Cairn, South of Ffridd Lwyd, Y Rhinogydd

Nearest town:
Ffestiniog (8km N)
OS reference:
SH68383416
OS sheet:
124
Latitude:
52° 53' 18.26 N
Longitude:
3° 57' 23.4 W
Added to TMA by

Images

Image of Cairn, South of Ffridd Lwyd, Y Rhinogydd (Round Cairn) by GLADMAN

If that’s not a capstone then... well.

Image credit: Robert Gladstone
GLADMAN
GLADMAN May 4, 2022
Image of Cairn, South of Ffridd Lwyd, Y Rhinogydd (Round Cairn) by GLADMAN

Looking south-east(ish) – I think. A settlement lies beyond the near ridge.

Image credit: Robert Gladstone
GLADMAN
GLADMAN May 4, 2022
Image of Cairn, South of Ffridd Lwyd, Y Rhinogydd (Round Cairn) by GLADMAN

Note what seemed (to me) an obvious displaced capstone. Rhinogs Fawr and Fach rise beyond..

Image credit: Robert Gladstone
GLADMAN
GLADMAN May 4, 2022
Image of Cairn, South of Ffridd Lwyd, Y Rhinogydd (Round Cairn) by GLADMAN

From a distance, the monument appears a (sadly) typically ‘hollow’ cairn. Happy to report it is most definitely not.

Image credit: Robert Gladstone
GLADMAN
GLADMAN May 4, 2022
Image of Cairn, South of Ffridd Lwyd, Y Rhinogydd (Round Cairn) by GLADMAN

Looking approx eastward across the cairn...

Image credit: Robert Gladstone
GLADMAN
GLADMAN May 4, 2022

Articles

Miscellaneous

Cairn, South of Ffridd Lwyd, Y Rhinogydd
Round Cairn
GLADMAN
GLADMAN May 4, 2022

Snowdonia possesses more than its fair share of prehistoric burial cairns set high upon wind and rain-lashed mountain tops. Hey, sometimes they are even bathed in sunshine. It happens. Now and again.

However, fellow Citizens Cairn should note that some pretty fine examples can be found at a lower level, too. Perfect for those days when the poor old limbs simply cannot take any more. Particularly at my age. Or, perhaps, when the clouds have descended to subsume the landscape in clammy, grey vapour... when one would need to be a certifiable nutter to venture into the gloom, even clutching a compass and good intentions.

Now a reference to one such monument can be discerned upon the current 1:25k OS map (not the 1:50k version, mind) at SH68383416 – that is, a little to the southwest(ish) of Llyn Trawsfynydd, beneath the seriously ‘rough’ peaks of the northern Rhinogydd. Note that the latter are most certainly NOT an environment to be caught within hill fog.

Seeking it out is well worth the effort, since not only is the cairn set upon a wild, uncompromising hillside boasting great views and a special upland vibe... it also possesses the remains of a cist within its centre. So no doubt about the prehistoric provenance of this is one, then? Too right. Furthermore, the remains of what seemed to me a possible multi-phase settlement at roadside might be inferred as the former home of the VIP once interred here? Now there’s a thought.

Sites within 20km of Cairn, South of Ffridd Lwyd, Y Rhinogydd

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