Gogarth Bay

Also known as:
Garn (Holyhead Mountain)
Nearest town:
Holyhead (4km E)
OS reference:
SH21408276
OS sheet:
114
Latitude:
53° 18' 40.51 N
Longitude:
4° 40' 52.12 W
Added to TMA by

Images

Image of Gogarth Bay (Round Cairn) by thesweetcheat

Showing the central boulder. The lovely Penrhosfeilw standing stones are in the green fields, the hills of the Lleyn float on the horizon.

Image credit: A. Brookes (23.4.2017)
thesweetcheat
thesweetcheat May 16, 2017
Image of Gogarth Bay (Round Cairn) by thesweetcheat

On the approach from South Stack. The cairn is on top of the rocky knoll, right of centre above the fenceline.

Image credit: A. Brookes (23.4.2017)
thesweetcheat
thesweetcheat May 16, 2017
Image of Gogarth Bay (Round Cairn) by postman

Caer y Twr hill fort occupies Holyhead mountain on the right, Gogarth Bay round cairn surmounts the lesser hill on the left.

Image credit: Chris Bickerton
postman
postman Jun 9, 2016
Image of Gogarth Bay (Round Cairn) by postman

Looking over to North Stack, South Stack and its lighthouse is not visible from the cairn.

Image credit: Chris Bickerton
postman
postman Jun 9, 2016
Image of Gogarth Bay (Round Cairn) by postman

High on a Chinese mountain top, or by the sea in Wales, who knows?

Image credit: Chris Bickerton
postman
postman Nov 1, 2015
Image of Gogarth Bay (Round Cairn) by postman

The interior contains several large stones, just right of center is a big boulder, could it have been a cist capstone that is more like a small boulder burial? You can see Ireland on a clear day.

Image credit: Chris Bickerton
postman
postman Nov 1, 2015
Image of Gogarth Bay (Round Cairn) by postman

The fog was so localised around the cairn and nearby hill fort that one can only assume some weather god shenanigans, this view was just a hundred yards from the cairn.

Image credit: Chris Bickerton
postman
postman Nov 1, 2015

Articles

Gogarth Bay

postman
postman Nov 1, 2015

Coflein provides the many blue spots and we only have to click on them to see what wonderful things there are abroad in our often less than inspiring countryside.
So when I clicked on this Bronze age round cairn, high on a cliff overlooking the Irish sea, and below a frankly brilliant Iron age fort, I thought “oooh that’ll be a good one”. The sea crashing against the rocks up and down the coast, Choughs and seagulls going about their daily business, the sun slowly sinking into Southern Ireland which would be clearly visible on a clear day, inspiration guaranteed I’d have thought.

It rarely, if ever, goes the way we’d like it to though.

100 miles separate my house from South Stack on Angelsey and not for one second did I spend any time driving through fog on the way here. Parking in the car park by the gift shop/cafe etc I could see fog on Holyhead mountain, but it was windy and I’m not going up to the fort so I was still hopeful of some inspiration coming my way.
I walked up the road past the bright white folly Ellin’s tower, to another, less formal car park, behind this one is a footpath, I let it lead me away up hill and into the fog, which will be lifting any minute now. I pass by two small lakes which I cant see because of a misty ridge between us, I come across a well laid road, leading no doubt to the two Aerials that are down here, the first aerial is just a tall pole, with two small buildings, pass ‘em by, the second aerial is much bigger, at least the scaffolding where it was is, unless the scaffolding is the aerial, either way pass it by on a stony foot path.
As soon as you pass the perimeter fence go up the rocky hill directly behind it, the round cairn is up here.
I’m sure the big aerial less than 150 meters away might have an impact upon your soul searching, but in this thick fog it is completely invisible. As is the sea, the mountain, the sun, and everything else, let alone Ireland some 91,165 meters away, sorry, 56 miles.
The cairn sits on it’s small rocky ridge rather precariously there is no room either side of the cairn, some stones are down the side of the hill, it is, even without spacial awareness, an impeccably placed cairn.
The makeup of the cairn is various, on top is the larger stones, pushed round the sides to create a bit of a wind break, but mostly they are small stones, fist sized maybe, some are quartz in differing colours. In the centre of the cairn are a couple of large flat stones that if Phil Harding told me were from a broken cist I could be persuaded, but here on my own, I merely shrug at them and stare blankly into the fog. There is one large boulder, off to one side that is somewhat more problematical, it must be part of the cairn, it wont be field clearance, not here, my sense starved brain decides it’s a cist capstone in the Irish boulder burial tradition, considering where I am, that’s not totally without logic.
On my way back to the car I casually break in to the aerial’s compound, drawn on by clearer skies, I can see blue, I stand round under the aerial watching to see if the ridge with the cairn clears of fog, ready to scamper back up if it does, but it doesn’t, as I get closer to the cairn the fog thickens as I pull away it lessens, closer thickens, pull away lessens, some may joke about weather gods, but it practically introduced itself here. Barely more than a hundred yards west of the cairn and aerial the sun comes out, out of the fog and it’s a beautiful day, tourists stand round watching the dramatic sunset over the sea, I turn back to the hills and fog and shake my head, like that is it?
I’ll go to Trefignath instead, it’s not far away, maybe I could make it there before the sun goes down, it will be a good one by the looks of it.

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