Bwlch-y-Ddau-Faen

Nearest town:
Llanwrtyd Wells (11km S)
OS reference:
SN89425830
OS sheet:
147
Latitude:
52° 12' 40.96 N
Longitude:
3° 37' 6.99 W
Added to TMA by

Images

Image of Bwlch-y-Ddau-Faen (Standing Stones) by GLADMAN

Another upright can be seen foreground, one of two obvious stones upon the northern arc. Difficult to see how the remaining – or at least visible – stones fit into a neat, classic circle... but, bearing in mind the boggy, peat hag ridden topography... and with ‘modern’ boundary stones so nearby... I’d say a prehistoric origin is a possibility. By a spring, too.

Image credit: Robert Gladstone
GLADMAN
GLADMAN Sep 21, 2017
Image of Bwlch-y-Ddau-Faen (Standing Stones) by GLADMAN

Looking approx westward across this enigmatic grouping of stones. An historic boundary stone can be seen to the right of my (red) rucksack...with another top right upon the way to Carnau

Image credit: Robert Gladstone
GLADMAN
GLADMAN Sep 21, 2017
Image of Bwlch-y-Ddau-Faen (Standing Stones) by GLADMAN

Looking south toward the great escarpment of South Wales. There are at least three fallen/sunken stones arcing beyond.

Image credit: Robert Gladstone
GLADMAN
GLADMAN Sep 21, 2017
Image of Bwlch-y-Ddau-Faen (Standing Stones) by GLADMAN

The approx southern arc. If the surviving uprights were pairs – as suggested, perhaps, by the nomenclature of the site – then what were these about?

Image credit: Robert Gladstone
GLADMAN
GLADMAN Sep 21, 2017
Image of Bwlch-y-Ddau-Faen (Standing Stones) by GLADMAN

The most substantial orthostat of what, as I poked around, quickly become very much a stone ring, if not ‘circle..... a beautiful slab of stone.

Image credit: Robert Gladstone
GLADMAN
GLADMAN Sep 21, 2017

Articles

Miscellaneous

Bwlch-y-Ddau-Faen
Standing Stones
GLADMAN
GLADMAN Jun 8, 2024

Bwlch-y-Ddau-Faen – the ‘Two Stone Pass’ – is an enigmatic place. Assuming wild, windswept moorland a couple of miles from the nearest road is your thang? Firstly there is a natural spring here amongst the peat hags; secondly, a number of standing stones protrude from said peat to varying degrees forming an irregular ‘ring’, as opposed to ‘circle. So why the colloquial reference to ‘Two Stones’ when there are substantially more than a pair of stones here? As I said, enigmatic place, augmented by a fine, sweeping view toward the Great Escarpment of South Wales dominating the southern horizon. Reassuring to find everything in its right place, so to speak. For what it’s worth, I’m tempted to think what we have here is a typical, if disrupted upland Welsh ring. With numerous diminutive orthostats barely breeching the current surface it just feels ‘right’, you know? It is difficult to hypothesise a satisfactory reason why these tiny stones should otherwise be here. But there you are. All is silent now, almost overwhelmingly so; however the location is significant, the past cacophony of untold drover’s agitated cattle seemingly hanging in the wind just out of human audible frequency.

Refer to notes for nearby Carnau for further context of this intriguing stone setting:

themodernantiquarian.com/site/18448/carnau_cwmdeuddwr.html

Miscellaneous

Bwlch-y-Ddau-Faen
Standing Stones
postman
postman May 18, 2011

From Coflein,

Four, possibly seven, stones stand at the head of a remote mountain pass near to a spring on the boundary between the cantrefs of Buellt and Deuddwr. The largest stone is 0.9m high and three others are 0.4-0.6m high. The stones may constitute an ancient ritual or ceremonial monument if they are not comparatively recent boudary markers. The name ‘Bwlch-y-Ddau-Faen’ means ‘two stones pass’.
It is sometimes suggested that this is a stone circle roughly 30m across

There are three pictures here
coflein.gov.uk/en/site/304685/images/BWLCH-Y-DDAU-FAEN%2C+STONE+CIRCLE/

Sites within 20km of Bwlch-y-Ddau-Faen

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