Bryn Poeth Uchaf South

Nearest town:
Llanwrtyd Wells (9km ENE)
OS reference:
SN80054382
OS sheets:
147, 160
Latitude:
52° 4' 45.3 N
Longitude:
3° 45' 2.1 W
Added to TMA by

Images

Image of Bryn Poeth Uchaf South (Ring Cairn) by GLADMAN

Looking SW across the ring cairn towards the great cairn of Garn Fawr.

Image credit: Robert Gladstone
GLADMAN
GLADMAN Sep 30, 2023
Image of Bryn Poeth Uchaf South (Ring Cairn) by GLADMAN

Retrospective in the direction of my rather severe approach...

Image credit: Robert Gladstone
GLADMAN
GLADMAN Sep 30, 2023
Image of Bryn Poeth Uchaf South (Ring Cairn) by GLADMAN

Looking towards the northern escarpment of South Wales...

Image credit: Robert Gladstone
GLADMAN
GLADMAN Sep 30, 2023
Image of Bryn Poeth Uchaf South (Ring Cairn) by thesweetcheat

Looking towards the snow-capped mountains of Y Mynydd Du. The ring cairn certainly enjoys wonderful views.

Image credit: A. Brookes (28.2.2014)
thesweetcheat
thesweetcheat May 1, 2014
Image of Bryn Poeth Uchaf South (Ring Cairn) by thesweetcheat

Looking NE towards (approx) Cerrig Cynant stone circle.

Image credit: A. Brookes (28.2.2014)
thesweetcheat
thesweetcheat May 1, 2014
Image of Bryn Poeth Uchaf South (Ring Cairn) by postman

Looking over the ring cairn to cairn topped Carreg Garn Fawr

Image credit: Chris Bickerton
postman
postman Mar 9, 2014
Image of Bryn Poeth Uchaf South (Ring Cairn) by postman

The best part of the ring cairn and a marvelous view.

Image credit: Chris Bickerton
postman
postman Mar 9, 2014
Image of Bryn Poeth Uchaf South (Ring Cairn) by postman

On it’s narrow ridge it cuts a fine silouette

Image credit: Chris Bickerton
postman
postman Mar 9, 2014

Articles

Bryn Poeth Uchaf South

postman
postman Mar 11, 2014

There’s no easy way to get to this trio of sites, you either drive or walk through the forest immediately west of the sites or walk in from the south, having just seen Carreg Garn Fawr. I’ve tried the forest route once before, but having got onto the hillsides cold and wet children’s feet got us sent back to the car early. Very disappointed.

This time turned out to be considerably more rewarding. We leave the cairn and quartz stone behind and follow the path that skirts along the tree line, until a farm track takes us right and down towards the farm house that is I think also called Bryn Poeth Uchaf. This wasn’t the right way, initially,
The man who’d seen us through his kitchen window came out and asked us something, we didn’t quite catch what he said but we went over to tell him of our plan. He explained that a woman from Cadoo (Cadw) had come over not long ago, pointed across the valley and said that the bump on top of that hill was suspected by her of being something ( how she didn’t know it was already on Coflein I don’t know), oh, and he was from Cardiff originally.
He didn’t know there was a stone circle up there somewhere, and I don’t think he knew what a ring cairn was. He was however kind enough to point out the easy way over the small river and we had the run of the hillside, run being an expression obviously.
Having crossed the river we didn’t run up the hill side and not knowing really where to start we headed for the pointed out hill top bump. Getting nearer we could see a few tantalising somethings poking up out of the bump.
At the bottom of the hills hill top was a small squadron of large stones, clearance most likely. Then were up and on top of the bump and the somethings are indeed stones, one of them is very much like a stone circle stone, not one you’d expect of a ring cairn.

The ring is at one point about a foot high but on it’s opposite side it fades away into the ground, it is at the higher part of the ring that the two or three stones poke out of.
The ring is on a narrow north-south ridge, gentle slopes on the west but steeper on the east. An unusual place for a ring cairn, and a decent ring cairn it is too. But the view is surely what brought the cairns builders here, an uninterrupted view of the big mountains of the Brecon Beacons, those in the know will know their names but I’d only be guessing. Snow has fallen on their tops, sun shine is falling them now and some low clouds make them look like a distant heaven.
After having wondered at the ring cairn and its mesmerizing view we depart, and wander up the ridge and to the west looking for the star of this hillside Cerrig Cynant stone circle.

Miscellaneous

Bryn Poeth Uchaf South
Ring Cairn
GLADMAN
GLADMAN Sep 30, 2023

Assuming you’ve the correct OS coordinates to relate to (preferably) your 1:25K map – the 1:50k will probably do, at a push – correctly identifying the location of this pleasing trio of sites is clearly not an issue. Getting there, however, isn’t exactly straightforward: I eschewed the long approach via the great cairn of Garn Fawr (with its little associated quartzite stone) in favour of a low-level stroll above the Cynnant Fawr, followed by a steep scramble to the west. As it transpired, choosing the hottest day of 2023 wasn’t ideal for such exertion, but hey. Stupid is as stupid does.

If you’ve only a day to spare, probably best to choose the former option and check in at the former Youth Hostel of Bryn-poeth Uchaf for a chat in passing – a neighbour I met the following day related how the current owner is very friendly to us outsiders. As it was, I instead met the (presumed) owner of Cynnant Farm who, while remaining silent, gave me a wry smile I took to signify a tolerance of my parking arrangements at the entrance to the public track traversing the cwm.

Sites within 20km of Bryn Poeth Uchaf South

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