Waun Oer

Also known as:
Morfa standing stones
Nearest town:
Barmouth (5km N)
OS reference:
SH618113
OS sheet:
124
Latitude:
52° 40' 52.77 N
Longitude:
4° 2' 40.51 W
Added to TMA by

Images

Image of Waun Oer (Stone Row / Alignment) by thesweetcheat

Looking NE across the fragmentary hut circle settlement near the row. The darkly rugged hill on the centre skyline is the terrific Pared y Cefn-hir hillfort.

Image credit: A. Brookes (27.7.2015)
thesweetcheat
thesweetcheat Aug 10, 2015
Image of Waun Oer (Stone Row / Alignment) by thesweetcheat

Fragmentary remains of a hut circle settlement just to the NNW of the row.

Image credit: A. Brookes (27.7.2015)
thesweetcheat
thesweetcheat Aug 10, 2015
Image of Waun Oer (Stone Row / Alignment) by thesweetcheat

The megalithic ironing board of the second-from-SW stone in the row. There is a single cupmark towards the pointy end, just above the small patch of light grey lichen.

Image credit: A. Brookes (27.7.2015)
thesweetcheat
thesweetcheat Aug 10, 2015
Image of Waun Oer (Stone Row / Alignment) by Kammer

Taken 24th November 2002: This isn’t one of the stones in the row, but a boulder that lies (approximately) to the west of the row. This boulder has the same unusual markings on it as the big fallen stone, and I think it’s the same stone that the Cadw surveyor wrote about after visiting the site. He used it as evidence that the marks on the fallen slab are natural.

Image credit: Simon Marshall
Kammer
Kammer Dec 12, 2002
Image of Waun Oer (Stone Row / Alignment) by Kammer

Taken 24th November 2002: This is one of the stones at the east end of the row, but I’m afraid I’m not sure which one. The photo is taken looking north west up the coast towards the Llyn.

Image credit: Simon Marshall
Kammer
Kammer Dec 12, 2002
Image of Waun Oer (Stone Row / Alignment) by Kammer

Taken 24th November 2002: This stone stands almost opposite the gateway into the field, so it’s probably the first one you’ll spot. The photo is taken from the south west (approximately).

Image credit: Simon Marshall
Kammer
Kammer Dec 12, 2002
Image of Waun Oer (Stone Row / Alignment) by Kammer

Taken 24th November 2002: This shot is taken looking approximately south east. The fallen stone in the foreground has unusual markings on it that are thought to be natural. It also has a cup mark on it , but I only discovered this after my visit.

Image credit: Simon Marshall
Kammer
Kammer Dec 12, 2002
Image of Waun Oer (Stone Row / Alignment) by Kammer

Taken 24th November 2002: This is the row viewed from the west. Apparently there are five stones in the row, but I can’t recall whether I saw four or five of them (it was late in the day). There are only in this photo as far as I can tell.

To the right of the shot is the dry stone wall that runs between the road and the stones, and you can just see the gateway on the right hand side.

Image credit: Simon Marshall
Kammer
Kammer Dec 12, 2002

Articles

Waun Oer

postman
postman Jul 17, 2011

We approached down the many gated lane that goes past llyn Cregennen, it has the most gates ive ever seen, really infuriating in the rain, got soaked before we even got there.
Parking was had opposite the gateway through which the stones are just twenty metres beyond.
It was raining, misty and windy when we got out of the car but just five minutes on the weather improved slightly, enough to be able to see the sea and down into Barmouth bay and the peak of Pen y Garn (459m).
The fifth stone that wasnt located on Kammers visit is the fallen northern end stone, obscured by welsh stone hiding grass, not to be confused with lesser other stone hiding grasses.
This would be a good place for a winter solstice sunset, as the row points more or less in the right direction, it may not be exact but with the setting sun and a good stone row in one eyefull, who can resist, one day maybe.

Waun Oer

Kammer
Kammer Dec 13, 2002

Visited November 24th 2002: After Bryn Seward we headed off to find Waun Oer. The stones are easy to miss as you approach them because of a tall dry stone wall running between them and the road. Luckily we spotted one of the stones through a gateway. Even better there was no gate in the gateway, so apart from the mud there was nothing stopping me from strolling in to the field to take a closer look.

This row is much more complete than Bryn Seward, with five stones remaining, two of which are fallen. I must admit that I’m a bit confused looking back over my photos, because I can only see four stones in them. Perhaps one of them had wondered off!

The most distinctive stone is a big fallen one, with unusual elongated markings on it. There’s a nearby boulder with similar markings, and this was cited in the Cadw records as evidence that both sets of markings are probably naturally formed. In the case of the stone in the row, the patterns may have been artificially enhanced. The fallen stone also has a cup mark on it near it’s pointed end, a little over an inch in diameter. Unfortunately I only discovered this after my visit.

Interestingly, the Cadw surveyor drew comparisons between Waun Oer and the West Kennett Avenue (in his notes he put ‘don’t laugh’ in brackets). In the same way that the Kennet stones are often identified as either male or female in shape, this chap reckoned that the Waun Oer stones also fall into two distinct types. I’ll have to go back and check this out, as well as searching out the cup mark.

Miscellaneous

Waun Oer
Stone Row / Alignment
Kammer
Kammer Dec 13, 2002

The name Waun Oer translates from the Welsh into English as cold moor. The word oer is in common use in the modern language (you sometimes see it on Welsh language taps). It also crops up in loads of Welsh place names, especially in the area where I live (I don’t really need to explain why).

Sites within 20km of Waun Oer

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