Pen-Y-Gaer (Llanaelhaearn)

Also known as:
and Pen y Gaer (Llanaelhaearn)
Nearest town:
Criccieth (10km ESE)
OS reference:
SH42884550
OS sheets:
115, 123
Latitude:
52° 59' 0.17 N
Longitude:
4° 20' 26.61 W
Added to TMA by

Images

Image of Pen-Y-Gaer (Llanaelhaearn) (Hillfort) by GLADMAN

Towards Gyrn Ddu from the northern arc...

Image credit: Robert Gladstone
GLADMAN
GLADMAN Oct 7, 2024
Image of Pen-Y-Gaer (Llanaelhaearn) (Hillfort) by GLADMAN

Towards Northern Snowdonia, then. And a passing shower...

Image credit: Robert Gladstone
GLADMAN
GLADMAN Oct 7, 2024
Image of Pen-Y-Gaer (Llanaelhaearn) (Hillfort) by GLADMAN

Looking to the approx southeast from the south, where ‘modern’ walling surmounts the ancient stonework.

Image credit: Robert Gladstone
GLADMAN
GLADMAN Oct 7, 2024
Image of Pen-Y-Gaer (Llanaelhaearn) (Hillfort) by GLADMAN

Looking roughly north towards the great cairns of Gyrn Ddu..

Image credit: Robert Gladstone
GLADMAN
GLADMAN Oct 7, 2024
Image of Pen-Y-Gaer (Llanaelhaearn) (Hillfort) by GLADMAN

The exceedingly well-preserved ‘double wall’ to the west...

Image credit: Robert Gladstone
GLADMAN
GLADMAN Oct 7, 2024
Image of Pen-Y-Gaer (Llanaelhaearn) (Hillfort) by GLADMAN

Looking back towards Cwm Cilio farm from the ‘main entrance’... top farmer, by the way. So don’t take the piss.

Image credit: Robert Gladstone
GLADMAN
GLADMAN Oct 7, 2024
Image of Pen-Y-Gaer (Llanaelhaearn) (Hillfort) by GLADMAN

From Gyrn Ddu’s eastern cairns... Moel y Gest can be seen immediately beyond, the prehistoric cornucopia of Y Rhinogydd fading to haze.

Image credit: Robert Gladstone
GLADMAN
GLADMAN Nov 6, 2022
Image of Pen-Y-Gaer (Llanaelhaearn) (Hillfort) by postman

Zoomed at from Yr Eifl, behind is Moel Hebog

Image credit: Chris Bickerton
postman
postman Mar 23, 2017
Image of Pen-Y-Gaer (Llanaelhaearn) (Hillfort) by postman

From the narrow lane to the east of the fort.

Image credit: Chris Bickerton
postman
postman Aug 17, 2015
Image of Pen-Y-Gaer (Llanaelhaearn) (Hillfort) by postman

The north end of the fort, Gyrn Ddu is high on the right, I’m off up there in a bit to see two cairns.

Image credit: Chris Bickerton
postman
postman Aug 17, 2015
Image of Pen-Y-Gaer (Llanaelhaearn) (Hillfort) by postman

Looking south west along the fort wall, Mynydd Carnguwch on the right guards entry to the Lleyn Peninsula.

Image credit: Chris Bickerton
postman
postman Aug 17, 2015
Image of Pen-Y-Gaer (Llanaelhaearn) (Hillfort) by postman

Three or four hut platforms sit in this the southern quarter.

Image credit: Chris Bickerton
postman
postman Aug 17, 2015
Image of Pen-Y-Gaer (Llanaelhaearn) (Hillfort) by postman

looking south west over a hut circle, Moel y Gest hill fort can be seen over to the left above the rock.

Image credit: Chris Bickerton
postman
postman Aug 17, 2015

Articles

Pen y Gaer (the one near Llanaelhaearn) Llŷn Peninsula

Took a while to get to this one since the distant view from Gyrn Ddu suggested not much original walling was left. Wrong! Bit windy, though....

GLADMAN
GLADMAN Dec 31, 2024

Pen-Y-Gaer (Llanaelhaearn)

GLADMAN
GLADMAN Oct 7, 2024

Sitting in the car beneath the wondrous Tre’r Ceiri, the weather is so violent as to render any thoughts of venturing outside the apparent safety of my steel carbuncle – let alone of spending the afternoon upon a hill fort – seem ludicrous. In the extreme. Nevertheless, as another industrial strength hail shower thunders past bound for the Eifionydd, I decide to place my faith in the improving Met Office Mountain Forecast. What could possibly go wrong?

Taking the minor road looping through forestry from Llanaelhaern, I identify the long approach road to Cwm Cilio Farm. The sky, as black as you like, causes the doubts to resurface, uncertainties further exacerbated by the realisation that there is nowhere to park that wouldn’t – if I was the landowner – make me want to give myself a slap. Or something like that. But hey, while I’m here I guess it would be rude not to make the effort...

As it happens, said landowner is mooching around in his digger-contraption (quite a feat, to appear that nonchalant aboard serious kit)... so, after conducting a quick Health and Safety Assessment – although I can appreciate a farmer ‘digging’ The Citizen Cairn’s attitude, best not let things get too literal – I interrupt to ask permission to park and to generally have a chat. Wary at first, it transpires he is indeed not fond of tourists who park upon his land without having the courtesy to ask; is somewhat surprised I want to specifically visit Pen-y-Gaer at all, what with the (justifiably) celebrated Tre’r Ceiri looming nearby; oh, and a certain cow up yonder track is having some ‘health issues’, so would I please be careful not to startle it, etc. Presumably by acting like a gun-toting ‘Texan’ inexplicably engaged upon a walking holiday in North Wales? Otherwise, I am free to knock myself out. Again, preferably not literally.

So, after making myself look a complete freshman muppet by not sussing the farm gate ‘slides’, rather than swings open – duh! – I head for the great hill fort looming menacingly above. Clad in waterproofs and numerous additional ‘under-layers’ (to combat the anticipated adverse conditions at altitude), a couple more fast-moving showers kindly apply natural coolant as I begin to overheat, ushering me along as I make rather heavy going of the climb.... although, to be fair, it is 1,276ft. Not bad for a ‘hill’ fort?

Finally, and not before time, I reach the summit, whereupon the penny drops that the defences of this Iron Age enclosure are far more powerful than the distant glimpse enjoyed from Gyrn Ddu a few years back had suggested. The topography of the hilltop is such that the former inhabitants clearly massed the overwhelming might of their defences here, facing the west, a significant c15ft ‘double thickness’ of very well preserved drystone rampart showing these people meant business alright. The masonry curves away to north and south reducing in girth – albeit now topped by a ‘modern’ wall upon the latter arc. Hahaha! The irony is not lost upon me that I’ve just struggled up the ‘path of least resistance’ (since, as Phil Oakey would’ve pointed out, it seemed the only way), this fact emphasised by the even steeper crags protecting the eastern flank, stony residue suggesting the oft-used ‘fill in the gaps’ approach was employed here as well.

In short, I’m blown away by the impressive archaeology gracing this mini-mountain... as well as being periodically blown off it by wind seemingly steadily growing in velocity every minute I spend up here. Consequently, I seek out the lee – such as it is – of one of the eastern crags and settle down to enjoy the sweeping melodrama that is Northern Snowdonia. The sun breaks through, light streaming between a fast-moving, well-broken cloud base sending alternating washes of gold and deep shadow racing across a landscape that is truly a glory to behold. Looking eastwards, all the old friends are present and correct, many of those heights crowned by monuments to VIPs of an even earlier epoch. Indeed, it’s tempting to wonder whether the people who lived HERE back in the day still retained folk memories of who those VIPs actually were? Long before your johnny-come-lately Llewelyns and Dafydds got in on the act.

The odd isolated shower – just-a-passing-through, can’t stop – notwithstanding, conditions continue to improve until Yr Wyddfa (Herself) puts in a regal appearance upon the skyline betwixt The Nantle Ridge and Mynydd Mawr, not forgetting The Rhinogs rising across a shimmering Tremadoc Bay to the south-east. Such is the scenic splendour on display here that I decide that the supplementary site ‘penciled in’ for later on will have to wait for another time. Quite right, too. Such moments are to be savoured like a cordon-bleu meal. Only without the dodgy French ‘sauce’ and the muppet chef screaming expletives at everyone in earshot.

Pen-Y-Gaer (Llanaelhaearn)

postman
postman Aug 17, 2015

I parked the car on the drive up to Tyddyn-mawr farm, not as bad as it sounds, there was a load of big black silage bags to hide behind, there was no one around, and the driveway doubles as a bridleway, or so my map says, there are no signs saying so. Besides the fort is only half a mile from here, and I’ve got to walk through the farm to get there, if I see anyone I shall have a word, but I didn’t, so no problem.
In fact I never saw anyone on the hills all day long, but then this is quite out of the way for Snowdonia, if it’s in the national park at all.
After passing through and over several gates i’m out on the hills, I cant see the fort now because of big rocky outcrops to the forts south, so I make for these. From here I had a good look about, far to the south is Tremadog Bay, further west is the Lleyn peninsula, and just below me a fox rushes through the bracken chasing down some lunch. Not bad.
From the rocks it is a short but steep walk up to the fort. Two Buzzards circle above me, screeching at each other, or me.
It was hard going, but eventually I’m at the top, I can see my car far below, despite it’s lack of redness, it looks more than half a mile.
Firstly I go directly to the top, and sit, but i’m plagued by large furry bee like flies, theyre so slow I can knock them out of the sky with my hand, god there’s loads, they’re like flies round, no wait that wont work.
I abandon the summit and take my tour of the defences, at the north end the stony ex wall has got covered in grass, but as I move along the grass is gone and a wide spread of iron age walling, that does not stand at all, moving on.
Far below me I can see the hut circle marked on the map but uncharacteristically I checked Coflein before I left and found it to be Roman, so I didn’t go down, which was good because I couldn’t be arsed.
Next is the fairly obvious entrance, facing west to the next hill along Moel Bronmiod.
Modern walling stands on top of the ancient fallen spread of wall at the southern end of the fort. Also at the far south end of the fort are a few hut circles, or rather circular platforms cut into the hills slope, some have big stones where the entrances are. I only saw three or four, Coflein says there’s a dozen or so.
There are no fortifications on the east side, it is far too steep to storm the fort from here, from below it looks like any tall rocky hill, the big impressive wall faces only west, Tre’r Ceiri, the city of giants is that way.
Moel Y Gest hill fort is visible south east over near Cricceth.
Carn Bentyrch, Carn Fadryn, Carn Boduan are a few other forts seen from here.
Absolutely cracking site with epic views all round.

Sites within 20km of Pen-Y-Gaer (Llanaelhaearn)

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