maximum height of 0.4m. The remains comprise a ring of partially turf-covered stones, about 2.5m width, sloping outwards with a ragged inner edge. The hummocky interior has a scatter of loose stones and there is a small heap of stones against the south-east side. It is probably a badly robbed round cairn though its proximity to a nearby ring feature (below) suggests the possibility that it is a ring cairn.
Survey revealed that the cairn lies in a precise geometrical relationship with a nearby standing stone (Maen Llia), a concentric embanked enclosure and (between all three) a platform
[NPRNs 84541, 84544 & 84549 respectively].
The full entry also mentions a possible circular feature adjacent to the cairn on its eastern side.
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