Cefn Ddwysarn Camp

Nearest town:
Bala (5km SW)
OS reference:
SH96683817
OS sheet:
125
Latitude:
52° 55' 50.1 N
Longitude:
3° 32' 14.24 W
Added to TMA by

Images

Image of Cefn Ddwysarn Camp (Hillfort) by juamei

Image Credit: Natural Resources Wales

Image credit: LiDAR Composite Dataset. Contains public sector information licensed under the Open Government Licence v2.0.
juamei
juamei Mar 25, 2018
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Articles

Cefn Ddwysarn Camp

C
CARL Sep 6, 2013
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Visited 29.8.13

Directions:
From the junction of the A494 / A5, take the A494 south west.
Then take the first turning left (south) after the B4402 turn off.
The ‘settlement’ is on the top of the hill on your right, just before the trees.
There is a passing place you can park opposite the metal field gate which gives access to the site.

I hopped over the gate and walked up the hill towards the top. It is a rough grass area and soon a low curving bank can be seen in front of a hedgerow. It is about 1m high and as far as I could see was the only surviving part of the ‘settlement’.

There was another (open) gate I walked through in order to walk around the summit and enjoy the wonderful views. The area was covered in thistles and the nervous sheep darted in all directions as I strolled around.

After satisfying myself that there was nothing else to see I strolled back down the hill to the car. Just as I reached the lane a Land Rover complete with barking dogs drove past me and pulled in at the gate I had just climbed over. ‘Oh ho’ I thought to myself.

‘Was that you up there just now?’ asked the not very happy farmer jumping out of vehicle.
‘Yes’ I replied (there was no point denying it.
‘I saw the sheep being frightened and saw you walking about on top’
‘Yes’ I explained ‘I was looking at the settlement/hillort’ (showing him my notes/map of the place. ‘I hope you don’t mind but I didn’t know who to ask for permission and I was only looking around. There are great views from the top’ I semi-grovelled.
‘Yes’ he agreed. ‘We have to be careful because there is a lot of theft going on these days, sheep rustling etc’
‘Fair comment’ I thought

After a pause and looking at my paperwork the farmer mellowed a fair bit (although I suspect he was still far from being a happy bunny!) and told me about the Cadw visits he has from time to time. He also confirmed that the bit of banking I saw was the only part left to see.

We deprated in a semi-friendly manner and I headed off to the other sites I had on my list. If you are planning a visit (in all honesty this isn’t somewhere I would recommend anyway) it would be wise to seek permission first!

Although marked as settlement on the O/S map, Coflein have it as a Hillfort. This is what they have to say:
‘An oval hillfort, approx 68m by 75m, defined by a bank, ditch and counterscarp. A house-platform and associated structures/enclosures impinge on the southern rampart and appear to be later’.

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