Images

Image of Pen y Foel Goch (Cairn(s)) by GLADMAN

Pen y Foel Goch has a pretty substantial footprint. View’s not bad either, here looking across the Afon Dyfi to southern Snowdonia

Image credit: Robert Gladstone
Image of Pen y Foel Goch (Cairn(s)) by GLADMAN

Pen y Foel Goch.... like Carn Wen it’s – nowadays anyhow – not clear how much of the fabric was placed by human agency... and how much by primeval forces. But perhaps that was always the point. As the Spice Girls said... ‘when two become one’.

Image credit: Robert Gladstone
Image of Pen y Foel Goch (Cairn(s)) by GLADMAN

Set above and to the approx. east of the great Carn Wen, the summit of Foel Goch possesses a pretty substantial monument, too.

Image credit: Robert Gladstone
Image of Pen y Foel Goch (Cairn(s)) by GLADMAN

Sunburst upon the curiously grassy summit of the cairn. Cadair Idris (top right) heralds a distinct change in topography

Image credit: Robert Gladstone
Image of Pen y Foel Goch (Cairn(s)) by GLADMAN

Intrigued at how, since the crafty buggers planted Carn Wen upon a shattered outcrop, the demarcation between the two is almost imperceptible. I like being intrigued.

Image credit: Robert Gladstone
Image of Pen y Foel Goch (Cairn(s)) by GLADMAN

Just a pile of rocks.....

Image credit: Robert Gladstone
Image of Pen y Foel Goch (Cairn(s)) by GLADMAN

Carn Wen is wonderfully, nay exquisitely sited, here looking north across the Afon Dyfi to The Tarrens..

Image credit: Robert Gladstone
Image of Pen y Foel Goch (Cairn(s)) by GLADMAN

Approx south-east toward the heart of Pumlumon. Moel y Llyn, with it’s own monuments, can be seen top left.

Image credit: Robert Gladstone
Image of Pen y Foel Goch (Cairn(s)) by GLADMAN

The White Cairn. Should’ve gone to Specsavers...

Image credit: Robert Gladstone
Image of Pen y Foel Goch (Cairn(s)) by GLADMAN

Looking approx south-west from Carn Wen across the supposed location of several cairns (wasn’t convinced, for what it’s worth) and the Afon Clettwr. Incidentally there is a fine cist beyond the river, together with the excellent Bedd Taliesen (near the distant copse). Suffice to say I’d be very surprised if the uprights are an original feature....

Image credit: Robert Gladstone
Image of Pen y Foel Goch (Cairn(s)) by GLADMAN

A – it has to be said – not very pearly white Carn Wen, approaching from the approx south-west. The summit of Foel Goch... Pen y Foel Goch.. not surprisingly rises beyond.

Image credit: Robert Gladstone
Image of Pen y Foel Goch (Cairn(s)) by thesweetcheat

Foel Goch seen from Cerrigpenrhyn on the Dyfi estuary.

Image credit: A. Brookes (24.4.2015)
Image of Pen y Foel Goch (Cairn(s)) by thesweetcheat

Foel Goch from the west. Pen y Foel Goch cairn is on the summit, various other cairns are located on the lower slopes.

Image credit: A. Brookes (22.4.2015)

Articles

Pen y Foel Goch

Should the somewhat more adventurous visitors to Ceredigion happen – whether by chance or design – to arrive at the hamlet of Ponterwyd, astride the A44, with a desire to head north... I dare say that, upon pondering awhile (as you do) they may well be tempted to emulate the locals and take the single track ‘short cut’ across Pumlumon in lieu of the looping, coastal route via Aberystwyth. And why not, since, although by no means endless, the possibilities that will present themselves are nonetheless multiplex, albeit at the mercy of the not infrequently inclement weather? Particularly for a traveller with a megalithically calibrated mind and/or an eye for an inspiring landscape: one, even today, still infused with legend; that subliminal, pseudo-metaphysical condiment forever seasoning the human story. For this is the land of Glyndwr and Taliesin, where almost every summit is crowned by a Bronze Age cairn, as if echoes of mighty deeds literally turned to stone upon the Medusa’s searing gaze. Ah, if only these mountains could talk, what tales would they tell, eh? Well, perhaps all is not lost in the mists of time, for listen carefully and Pumlumon really does speak for itself: the ‘piping’ call of the soaring Red Kite; the cacophony of the nascent Hafren (Severn, Britain’s longest river), Wye and Rheidol as they cascade from their lofty sources upon the main ridge following heavy rain; the wind audible in ubiquitous long grass concealing wetlands which once ensured Henry II’s knights floundered to their doom...

But what of the green foothills which sweep northward toward Dyffryn Dyfi from Nant-y-Moch, fleetingly glimpsed upon traversing our aforementioned minor road? Surely but a minor diversion before entering the domain of Idris and, on.. er.. somewhat firmer historical ground, Vortigen, Owain Gwynedd and Llywelyn ap Iorwerth, not to mention Edward Longshanks himself? The answer to that is, in every respect, a resounding ‘NO’. Firstly, access to the area is far from straightforward, it being necessary to negotiate the descent of Cwm Ceulan to Tal-y-Bont and approach via very minor roads exiting the A487 to the north; secondly, there is simply so much to see... from one of Wales’ premier waterfalls (Pistyll y Llyn), Moel y Llyn (with it’s very own ‘lady of the lake’ tale, to Cwm Einion. Ah exquisite Cwm Einion, perhaps better known to the occasional tourist as ‘Artist’s Valley’ owing to formative visits from one JMW Turner and, much more recently, home to a certain Mr Plant who (apparently) was inspired to write ‘Stairway to Heaven’ here with some other bloke amongst the ancient tilio-acerion native woodland. Furthermore, with almost every hill top once again crowned by a Bronze Age cairn, stone circle or chambered cairn, the Citizen Cairn’d must really take notice...

Which brings me, eventually, to Foel Goch, a seemingly minor coastal hill overlooking the Afon Dyfi as it nears the end of its short journey to the sea from Creiglyn Dyfi, the latter cradled beneath the mighty crags of Aran Fawddwy. I say ‘eventually’ because I make a farce of the initial approach by car... losing my nerve as I pass Bedd Taliesin and backtracking to the A487 to finally park up, rather sheepishly (appropriately enough in these parts) in a farmyard east of Tre’r-ddol, at Llety-lwydin, Cwm Cletwr, to my mind the only feasible option. Now on foot, the road descends very sharply from here to a T-junction, the right hand selection arriving in due course at a habitation on the left overflowing with free range chickens and other creatures pleasing to the senses. A public footpath sets off to the east ranging above the northern bank of the Afon Clettwr, the initial lush, green pasture giving way to a more coarse, upland domain. That’ll be Foel Goch, then.

As usual I haven’t done my homework – note to self: don’t... it’s far more interesting this way – so, having found the ‘Cairns’ depicted upon my map here, upon the southern flank of the hill/mini mountain, to be less than convincing, I head for the obvious, large cairn crowning the skyline to the north-east. Clearly this must be Pen y Foel Goch. Except, of course, it’s nothing of the sort, being in actual fact Carn Wen, a little below and to the west of the summit monument at SN68979274. According to RCAHMW (Dave Leighton, 30/7/12) this, one of numerous ‘White Cairns’ to be found in Wales measures “13m (N-S) by 17m (E-W), its shape distorted by slippage of material down steep west side of the summit; height 1m-2m.” Yeah, it’s a pretty substantial cairn... but the compelling reason to come here is the location which, to these eyes, is extraordinary for the relative low altitude. It really is. The stunning Dyffryn Dyfi, its river meandering to its all-inclusive conclusion, takes centre stage... but there is much more: the brooding, central ridge of Pumlumon surmounting the horizon to the south-east, Cadair Idris – with the seriously be-cairned, tautological Tarren Hills to its left – soaring sentinel to the approx north. Things (arguably) get even more interesting nearer to hand, initially just across the Afon Clettwr at Caer Arglwyddes, ‘The Lady’s Field’, where there are a number of cairns, one with impressive cist still in situ visited back in 2012. But why ‘The Lady’s Field’? Well, according to Dr Gwilym Morus (Welshmythology.com)... “All became clear when I had a conversation with an old lady who’s father had been born at Cae’r Arglwyddes, and according to her the name of the farm refers to a ‘lady of the lake’ folktale about the small lake up on Moel-y-llyn”. Things begin to fall into place... since Moel y Llyn, rising due south-east of Carn Wen, possesses a quartet of cairns in addition to its legendary feminine bathing facility.

A short, yet sweet scramble brings me finally to Pen y Foel Goch, featuring a further substantial cairn at SN69519285, that is a little to the approx north-west of the actual summit. Again according to Dave Leighton, this “measures some 10m across, allowing for distortion caused by slippage of material down the steeper west side. Robbing has left the eastern perimeter of the cairn as a grassy ring, its height 0.3m”. If anything, the vista to be enjoyed from this monument is even more impressive/expansive than from its neighbour below to the west. The fundamental difference, I guess, is the sight of yet another cairn, upon Cerrig Blaencletwr-Fawr (aka Esgair Foel-ddu) just under a mile distant to the east, beckoning the footsore modern antiquarian onward with its silent siren call. Nevertheless, what with a significant height loss to contend with – all too often the tired hill walker’s nemesis – I immediately give up any notion of an attempt today as falling within the ‘so near, yet so far’ category... only to find my impetuosity, if not curiosity, has decided otherwise and launched me half way down the slope before counter-revolutionary reason can react. Ha! Emotion over reason? Right on!

The intervening terrain is rough, trackless, featuring areas of severe bog. Standard practice for Pumlumon, to be fair. However the cairn is worth the not inconsiderable effort and is again exquisitely sited, this time gazing down into the equally compelling Cwm Einion at SN70779256. Now I’ve no idea whether Mr Turner made a foray up here – to this very spot – to be similarly entranced by the ever-changing light playing upon the legendary Moel y Llyn to immediate south-east. I doubt it. Hey, perhaps Timothy Spall might know? But if he did, it would explain a lot, methinks... for his work invokes, nay encapsulates the vibe I feel at places such as this. Mr Leighton reckons the much more mundane technical specifics are “11m NE-SW by 9.0m & 0.9m high”. Unlike both Foel Goch’s cairns Cerrig Blaencletwr-Fawr’s monument has unfortunately been defaced, given a hollow centre. The reasoning behind this is even more obscure than the usual ‘built by ignorant muppets’ since, clearly, no such fool has taken shelter here in a very, very long time, to judge by the presence of a tenacious tree of indeterminate (to me) type occupying the space. Now that, together with the other ‘Plant’ life formerly found within The Artist’s Valley, I can live with. Way to go, my woody stemmed friend! As if to mark the moment.. a rainbow arcs across the valley. Time to leave. Since it is a long way back... and who knows what other legendary idiosyncrasies these unassuming northern ‘foot hills’ of Pumlumon have up their collective ‘sleeves’ to bestow upon unsuspecting punters after dark? Hey, perhaps some of the more artistic people associated with this magical area were brave enough to find out? Perhaps.

Sites within 20km of Pen y Foel Goch