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Gorllwyn

Barrow / Cairn Cemetery

<b>Gorllwyn</b>Posted by cerrigImage © cerrig
Also known as:
  • Pen-y-Gorllwyn

Nearest Town:Llanwrtyd Wells (13km S)
OS Ref (GB):   SN91805905 / Sheet: 147
Latitude:52° 13' 6.92" N
Longitude:   3° 35' 2.5" W

Added by GLADMAN


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<b>Gorllwyn</b>Posted by GLADMAN <b>Gorllwyn</b>Posted by GLADMAN <b>Gorllwyn</b>Posted by GLADMAN <b>Gorllwyn</b>Posted by GLADMAN <b>Gorllwyn</b>Posted by GLADMAN <b>Gorllwyn</b>Posted by GLADMAN <b>Gorllwyn</b>Posted by GLADMAN <b>Gorllwyn</b>Posted by GLADMAN <b>Gorllwyn</b>Posted by GLADMAN <b>Gorllwyn</b>Posted by GLADMAN <b>Gorllwyn</b>Posted by GLADMAN <b>Gorllwyn</b>Posted by GLADMAN <b>Gorllwyn</b>Posted by GLADMAN <b>Gorllwyn</b>Posted by GLADMAN <b>Gorllwyn</b>Posted by GLADMAN <b>Gorllwyn</b>Posted by cerrig <b>Gorllwyn</b>Posted by cerrig <b>Gorllwyn</b>Posted by cerrig <b>Gorllwyn</b>Posted by cerrig <b>Gorllwyn</b>Posted by GLADMAN <b>Gorllwyn</b>Posted by GLADMAN

Fieldnotes

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Nostalgia: a yearning for times past when things were apparently more enjoyable, simpler, agreeable - in a word, 'better' - than they are nowadays. Yeah, as far as we know - since no one has yet managed to catch, say, a dolphin eulogising that golden summer of 2018 - we Homo sapiens are the only creatures to engage in such rose-tinted reminiscing. By its very nature the preserve of those of us getting on a bit, I guess it's harmless enough when one considers life is but a collection of memories... beneficial even, a bulwark against those gullible religious/political loons waiting far-from-patiently for that promised golden age always just around the corner... instead of actually getting on with making the best of the here and now.

Now with a little luck, most of us will, perhaps, treasure a few moments in our lives that (as far as we choose to recall) could not really have been bettered. You know, those perfect days Van Morrison's mama told the gruff old Belfastonian about back in the day. Yeah, funny how mums always seem to know, don't they? Well, one of mine was arguably an ascent of Gorllwyn - at 2,011ft among the highest points of the Cwmdeuddwr Hills and crowned by two massive Bronze Age cairns - upon a peerless day in October 2008. The kind of day one is sure can never be repeated, never matched, let alone surpassed... the memories best archived 'for nostalgic reference only'. Hahaha. So what is a traveller to do when, improbable as it seemed, the opportunity to potentially reprise such wonders arises again? Accept the challenge and The Citizen Cairn's on a hiding to nothing, right? Decline and a man may as well file everything away in the box labelled 'Previous Life'. Accept one is 'past it'. Sure enough - the notion having popped into my head while slumbering in the sun upon the great Carn Pantmaenllwyd the previous day - a perfect dawn at the head of Cwm Ystwyth duly calls my bluff: Time to put up... or shut up, mup. So what's it gonna be? Hell, you only live once. I decide to go for it.

The early morning drive along the Elan Reservoir tourist route is refreshingly lacking in, well, tourists, for one thing. Clearly still tucking into bacon and eggs at the B&B. Another is, curiously enough, water... the reservoirs having been drained for maintenance of some description, the sight of their riven, bare flanks shining in the sun as unfamiliar as a Victorian debutante caught unawares skinny-dipping by an admirer. The car park at Pant y Gwartheg, in contrast, is far from empty and therefore not a place to linger following the application of handfuls of SPF50. Once across the rushing Afon Claerwen - a stirring sight - I follow the track to the left past Llanerch Cawr, an individual upon a tractor showing himself to be none too fond of walkers. Whatever... for the record, I'm not enamoured by people who do not display common courtesies either. Anyway, at the Nant Ddu fords, not being able to identify the route of the public footpath shown upon my 1:50k (the 1:25k is much clearer in retrospect) I head steeply upwards towards Esgair Gwar-y-cae and the uncompromisingly wild hill country above and beyond.

The heat is punishing, the topography testing in such conditions, to say the least. The extreme effort demanded of me necessitates frequent pauses to catch my breath, intervals I elect to fill with impressive retrospective views of the great Claerwen dam in its landscape, along with more rudimentary actions, such as wringing the sweat from kitchen roll inserted within my (it has to be said) disintegrating sunhat. You know, the type with the 'Foreign Legion' bit at the back worn by all fashion-conscious adventurers this year? In a forlorn attempt at mitigation, I decide to 'circle around to the left' to ease the angle of ascent somewhat and thus take the opportunity to refill an already depleted water bottle within the great chasm carved by the Nant Rhyd-goch. In so doing I neglect to take a bearing and, distracted by the majesterial, sweeping views and the sight of Y Gamriw's great cairns upon the skyline, continue across Waun Sarn instead of swinging right to ascend to Cnapiau'r Ferlen...

The penny drops when Y Gamriw's massive cairns appear dead ahead where, according to my cunning plan, they shouldn't be. Taking stock, I note Gorllwyn... er, somewhat further to the south-west than anticipated. Ah, the luxury accorded the upland walker by line of sight, something that, when denied through the occurrence of hill fog, makes these hills lethal in poor weather. As it is, glorious views down into Cwm Pistyll and Cwm Chwefri (location of yesterday's musings) compensate for the additional legwork demanded of me. I pass Llyn y Ferlen - surely one of Wales' most lonely, unfrequented upland lakes(?) - crossing desolate peat hags thankfully able to more-or-less bear my weight at this time of year (how dodgy this terrain would be in more inclement conditions is all too easy to surmise), before embarking upon the final push to Gorllwyn's summit, this, the mountain's northeastern ridge, featuring a line of boundary stones not uncommon in these parts.

As it happens the summit is several hours coming, but none the worse for that, the hiatus a happy one and not the result of further muppetry: chancing across a rather fine, neat little cairn en-route at SN92165948. Unaware of this 'bonus' beauty from my previous visit, this unexpected beneficial outcome of my earlier route-finding mishap is duly appreciated. I plonk myself down and revel in the absolutely spot-on placement of this monument, the viewer able to enjoy an 'amphitheatre' formed by the skyline profile of distant hills set almost to perfection... surely too precise to be mere accident, coincidence? Yeah, a seemingly random location is found to be anything but by something as simple as fieldwork. OK, granted, it's by no means 'simple' to get to such spots, but no academic qualifications are required, just reasonable fitness, some determination... plus an open mind. Thus the quite considerable delay.

I finally arrive at the summit, some 5 hours after leaving the car, this crowned by a very large round cairn indeed. The ancient stone pile is much, much larger than that below to the northeast, albeit a monument now sadly mutilated by the customary idiot shelter - why, oh why does the supposedly civilised hill walking fraternity view the erection and furthermore, use of these criminally moronic constructions as 'acceptable' behaviour? - together with an OS triangulation pillar set upon a concrete base. OK, the latter doesn't exactly display the most enlightened of positioning either, but at least it serves a practical, beneficial purpose. Yeah, it is high time all Citizens Cairn take a stand and call out those who we find abusing our prehistoric heritage as the ignoramuses they are. For these incredible, vibey places need and deserve all the protection they can get. As I sit and scan the horizon once again, it dawns upon me that Gorllwyn possesses, in my estimation, the finest view of South Wales' Old Red Sandstone mountain escarpment extant. No, really. Yeah, stretching all the way from The Black Mountains in the east to the western foothills of Y Mynydd Du, it is a mesmerising spectacle to behold invoking a reverence in this viewer I'm at a loss to adequately explain. Hey, but why explain? Suffice to just let it happen. Nearer to hand, Gorllwyn's southwestern cairn beckons.

The last of my stony trio was clearly also a very significant monument once upon a time. To be fair it still is, a substantial volume of material remaining within the great stone pile. As with its near neighbour, however, much damage has occured over the years to the original profile, what with a 'shelter' being carved out of the fabric and a large, conical 'marker' erected on top. Once again, quite why is anyone's guess. Stupid is as stupid does. Despite this further mindless vandalism the vibe here is intense, the views fit for eternity, perhaps? Funny, that... The twin 'beehive cairns' of Drygarn Fawr are prominent to the west while, to the immediate south, lies - literally - arguably Gorllwyn's most enigmatic secret: a prostrate monolith some 11.5ft in length, a number of apparent 'packing stones' still in situ at the eastern end strongly suggesting it once stood upright, an abstruse marker visible for miles around? What is beyond conjecture is the fact that, in my experience, few prehistoric stones in these Isles possess a better location... if any. It sure is a handsome slab of rock.

I return to the summit monument to hang out for the remainder of the time available to me before I am obliged to undertake the return journey to Llanerch Cawr, soaking up the atmosphere as if through osmosis. I remain undisturbed by other walkers, as I have been all day... this despite perfect summer conditions overlooking the prime tourist destination that is The Elan Valley. Luckily I've my voguish hat to offset such obscurity. Suffice to say this is why I continue to frequent Mid Wales' 'Green Desert' whenever I can. Compared with Gorllwyn, even Pumlumon's main ridge is overcrowded. Time to leave so, compass bearing duly taken this time (just in case), I 'cut the corner' taking a direct(ish) route heading straight for Waun Lwyd to eventually arrive once again at the bridge (in actual fact bridges, the modern road standing beside the remains of an earlier construction) over the vociferous Afon Claerwen.

Time for a brief pause to reflect upon the manner in which human error can have positive - as well as the customary negative - outcomes: the unwitting expansion of my expedition enabling me to discover another unforeseen aspect of this wondrous locale upon Gorllwyn's northeastern approach. Another piece in the jigsaw, so to speak. Thus the scale of the puzzle is revealed to be expanding, not contracting... with every additional element secured in position. Ultimately, I guess, there are no definitive answers of the kind some muppet archaeologists use to proffer their personal theories... and sell books... only personal experience. We are all just 'a passing through. Just making memories. Yeah, nostalgia is all well and good but - mirroring this universe as we must - I reckon it's best to keep expanding one's mind, to keep grasping those opportunities, whenever they occur. For, surely, little is worse than regret.... that sense of melancholia that raises its ugly head when looking back upon chances not taken?

OK, choosing hill walking as a hobby does of course infer an unavoidable 'law of diminishing returns' - time waits for no one, let alone a Citizen Cairn. Yeah, fitness levels will inexorably peak and begin to decline to a point where first-hand experience will no longer be possible. Nostalgia will be all we have. Best give it good material to work with, then? So, here's to experiencing all one can while one can - and save nostalgia for a time yet to come. As that late, great poet Shelley once said (Pete, not Percy Bysshe):

"I always used to dream of the past; But like they say yesterday never comes; Sometimes there's a song in my brain; And I feel that my heart knows the refrain; I guess it's just the music that brings on nostalgia for an age yet to come"
GLADMAN Posted by GLADMAN
17th July 2022ce
Edited 29th August 2022ce

Miscellaneous

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Sited to the approx south-west of the summit cairn of Gorllwyn, this, another substantial monument, offers superb views southwards to the Great Escarpment guarding the approach to South Wales. There are worse places to be....

According to CPAT - PRN 3001:

'A substantial round barrow (cairn) situated towards the south-western end of the ridge of Pen y Gorllwyn. Constructed as a circular mound of stones, the barrow has been altered to create a 'C' shaped shelter to the east side and a cairn/beacon mound in the centre. Dimensions of later features as previously stated except the original barrow has a height of 1.7m and a diameter of 15m, north to south, 14.2m, east to west. No other features noted. The remains of an aerial-mast housing stand just to the north-east in the form of several small heaps of stone, robbed from the cairn (CPAT 2005).'
GLADMAN Posted by GLADMAN
21st November 2011ce
Edited 17th May 2014ce

Gorllwyn is one of just two 2,000ft summits - the other being the beehive-cairned Drygarn Fawr - which entice unsuspecting 'proper' (ha!) hillwalkers to the obscure, soggy uplands feeding the Elan Valley reservoirs near Rhayader. I'd wager many leave disappointed.... never to return. Fair enough. There are few 'spectacular' views to be had here, no soaring ridges, nothing to impede the mist from sweeping in to make navigation a complete and utter bloody nightmare. So please, please do not take this area lightly since, contrary to appearances on the map, I reckon The Cwmddeudwr offer some of the roughest, most testing walking in all Wales, courtesy of a paucity of paths and an abundance of rough, tussocky, ankle twisting grass and bog. Yeah, it's almost as if the area wants to be left in peace, unviolated by the tourist boot.... but if that sounds like a challenge to you... right on, my friends! Go for it, since there's cairns, fallen monoliths and an unrivalled vibe in them thar hills. For starters the 2,011ft sumiit of Gorllwyn is crowned by the messed about remains of a large cairn, described by the Clwyd / Powys Archaeological Trust thus (PRN 3002):

'Substantial round barrow (cairn) located on the highest point (summit) of Pen y Gorllwyn. Constructed as a mound of heaped stone, still standing to a height of 1.4m. The monument has been disturbed by the construction of an OS trig point which has been cemented to the highest point of the barrow. Incorporating the trig point, in the north-west quadrant of the barrow, is a 'C' shaped shelter 3.7m in diameter and 1.2m high, with a hollowed centre. Two further, smaller shelters have been created on the south-east side of the barrow. There is no evidence of kerbing or other features (CPAT 2005)'.
GLADMAN Posted by GLADMAN
21st November 2011ce
Edited 21st November 2011ce

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Gorllwyn... summit cairns and descent


OK, took a long time to reach, but worth the wait.
GLADMAN Posted by GLADMAN
7th August 2022ce
Edited 7th August 2022ce

Ascent & NE Ridge of Gorllwyn


A serpentine route to Gorllwyn, Cwmdeuddwr..
GLADMAN Posted by GLADMAN
7th August 2022ce
Edited 7th August 2022ce