Esgair Irfon rises centre top left. Looking approx south-east along the wondrous Abergwesyn (Irfon) Pass on evenings such as this.... it’s not too hard to fathom the inclination to put your deceased VIPs ‘up there’. Should you wish to check this out, a word or two of advice: use a map and compass and not GPS; a chap using the latter over on our sister site insists there is nothing there.....
The Irfon Valley from ‘The Devil’s Staircase’.... Esgair Irfon forms the rocky left hand flank, the cist situated approx midway. Incidentally the valley of the Nant-y-Fedw, Llanerch-yrfa (centre left, beyond the near treeline) is arguably the best starting point for those who may wish to visit Drygarn Fawr
The exquisite Irfon Valley... aka Abergwesyn Pass. Esgair Irfon forms the craggy right hand flank. Travellers seeking the cist within its little cairn will finding parking in a layby beside a NT information ‘boulder’; head very steeply uphill and trend north at the crest of the ridge... the monument is set back from the escarpment edge.
Clearly need to invent super-speed lens wipers for the camera...
Looking very approx south
Such verdant greenery I didn’t have the heart to rip it out.... so trampled the reeds down a bit.
Monty Don wouldn’t approve of the vegetation – or maybe he would? – but the cairn includes a rather fine cist, merely lacking capstone.
The small, unassuming cairn didn’t appear to be anything particularly out of the ordinary upon arrival...
Looking approx north along the Abergwesyn Pass from Esgair Irfon. The monument is placed a little distance out of shot to the right, arguably to intentionally deny the cairn this special line of sight. This would appear to be a recurring feature of upland cairn placement.... in my experience. Although not always the case.
This exquisite little cist, set within the remains of a grassy cairn, is not mentioned upon the current 1:50k OS map. Consequently it came as a surprise to discover that Esgair Irfon, the rocky, eastern flank of the wondrous Irfon valley, possessed an ancient monument when perusing the 1:25k version obtained from a library sell off. A pleasant surprise, it has to be said. According to the RCAHMW:
“..Bronze Age Cist Cairn. Central cist exposed in centre of a slight mound. Four hewn slabs (0.18m thick) line the sides of the cist, the base is overgrown with grass. Mound Diameter 4m, Cist Length 1m, Width 0.5m, Depth 0.5m.” [J.BONSALL, NT, 20/07/2002].
To my mind this excellent site is one of the obscure prehistoric gems of Mid Wales. The surrounding scenery is first class, the monument set back from the escarpment edge (in true Bronze Age style) so it can not be seen from below, the sentinel peak of Cwmdeuddwr, Drygarn Fawr, crowning the horizon to the approx north-east. Prospective visitors should, however, note that such visual splendour comes at the price of a very steep ascent from the road traversing the Irfon valley below. But there you are. Well worth the effort. For what it’s worth I approached from the direction of Abergwesyn, parking in the layby near the National Trust sign and heading uphill to the left (north) of the treeline.
