The Blaen Bedw mound (SO1402954405) to the immediate north. I must admit the existing shape didn’t suggest a prehistoric providence... however who’s to say it’s not a burial mound later adapted for some other purpose? The ‘gibbet’ hypothesis is intriguing, if somewhat grisly.
I wouldn’t term myself a giant (of anything, to be fair)... but then one can’t credibly deny this is a pretty hefty monument.
Cyclists and pedestrians – or those who enjoy driving 4x4s at 1mph for whatever reason – can follow the byway towards Blaen-bedw and Cwm Shenkin should they so wish. I was happy enough to chill out upon the great barrow.
Looking more-or-less west towards The Carneddau, chock-a-block with hillforts and cairns...
A group of middle-age rambling muppets arriving from the summit of Little Hill were – for some reason – rather vocally perturbed to see me ‘taking the sun’ here... Throwing their questions back at them confused them utterly, which said it all, to be fair.
I wasn’t prepared for the sheer scale of this fine barrow...
looking over the little persons grave to the giants grave and on to Little hill.
On the barrow looking eastish
On the barrow looking WSW
A postie for scale
Let’s face it – it was never going to be small.... with a name like ‘Giant’s Grave’, right?
Heading out of Hundred house east on the A481 take the second right, pass Rhiw farm, then going uphill pass Ty’n-y-coed on your right. The bridleway is navigable right up to the top and you can park just twenty meters from the Giants grave.
As we gained height we noticed a beautiful Red Kite on our left, then another and another and one more made four, they tailed us more or less to the top. It was really very windy today but the Kites used it superbly and they effortlessly glided about searching for scraps of food.
Reaching the summit of the bridleway I could see that the barrow was in one of those saddle between two hills locations, but strangely there was another smaller bump in the ground right next to it, without the aid of Coflein I cant vouch for its age, but seeing as the big barrow is called the Giants grave we opted for the little one being called the midgets grave (please don’t be offended it’s just a word)
The big barrow is just that, a big barrow, no cist or kerbing, but it is big, about 4 feet tall and many feet across. From the barrow the view best appreciated is the one to the WSW towards Builth Wells.
Coflein (J.J.Hall, Trysor, 26 March 2) has this to say concerning the much smaller mound (Blaen Bedw) at SO1402954405, just north of the great Giant’s Grave round barrow:
“A earthen mound, measuring 6m square x 1m high, sub-rectilinear in plan.... Its date and purpose are unknown, but it has been suggested that it may represent a prehistoric funerary monument or even a gibbet mound.”
Incidentally – having watched both a tractor and (old-style) Land Rover Defender struggle up the byway – I would highly recommend leaving one’s car at the entrance track to Ty’n-y-coed (just possible upon the verge) unless you are a complete loon.
As for the Giant’s Grave itself... suffice to say I should have come here much sooner. But hey, there are so many upland sites to be savoured around these parts....
